The Archdiocese of Boston ( la, Archidiœcesis Bostoniensis) is a

Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Jo ...

ecclesiastical territory or

archdiocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

located in the

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian province ...

region of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. Its territorial remit encompasses the whole of Essex County, Middlesex County, Norfolk County, and Suffolk County, and also all of Plymouth County except the towns of Marion,

Mattapoisett Mattapoisett is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,508 at the 2020 census. For geographic and demographic information on the village of Mattapoisett Center, please see the article Mattapoisett Center, Ma ...

, and Wareham in the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with " republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from th ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. It is led by a

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

archbishop who serves as

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

of the

mother church Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral or a metr ...

, Cathedral of the Holy Cross in the South End of Boston. The Archdiocese of Boston is a

metropolitan see Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

with six suffragan dioceses: the Dioceses of Burlington,

Fall River Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state. Located along the eastern shore of Mount H ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

, Portland in Maine, Springfield in Massachusetts, and Worcester. As of 2018, there are 284

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

es in the archdiocese, 617 diocesan priests, and 275

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

s. In 2018, the archdiocese estimated that more than 1.9 million Catholics were in its territory.

History

Early history

New England's first settlers were Congregationalists and, in Rhode Island, Baptists who were disappointed that Protestant reforms in the Church of England did not go far enough. These dissenters followed Luther and Calvin in rejecting the selling of indulgences, the celebration of Mass in Latin, the doctrine of

transubstantiation Transubstantiation (Latin: ''transubstantiatio''; Greek: μετουσίωσις '' metousiosis'') is, according to the teaching of the Catholic Church, "the change of the whole substance of bread into the substance of the Body of Christ and of ...

, and papal authority. Several of the colonies thus enacted anti-Catholic statutes, banning Catholic worship and Massachusetts even made it a crime, with a potential sentence of imprisonment for life, for a Catholic priest to reside the colony."Freedom of Religion comes to Boston" on Web Site of Archdiocese of Boston.
/ref> The political necessity of the Revolutionary War drove a change in popular attitudes. The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, written by John Adams and ratified in 1780, established religious freedom in the new state—and, being the first state constitution, its framework of government became a model for the constitutions of other states and, eventually, for the federal constitution. On November 2, 1788, the Abbé de la Poterie, a former French naval chaplain serving Boston, celebrated the city's first public Mass in a converted Huguenot chapel located at 24 School Street in Boston, which he named Holy Cross Church. Two refugees from the French Revolution ministering to Boston's Catholic population at the turn of the century, Fr. Francis Anthony Matignon and Fr. Jean Louis Lefebvre, raised the funds to build a larger building, the Church of the Holy Cross. These buildings no longer exist, but they were the foundation of the Catholic Church in Massachusetts.

Formation

Pope Pius VII Pope Pius VII ( it, Pio VII; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. Chiaramonti was also a ...

erected the Diocese of Boston April 8, 1808, taking the territory of the states of

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

(the territory of which included the present state of

Maine Maine () is a U.S. state, state in the New England and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and territories of Canad ...

at that time),

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but i ...

, and

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the ...

from the Diocese of Baltimore. He simultaneously erected the Diocese of New York, the

Diocese of Philadelphia The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Philadelphia is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in southeastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. It covers the City and County of Philadelphia as w ...

, and the Diocese of Bardstown (Kentucky), also taking their territory from the Diocese of Baltimore, and elevated the Diocese of Baltimore to a

metropolitan archdiocese A metropolis religious jurisdiction, or a metropolitan archdiocese, is an episcopal see whose bishop is the metropolitan bishop or archbishop of an ecclesiastical province. Metropolises, historically, have been important cities in their provinces ...

, designating all four new dioceses as its suffragans.

Exponential growth Exponential growth is a process that increases quantity over time. It occurs when the instantaneous rate of change (that is, the derivative) of a quantity with respect to time is proportional to the quantity itself. Described as a function, a ...

of the Catholic Church in New England through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries led to gradual reconfiguration of the ecclesiastical structure of the original territory of the Diocese of Boston. * On 20 November 1843,

Pope Gregory XVI Pope Gregory XVI ( la, Gregorius XVI; it, Gregorio XVI; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in 1 June 1846. He h ...

erected the

Diocese of Hartford The Archdiocese of Hartford is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford, Litchfield County, Connecticut, Litchfield and New Haven County, Connecticut, New Haven counti ...

, taking the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island and Barnstable County,

Bristol County Bristol County may refer to: Places * Bristol County, Massachusetts Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the no ...

