Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore

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Archdiocese of Baltimore
Archidioecesis Baltimorensis
Image:AOBSeal.jpg
Basic information
Location Maryland
Population 3,055,407
Rite Latin Rite
Patron Immaculate Conception
Established Nov 6, 1789
Cathedral Cathedral of Mary Our Queen
Co-cathedral Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Website www.archbalt.org
Current leadership
Diocesan Bishop Edwin Frederick O'Brien
Auxiliary bishops Denis James Madden

Mitchell Thomas Rozanski

The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Baltimore is a particular church of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. The archdiocese comprises the City of Baltimore as well as Allegany, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick, Garrett, Harford, Howard, and Washington Counties in Maryland. The archdiocese is the metropolitan see of the Ecclesiastical Province of Baltimore.

The Archdiocese of Baltimore is the oldest in the United States. The Holy See granted the archdiocese the right of precedence in the nation at liturgies, meetings, and councils on August 15, 1859.[1] However, the archdiocese does not enjoy primatial status.

The archdiocese comprises nine Maryland counties and Baltimore city, having 518,000 Catholics, 545 priests, five hospitals, and two seminaries (St. Mary's Seminary and University in Baltimore and Mount St. Mary's Seminary at Mount Saint Mary's University in Emmitsburg, Maryland).[2][3]

Contents

[edit] History

Originally called the Apostolic Prefecture of the United States, the ecclesiastical territory was established on November 26, 1784. The apostolic prefecture was elevated to become the Diocese of Baltimore on November 6, 1789.

The Diocese of Baltimore was promoted to an archdiocese on April 8, 1808 with the founding of the dioceses of New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Bardstown (now Louisville) by Pope Pius VII.

The Archdiocese lost territory with the creation of the dioceses of Charleston and Richmond on July 11, 1820 and the Diocese of Wilmington on March 3, 1868.

Due to the rapid growth of the Roman Catholic Church in the region, the see was renamed to become the Archdiocese of Baltimore-Washington on July 22, 1939. The Archdiocese of Washington became an independent entity on November 15, 1947 creating the present-day Archdiocese of Baltimore.

[edit] Prelature

The Archdiocese of Baltimore is led by the prelature of the Archbishop of Baltimore and a corps of auxiliary bishops who assist in the administration of the archdiocese as part of a larger curia. Fifteen people have served as Archbishop of Baltimore; the current Archbishop is Edwin Frederick O'Brien.

[edit] Cathedrals

The archbishop is concurrently the pastor of the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen and the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the co-cathedral; the bishop appoints the cathedral and co-cathedral's rectors. The Basilica, built in 1806–1821, is America's first cathedral and parish, and considered the mother church of the United States.

The Archdiocese of Baltimore is one of only three United States dioceses that has two churches serving as cathedrals in the same city — the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace and Co-Cathedral of Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus in the Diocese of Honolulu share the distinction. The Diocese of Burlington also has this in common. Other dioceses with two cathedrals have their churches in separate cities[4].

[edit] Archbishops of Baltimore

  1. John Carroll, S.J. (1784-1815) died
  2. Leonard Neale, S.J. (1815-1817) died
  3. Ambrose Maréchal, P.S.S. (1817-1828) died
  4. James Whitfield (1828-1834) died
  5. Samuel Eccleston, P.S.S. (1834-1851) died
  6. Francis Patrick Kenrick (1851-1863) died
  7. Martin John Spalding (1864-1872) died
  8. James Roosevelt Bayley (1872-1877) died
  9. James Cardinal Gibbons (1877-1921) died
  10. Michael Joseph Curley (1921-1947) died
  11. Francis Patrick Keough (1947-1961) died
  12. Lawrence Joseph Cardinal Shehan (1961-1974) retired
  13. William Donald Borders (1974-1989) retired
  14. William Henry Cardinal Keeler (1989-2007) retired
  15. Edwin Frederick O'Brien (2007-present)

[edit] Auxiliary Bishops

  1. Dominic Laurence Graessl S.J. (Coadjutor: 1793) posthumous appointment
  2. Leonard Neale S.J. (Coadjutor: 1795-1815) succeeded
  3. James Whitfield (Coadjutor: January 8 - 28, 1828) succeeded
  4. Samuel Eccleston P.S.S. (Coadjutor: March - October 1834) succeeded
  5. James Gibbons (Coadjutor: May - October 1877) succeeded
  6. Alfred Allen Paul Curtis (1897-1908) retired as Bishop emeritus of Wilmington
  7. Owen Patrick Bernard Corrigan (1908-1929) died
  8. Thomas Joseph Shahan (1914-1932) died
  9. John Michael McNamara (1927-1947) appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Washington
  10. Lawrence Joseph Shehan (1945-1953) appointed Bishop of Bridgeport see #12 below
  11. Jerome Aloysius Daugherty Sebastian (1953-1960) died
  12. Lawrence Joseph Shehan (Coadjutor: July - December 1961) succeeded see #10 above
  13. Thomas Austin Murphy (1962-1984) retired
  14. Thomas Joseph Mardaga (1966-1968) appointed Bishop of Wilmington
  15. Francis Joseph Gossman (1968-1975) appointed Bishop of Raleigh
  16. Philip Francis Murphy (1976-1999) died
  17. James Francis Stafford (1976-1982) appointed Bishop of Memphis
  18. William Clifford Newman (1984-2003) retired
  19. John Huston Ricard S.S.J. (1984-1997) appointed Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee
  20. Gordon Dunlap Bennett S.J. (1997-2004) appointed Bishop of Mandeville
  21. William Francis Malooly (2000-2008) appointed Bishop of Wilmington
  22. Mitchell Thomas Rozanski (since 2004)
  23. Denis J. Madden (since 2005)

[edit] Affiliated Bishops

The following men began their service as priests in Baltimore before being appointed bishops elsewhere (years in parentheses refers to their years in Baltimore):

[edit] High Schools

[edit] References

  1. ^ Catholic Encyclopedia Article on Precedence
  2. ^ Liz F. Kay, "New home for a new archbishop", Baltimore Sun, July 14, 2007.
  3. ^ G.M. Corrigan, "Archbishop O'Brien to begin stewardship with listening tour", The Baltimore Examiner, August 4, 2007.
  4. ^ "Cathedrals in United States" (Website). Giga-Catholic Information. Retrieved on 2008-01-27.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Provinces in the United States
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