Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston

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Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston
Archidioecesis Bostoniensis

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.rcab.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. Alluè, SDB, D.D.
Most Rev. John Anthony Dooher
Most Rev. Walter J. Edyvean
Most Rev. Robert Francis Hennessey
Most Rev. Francis X. Irwin, DD, ACSW

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 City of Boston.

As of 2007, there are 295 parishes in the archdiocese. The archdiocese estimates that 1.8 million Catholics are in the territory, of whom about 315,000 regularly attend.[3]

Contents

[edit] History

Ecclesiastical Province of Boston
Ecclesiastical Province of Boston

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. Throughout the history of the United States and exponential growth of Catholicism 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 become an archdiocese.

[edit] Sex abuse scandal

Main article: Roman Catholic sex abuse cases

The archdiocese was the center of the Roman Catholic sex abuse cases 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. [4][5]

[edit] Cardinal

For a number of years the Archbishop of Boston was traditionally named a Cardinal. Pope John Paul II also denied the archdiocese a new prelate cardinal while Cardinal Law was still in active service in the Roman Curia. That changed on February 22, 2006 when Pope Benedict XVI announced that current Archbishop Sean Patrick O'Malley would be among 15 bishops who would be appointed as cardinals in the near future. Cardinal O'Malley and the 14 others were formally installed in a ceremony in Rome on March 24, 2006.

[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

Seán Patrick Cardinal O'Malley, Archbishop of Boston
Seán Patrick Cardinal O'Malley, Archbishop of Boston

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 Cardinal 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- )

[edit] High schools

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Catholic Hierarchy page
  2. ^ Ibid.
  3. ^ Kerber, Ross; Globe staff (2007-01-29). "Bless you, we take Visa", The Boston Globe. Retrieved on 2007-01-29. 
  4. ^ Diocesan headquarters sold to BC The Boston Globe, April 21, 2004.
  5. ^ 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 Province of Boston
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