The Diocese of Saint Thomas in the Virgin Islands ( la, Diœcesis Sancti Thomae in Insulis Virgineis) 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 Joh ...

ecclesiastical territory or

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, 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 Roman province, pro ...

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 ...

on the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

, comprising 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 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

overseas dependency of the U.S. Virgin Islands, specifically the islands Saint Thomas,

Saint Croix Saint Croix; nl, Sint-Kruis; french: link=no, Sainte-Croix; Danish and no, Sankt Croix, Taino: ''Ay Ay'' ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincorpo ...

and Saint John. The Diocese of Saint Thomas is the sole

suffragan diocese A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria ...

in the

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United State ...

of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Washington. Bishops of Saint Thomas are members of the

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic Conference (US ...

and also hold

observer status Observer status is a privilege granted by some organizations to non-members to give them an ability to participate in the organization's activities. Observer status is often granted by intergovernmental organizations (IGO) to non-member parties and ...

with the Antilles Episcopal Conference.

History

The Diocese of Saint Thomas was erected as the

Territorial Prelature A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or an ...

of the Virgin Islands on April 30, 1960. Its name was changed and was elevated to a diocese on April 20, 1977. It is the only

suffragan see A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, ...

of the Archdiocese of Washington. The diocese is governed from Charlotte Amalie on the island of Saint Thomas by a

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 ca ...

whose episcopal seat is the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul. The current bishop is Jerome Feudjio, since March 2, 2021.

Bishops

The list of bishops of the diocese and their years of service:

Apostolic Prefect of the Virgin Islands

Edward John Harper Edward John Harper (July 23, 1910 — December 2, 1990) was an American member of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (more commonly known as the Redemptorists) and a prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the first Bishop of S ...

(1960–1977)

Bishops of Saint Thomas

# Edward John Harper (1977–1985) #

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 its ...

(1985–1992), appointed Bishop of Fall River and later Bishop of Palm Beach,

Archbishop of Boston The Archdiocese of Boston ( la, Archidiœcesis Bostoniensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the New England region of the United States. Its territorial remit encompasses the whole of ...

, and President of the

Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors ( it, Pontificia Commissione per la Tutela dei Minori) is a pontifical commission within the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church instituted by Pope Francis on 22 March 2014 as an advisory age ...

(elevated to

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

in 2006) # Elliot Griffin Thomas (1993–1999) #

George Murry George Vance Murry, S.J. (December 28, 1948June 5, 2020) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church and member of the Society of Jesus. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Youngstown from 2007 to 2020. Murry previously served as an ...

(1999–2007), appointed Bishop of Youngstown #

Herbert Bevard Herbert Armstrong Bevard (born February 24, 1946) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the bishop of the Diocese of Saint Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands,. Also call ...

(2008–2020) # Jerome Feudjio (2021–present)

Coadjutor Bishops

* Seán Patrick O'Malley (1984–1985) * George Murry (1998–1999)

Other priest of this diocese who became bishop

Adalberto Martínez Flores Adalberto Martínez Flores (born 8 July 1951) is a Paraguayan prelate of the Catholic Church who was named as the Archbishop of Asunción in 2022. He has been a bishop since 1997. Flores was created a cardinal by Pope Francis at a consistory o ...

(priest here, 1985-1993), appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Asunción, Paraguay in 1997

High schools

* St. Joseph High School, Frederiksted, St. Croix * Sts. Peter & Paul School, St. Thomas

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Thomas Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Thomas Roman Catholic dioceses in the Caribbean Roman Catholic dioceses in the United States Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Washington

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century 1960 establishments in the United States Virgin Islands