Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston

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Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston
Archidioecesis Bostoniensis
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Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston
Basic information
Location Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Territory Counties of Essex, Middlesex, Suffolk, Norfolk, and Plymouth (the towns of Mattapoisett, Marion, and Wareham excepted)[1]
Population 1,845,758 Catholics[2]
Rite Roman Rite
Patron Saint Patrick
Ecclesiastical province Archdiocese of Boston
Established April 8, 1808
Cathedral Cathedral of the Holy Cross
Bishop Seán Patrick O'Malley, OFM Cap
Website www.BostonCatholic.org
Current leadership
Pope Benedict XVI
Metropolitan Seán Patrick O'Malley, OFM Cap
Archbishop of Boston
Diocesan Bishop Seán Patrick O'Malley, OFM Cap
Archbishop of Boston
Auxiliary bishops Most Rev. Emilio S. Allué
Most Rev. John A. Dooher
Most Rev. Walter J. Edyvean
Most Rev. Robert F. Hennessey
Most Rev. Francis X. Irwin
Seán Patrick Cardinal O'Malley, Archbishop of Boston
Ecclesiastical Province of Boston

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston (Latin: Archidioecesis Bostoniensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the New England region of the United States. It comprises several counties of the state of Massachusetts. It is led by a prelate archbishop who serves as pastor of the mother church, Cathedral of the Holy Cross in the South End of Boston.

As of 2009, there are 292 parishes in the archdiocese.[3] In 2007, the archdiocese estimated that 1.8 million Catholics were in the territory, of whom about 315,000 regularly attended Mass.[4]

Contents

[edit] History

The original Diocese of Boston was canonically erected on April 8, 1808 by Pope Pius VII. It took its territories from the larger historic Diocese of Baltimore and consisted of the states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.

In the nineteenth century, as Catholicism grew exponentially in New England, the Diocese of Boston was carved into smaller new dioceses: on November 28, 1843, Pope Gregory XVI erected the Diocese of Hartford; Pope Pius IX erected the Diocese of Burlington and the Diocese of Portland on July 29, 1853, the Diocese of Springfield on June 14, 1870, and the Diocese of Providence on February 16, 1872. On February 12, 1875, Pope Pius IX elevated the diocese to the rank of an archdiocese.

At the beginning of the 21st century the archdiocese was in the middle of sex abuse accusations that culminated in the resignation of its archbishop, Cardinal Bernard Francis Law, on December 13, 2002. The Archdiocese settled with most claims for $86 million. In June 2004, much of the land around the archdiocese of Boston headquarters was sold to Boston College, in part to raise money for legal costs associated with scandal in Boston. [5][6]

The diocesan newspaper The Pilot has been published in Boston since 1829.

[edit] List of Pastoral Regions

The Archdiocese of Boston is divided into 5 pastoral regions, each headed by an episcopal vicar.

[edit] List of bishops and archbishops

The following is a list of the Ordinaries of Boston:

  1. Bishop Jean-Louis Lefebvre de Cheverus (1808–1823) appointed Bishop of Montauban, France
  2. Bishop Benedict Joseph Fenwick S.J. (1825–1846) died
  3. Bishop John Bernard Fitzpatrick (1846–1866) died
  4. Archbishop John Joseph Williams (1866–1907) died
  5. Cardinal Archbishop William Henry O'Connell (1907–1944) died
  6. Cardinal Archbishop Richard Cushing (1944–1970) retired
  7. Cardinal Archbishop Humberto Sousa Medeiros (1970–1983) died
  8. Cardinal Archbishop Bernard Francis Law (1984–2002) resigned, appointed Archpriest of Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in 2004
  9. Cardinal Archbishop Seán Patrick O'Malley O.F.M.Cap. (2003–present)

[edit] High schools

[edit] Former high schools

[edit] Seminaries

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Catholic Hierarchy page
  2. ^ Ibid.
  3. ^ Paulson, Michael (2009-05-01). "Diocese makes financial progress". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/05/01/diocese_makes_financial_progress/?page=full. Retrieved 2009-05-25. 
  4. ^ Kerber, Ross; Globe staff (2007-01-29). "Bless you, we take Visa". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/business/personaltech/articles/2007/01/29/bless_you_we_take_visa/?page=2. Retrieved 2007-01-29. 
  5. ^ Diocesan headquarters sold to BC The Boston Globe, April 21, 2004.
  6. ^ Statement of the Archdiocese of Boston and Boston College on sale of part of Brighton campus The Boston Globe, April 20, 2004.]
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Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Provinces in the United States
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Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Boston
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