Area 2,465 sq mi (6,380 km) Phone +1 617-254-0100 | Parishes 288 | |
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Territory Counties of Essex, Middlesex, Suffolk, Norfolk, and Plymouth (the towns of Mattapoisett, Marion, and Wareham excepted) Population- Total- Catholics (as of 2013)4,240,0001,906,372 (45%) Hours Open today · Open 24 hoursTuesdayOpen 24 hoursWednesdayOpen 24 hoursThursdayOpen 24 hoursFridayOpen 24 hoursSaturdayOpen 24 hoursSundayOpen 24 hoursMondayOpen 24 hoursSuggest an edit Similar Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Saint Anthony Shrine, Paulist Center, Saint Clements Eucharisti, Mission Church Profiles | ||
How to find records from the roman catholic archdiocese of boston 1789 1900
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston (Latin: Archidioecesis Bostoniensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the New England region of the United States. It comprises several counties of the Commonwealth 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.
Contents
- How to find records from the roman catholic archdiocese of boston 1789 1900
- History
- Communications media
- Ecclesiastical province
- Pastoral regions
- Bishops
- Bishops of Boston
- Archbishops of Boston
- Auxiliary Bishops
- Other bishops who once were priests in the diocese
- Seminaries
- Education
- Superintendents
- Former high schools
- References
As of 2009, there are 292 parishes in the archdiocese. In 2007, the archdiocese estimated that 1.8 million Catholics were in the territory, of whom about 315,000 regularly attended Mass.
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, (future) 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.
In the 1920s, Cardinal William O'Connell moved the chancery from offices near Holy Cross Cathedral in the South End to 127 Lake Street in Brighton. "Lake Street" became shorthand for the Bishop and the office of the Archdiocese.
At the beginning of the 21st century the archdiocese was shaken by accusations of sexual abuse by clergy that culminated in the resignation of its archbishop, Cardinal Bernard Francis Law, on December 13, 2002. In September 2003, the Archdiocese settled over 500 abuse-related claims for $85 million.
In June 2004, the archbishop's residence and the chancery in Brighton and surrounding lands were sold to Boston College, in part to defray costs associated with abuse cases. The offices of the Archdiocese were moved to Braintree, Massachusetts. The diocesan seminary, Saint John's Seminary, remains on the property in Brighton.
Communications media
The diocesan newspaper The Pilot has been published in Boston since 1829.
The Archdiocese's Catholic Television Center, founded in 1955, produces programs and operates the cable television network CatholicTV. From 1964 to 1966, it owned and operated a broadcast television station under the call letters WIHS-TV.
Ecclesiastical province
The Archdiocese of Boston is also metropolitan see for the Ecclesiastical province of Boston. This means that the archbishop of Boston is the metropolitan for the province. The suffragan dioceses in the province are the Diocese of Burlington, Diocese of Fall River, Diocese of Manchester, Diocese of Portland, Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts, and the Diocese of Worcester.
Pastoral regions
The Archdiocese of Boston is divided into five pastoral regions, each headed by an episcopal vicar.
Bishops
The following are lists of the Bishops and Archbishops of Boston, Auxiliaries of Boston, and their years of service. Also included are other priests of this diocese who served elsewhere as bishop.
† = deceased
Bishops of Boston
- † Jean-Louis Lefebvre de Cheverus (1808–1823) appointed Bishop of Montauban (France); created Cardinal in 1836; died in 1836.
- † Benedict Joseph Fenwick, S.J. (1825–1846) died
- † John Bernard Fitzpatrick (1846–1866) died
Archbishops of Boston
- † John Joseph Williams (1866–1907), elevated to Archbishop when Boston became archdiocese in 1875; died
- † Cardinal William Henry O'Connell (1907–1944) died
- † Cardinal Richard James Cushing (1944–1970) retired on September 8, 1970; died on November 2, 1970.
- † Cardinal Humberto Sousa Medeiros (1970–1983) died
- Cardinal Bernard Francis Law (1984–2002) resigned; appointed Archpriest of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in 2004; retired on November 21, 2011.
- Cardinal Seán Patrick O'Malley, O.F.M.Cap. (2003–present)
Auxiliary Bishops
Other bishops who once were priests in the diocese
Seminaries
Education
As of 2016, the diocese has 116 schools with about 38,000 students in pre-kindergarten through high school.
In 1993 the archdiocese had 53,569 students in 195 archdiocesean parochial schools. Boston had the largest number of parochial schools: 48 schools with a combined total of about 16,000 students.