, Dukes County, Nantucket County and the towns of Marion,

, and Wareham along the south coast of Plymouth County of Massachusetts from the Diocese of Boston and making it a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Baltimore.Page on Archdiocese of Boston on ''Catholic Hierarchy'' web site.
/ref> * On 19 July 1850, Pope Pius IX elevated the Diocese of New York to a metropolitan archdiocese, assigning the Diocese of Boston, the Diocese of Hartford, the Diocese of Albany, and the Diocese of Buffalo as its initial suffragan sees. * On 29 July 1853, Pope Pius IX erected the Diocese of Burlington, taking the State of Vermont from the Diocese of Boston, and the Diocese of Portland, taking the states of Maine and New Hampshire from the Diocese of Boston. He designated both new dioceses as suffragans of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of New York. (The title of the Diocese of Portland formally became Diocese of Portland in Maine when

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fr ...

transferred the see of the

Archdiocese of Oregon City The Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon (''Archidioecesis Portlandensis in Oregonia'') is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It encompasses the western part of the state of Oregon, from the s ...

to Portland, Oregon, thus changing the title of the latter to Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon, on 26 September 1928.) * On 14 June 1870, Pope Pius IX erected the Diocese of Springfield, taking

Berkshire County Berkshire County (pronounced ) is a county on the western edge of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of the 2020 census, the population was 129,026. Its largest city and traditional county seat is Pittsfield. The county was founded i ...

, Franklin County, Hampden County, Hampshire County, and Worcester County from the Diocese of Boston and making it a suffragan of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of New York. This action reduced the territory of the Diocese of Boston to that of the present metropolitan archdiocese. (The title of the Diocese of Springfield formally became Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts when

moved the see of the Diocese of Alton to Springfield, Illinois, thus changing the title of the latter to Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, on 26 October 1923.) * On 16 February 1872, Pope Pius IX erected the

Diocese of Providence The Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence ( la, Dioecesis Providentiensis) is a diocese of the Catholic Church in the United States. The diocese was erected by Pope Pius IX on February 17, 1872 and originally comprised the entire state of Rhode ...

, taking the State of Rhode Island and the region of southeastern Massachusetts had been part of the Diocese of Hartford from the latter and making it a suffragan of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of New York. * On 12 February 1875, Pope Pius IX elevated the Diocese of Boston to a metropolitan archdiocese, designating the Diocese of Burlington, the Diocese of Hartford, the Diocese of Portland, the Diocese of Providence, and the Diocese of Springfield as the initial suffragans of the new metropolitan see. The new metropolitan province thus encompassed the original territory of the Diocese of Boston. * On 15 April 1884,

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

erected the Diocese of Manchester, taking the State of New Hampshire from the Diocese of Portland and making it a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Boston. * On 12 March 1904,

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X ( it, Pio X; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of ...

erected the

Diocese of Fall River The Diocese of Fall River ( la, Dioecesis Riverormensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church spanning Barnstable County, Bristol County, Dukes County, Nantucket County, and the towns of Marion, Matta ...

, taking the region of southeastern Massachusetts that were then part of the Diocese of Providence from that diocese and making it a suffragan of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Boston. * On 14 January 1950, Pope Pius XII erected the Diocese of Worcester, taking Worcester County from the Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts and making it a suffragan of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Boston. * On 6 August 1953, Pope Pius XII erected the

Diocese of Bridgeport The Diocese of Bridgeport is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church located in the southwestern part of the state of Connecticut, and its boundaries are the same as that of Fairfield County, Connecticut. Ther ...

and the Diocese of Norwich, taking the respective territory thereof from the Diocese of Hartford. He simultaneously elevated the Diocese of Hartford to a metropolitan archdiocese, designating the Diocese of Bridgeport, the Diocese of Norwich, and the Diocese of Providence as its suffragans. This action established the present territory and configuration of both the Metropolitan Province of Boston, spanning the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts, and the Metropolitan Province of Hartford, spanning the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island.

Diocesan offices

In the 1920s, Cardinal William O'Connell moved the

chancery Chancery may refer to: Offices and administration * Chancery (diplomacy), the principal office that houses a diplomatic mission or an embassy * Chancery (medieval office), responsible for the production of official documents * Chancery (Scotlan ...

from offices near Holy Cross Cathedral in the South End to 127 Lake Street in the Brighton neighborhood of Boston.Changes come to Lake Street
''The Boston Globe'', May 24, 2007 "Lake Street" was a

metonym Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something closely associated with that thing or concept. Etymology The words ''metonymy'' and ''metonym'' come from grc, μετωνυμία, 'a change of name' ...

for the Bishop and the office of the Archdiocese. In June 2004, the archdiocese sold the archbishop's residence and the

and surrounding lands in Brighton to

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifi ...

, in part to defray costs associated with numerous cases of sexual abuse by clergy of the Archdiocese (see below). The offices of the Archdiocese moved to an office building that previously housed the Internet-only stock brokerage E*Trade in

Braintree, Massachusetts Braintree (), officially the Town of Braintree, is a municipality in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Although officially known as a towBraintree is a city, with a mayor-council government, mayor-council form of government, and i ...

. The archdiocesan seminary, Saint John's Seminary, remains on the property in Brighton.

Clergy sexual abuse scandal and settlements

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. Victims received an average of $92,000 each and the perpetrators included 140 priests and two others.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of the Archdiocese, shown in the information box to the right at the top of this article, has a blue shield with a gold cross and a gold "trimount" over a silver and blue "Barry-wavy" at the base of the shield. The "trimount" of three ''coupreaux'' represents the City of Boston, the original name of which was Trimountaine in reference to the three hills on which the city's original settlement stood. The cross, ''fleurettée'', honors the Cathedral of the Holy Cross while also serving as a reminder that the first bishop of Boston and other early ecclesiastics were natives of France. The "Barry-wavy" is a symbol of the sea, alluding to Boston's role as a major seaport whose first non-indigenous settlers came from across the sea.

Communications media

The diocesan newspaper ''

The Pilot A pilot is a person who flies or navigates an aircraft. Pilot or The Pilot may also refer to: * Maritime pilot, a person who guides ships through hazardous waters * Television pilot, a television episode used to sell a series to a television n ...

'' 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 The CatholicTV Network, commonly known as CatholicTV, is a Catholic television network based in Watertown, Massachusetts. CatholicTV first launched locally in Boston in 1955, making it the oldest Catholic television network in the United States. ...

. From 1964 to 1966, it owned and operated a broadcast television station under the call letters

WIHS-TV WSBK-TV (channel 38) is an independent television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is owned by the CBS News and Stations group alongside CBS owned-and-operated station WBZ-TV (channel 4). Both stations share studios on So ...

Ecclesiastical province

The Archdiocese of Boston is also metropolitan see for the

Ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of sev ...

of Boston. This means that the archbishop of Boston is the

metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

for the province. The suffragan dioceses in the province are the Diocese of Burlington,

, 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 Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

Bishops

The following are lists of the

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

s and Archbishops of Boston, Coadjutors and Auxiliaries of Boston, and their years of service. Also included are other priests of this diocese who served elsewhere as bishop.

Bishops of Boston

# Jean-Louis Lefebvre de Cheverus (1808–1823) appointed Bishop of Montauban and later Archbishop of Bordeaux (elevated to Cardinal in 1836) # Benedict Joseph Fenwick, S.J. (1825–1846) # John Bernard Fitzpatrick (1846–1866;

coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "c ...

1843–1846) # John Joseph Williams (1866–1875; coadjutor bishop 1866); elevated to Archbishop

Archbishops of Boston

# John Joseph Williams (1875–1907) # Cardinal William Henry O'Connell (1907–1944) # Cardinal

Richard James Cushing Richard James Cushing (August 24, 1895 – November 2, 1970) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Boston from 1944 to 1970 and was made a cardinal in 1958. Cushing's main role was as fundraiser and builder ...

(1944–1970) # Cardinal Humberto Sousa Medeiros (1970–1983) # Cardinal Bernard Francis Law (1984–2002), resigned; later appointed Archpriest of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore # Cardinal

Seán Patrick O'Malley Seán Patrick O'Malley (born June 29, 1944) is an American cardinal of the Catholic Church serving as the archbishop of Boston. He is a member of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin and was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 2006. Since ...

, O.F.M.Cap. (2003–present)

Current Auxiliary Bishops of Boston

* Robert Francis Hennessey (2006–present) * Peter John Uglietto (2010–present) * Mark William O'Connell (2016–present) * Robert P. Reed (2016–present)

Former Auxiliary Bishops of Boston

* John Brady (1891–1910) * Joseph Gaudentius Anderson (1909–1927) *

John Bertram Peterson John Bertram Peterson (July 15, 1871 – March 15, 1944) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Manchester in New Hampshire from 1932 until his death in 1944. He previously served as an a ...

(1927–1932), appointed Bishop of Manchester *

Francis Spellman Francis Joseph Spellman (May 4, 1889 – December 2, 1967) was an American bishop and cardinal of the Catholic Church. From 1939 until his death in 1967, he served as the sixth Archbishop of New York; he had previously served as an auxiliar ...

(1932–1939), appointed Archbishop of New York ( Cardinal in 1946) * Richard J. Cushing (1939–1944), appointed Archbishop here (Cardinal in 1958) * Louis Francis Kelleher (1945–1946) * John Wright (1947–1950), appointed Bishop of Worcester, then Bishop of Pittsburgh, then

Prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

of the Congregation for the Clergy (elevated to Cardinal in 1969) *

Thomas Francis Markham Thomas Francis Markham (March 22, 1891 – June 9, 1952) was a Roman Catholic bishop. Born in Lowell, Massachusetts, Markham was ordained to the priesthood on June 2, 1917, for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. Markham was appointed ti ...

(1950–1952) * Eric Francis MacKenzie (1950–1969) * Jeremiah Francis Minihan (1954–1973) * Thomas Joseph Riley (1959–1976) *

Daniel A. Cronin Daniel Anthony Cronin (born November 14, 1927) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Fall River in Massachusetts from 1970 to 1992, and as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Hartford in Connect ...

(1968–1970), appointed Bishop of Fall River and later

Archbishop of Hartford In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdioc ...

* Joseph Francis Maguire (1971–1976), appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Springfield in Massachusetts and subsequently succeeded to that see * Lawrence Joseph Riley (1971–1990) * Joseph John Ruocco (1974–1980) *

Thomas Vose Daily Thomas Vose Daily (September 23, 1927 – May 14, 2017) was an American prelate of the Latin Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Church who served as Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, Diocese of Brookl ...

(1974–1984), appointed Bishop of Palm Beach and later Bishop of Brooklyn * John Joseph Mulcahy (1974–1992) * John Michael D'Arcy (1975–1985), appointed Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend * Daniel Anthony Hart (1976–1995), appointed Bishop of Norwich * Alfred C. Hughes (1981–1993), appointed Bishop of Baton Rouge and later Archbishop of New Orleans * Robert J. Banks (1985–1990), appointed Bishop of Green Bay *

Roberto Octavio González Nieves The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, h ...

, O.F.M. (1988–1995), appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Corpus Christi and subsequently succeeded to that see, and later Archbishop of San Juan in Puerto Rico * John R. McNamara (1992–1999) * John P. Boles (1992–2006) *

John Brendan McCormack John Brendan McCormack (August 12, 1935 – September 21, 2021) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the ninth bishop of the Diocese of Manchester from 1998 until 2011. Biography Early life and education John ...

(1995–1998), appointed Bishop of Manchester * William F. Murphy (1995–2001), appointed

Bishop of Rockville Centre The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre ( la, Dioecesis Petropolitana in Insula Longa) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church that comprises the territory of Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island ...

Francis Xavier Irwin Francis Xavier Irwin (January 9, 1934 – October 30, 2019) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as an Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston from 1996 to 2009. Biography Irwin was born in Medford, Massachu ...

(1996–2009) *

Emilio S. Allué Emilio may refer to: * Emilio Navaira, a Mexican-American singer often called "Emilio" * Emilio Piazza Memorial School, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State * Emilio (given name) * ''Emilio'' (film), a 2008 film by Kim Jorgensen See also * Emílio (dis ...

, S.D.B. (1996–2010) * Richard Joseph Malone (2000–2004), appointed Bishop of Portland and later Bishop of Buffalo * Richard Lennon (2001–2006), appointed

Bishop of Cleveland The Diocese of Cleveland ( la, Dioecesis Clevelandensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. Pope Pius IX erected the diocese April 23, 1847, in ter ...

Walter James Edyvean Walter James Edyvean (October 18, 1938 – February 2, 2019) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston who served from 2001 to 2014. Early life and career Bishop Edyvean w ...

(2001–2014) *

John Anthony Dooher John Anthony Dooher (born May 3, 1943) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston in Massachusetts from 2006 to 2018. Biography Early life and education John Dooher was b ...

(2006–2018) * Arthur L. Kennedy (2010–2017) * Robert P. Deeley (2012–2013), appointed Bishop of Portland

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

* William Barber Tyler, appointed Bishop of Hartford in 1843 * Patrick Thomas O'Reilly, appointed Bishop of Springfield in Massachusetts in 1870 *

James Augustine Healy James Augustine Healy (April 6, 1830 – August 5, 1900) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the first African American to serve as a Catholic priest or bishop. With his predominantly European ancestry, Healy passed for ...

, appointed Bishop of Portland in 1875 * Lawrence Stephen McMahon (priest here, 1860–1872), appointed Bishop of Hartford in 1879 * Matthew Harkins, appointed

Bishop of Providence A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop i ...

in 1887 *

Edward Patrick Allen Edward Patrick Allen (March 17, 1853 – October 21, 1926) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Bishop of Mobile from 1897 until his death in 1926. Biography Edward Allen was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, to J ...

, appointed Bishop of Mobile in 1897 * Louis Sebastian Walsh, appointed Bishop of Portland in 1906 * John Joseph Nilan, appointed Bishop of Hartford in 1910 *

James Anthony Walsh James Anthony Walsh (February 24, 1867 – April 14, 1936) was the co-founder of Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers. Background The son of James Walsh and Hanna Shea, James Anthony was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. After completing hi ...

, elected Superior General of

Maryknoll Maryknoll is a name shared by a number of related Catholic organizations, including the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers (also known as the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America or the Maryknoll Society), the Maryknoll Sisters, and the Mary ...

and consecrated

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox a ...

in 1933 * Edward Francis Ryan, appointed Bishop of Burlington in 1944 *

John Joseph Glynn John Joseph Glynn (August 6, 1926 – August 23, 2004) was a Catholic American bishop who served the Archdiocese for the Military Services. Biography Born in Boston, Massachusetts, he was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Boston on Ap ...

, appointed Auxiliary Bishop for the Military Services, USA in 1991 * Richard Joseph Malone, appointed Bishop of Portland in 2002 and later Bishop of Buffalo in 2012 * Christopher J. Coyne, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Indianapolis in 2011 and later Bishop of Burlington *

Paul Fitzpatrick Russell Paul Fitzpatrick Russell (born May 2, 1959) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church who was appointed auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit in May 2022. He was previously the Apostolic Nuncio to Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Az ...

, appointed

Apostolic Nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international org ...

to Turkey and Turkmenistan and

Titular Archbishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In ...

in 2016

Churches

Seminaries

Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary (formerly Blessed John XXIII National Seminary) is a Roman Catholic seminary in Weston, Massachusetts. It offers a graduate-level program designed for priesthood candidates aged 30 and above, often called "se ...

, Weston * St. John's Seminary, Brighton * Redemptoris Mater Archdiocesan Missionary Seminary, Brookline

Education

As of 2018, the archdiocese had 112 schools with about 34,000 students in pre-kindergarten through high school. In 1993 the archdiocese had 53,569 students in 195 archdiocesan parochial schools.

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

had the largest number of parochial schools: 48 schools with a combined total of about 16,000 students.

Superintendents

* Msgr. Albert W. Low (1961–1972) * Br. Bartholomew Varden, CFX (1972–1975) * Eugene F. Sullivan (1978–1984) * Sr. Kathleen Carr, CSJ (1990–2006) * Mary Grassa O'Neill (2008–2014) * Mary E. Moran (2013–2014) * Kathleen Powers Mears (2014–2019) *Thomas W. Carroll (2019–present)

Colleges and universities

, Chestnut Hill *

Emmanuel College, Boston Emmanuel College is a private Roman Catholic college in Boston, Massachusetts. The college was founded by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur as the first women's Catholic college in New England in 1919. In 2001, the college officially beca ...

* Marian Court College, Swampscott * Merrimack College, North Andover * Regis College, Weston

Primary and secondary schools

; Former high schools

Other facilities

The archdiocese previously used a headquarters facility in Brighton but sold it to

in 2004 for $107,400,000.

Steward Health Care System Steward Health Care is the largest physician-owned private for-profit health care network in the United States and attends to 2.2 million people during more than twelve million physician and hospital visits annually. Headquartered in Dallas, Stewa ...

operates the former archdiocesan hospitals of Caritas Christi Health Care.

References

External links

* **
Catholic Hierarchy Profile of the Archdiocese of Boston''Boston Globe'' / Spotlight / Abuse in the Catholic ChurchBoston Catholic Insider (critical blog)Boston Catholic Schools
{{Coord, 42, 12, 47, N, 71, 02, 29, W, type:city_source:kolossus-plwiki, display=title Culture of Boston Catholic Church in Massachusetts

1808 establishments in Massachusetts Christianity in Boston