The Diocese of Worcester 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 ...

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 provinces ...

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

. The geographic boundaries of the diocese are the same as those of

Worcester County, Massachusetts Worcester County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 862,111, making it the second-most populous county in Massachusetts while also b ...

, the geographically largest county of the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

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 headed 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 ...

who has his

see See or SEE may refer to: * Sight - seeing Arts, entertainment, and media * Music: ** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals *** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See'' ** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho * Television * ...

at the Cathedral of Saint Paul in the city of

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

. The fifth and current bishop is

Robert Joseph McManus Robert Joseph McManus (born July 5, 1951) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been bishop of the Diocese of Worcester in Massachusetts since 2004. He was an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Providence in Rhode Island ...

. The Diocese of Worcester is a

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 Boston.

History

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

erected the Diocese of Worcester on 7 March 1950, taking its present territory, that of Worcester County, from the

Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts The Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts ( la, Diœcesis Campifontis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the New England region of the United States comprising the counties of Berkshire, Franklin, ...

and making it a suffragan of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Boston. He designated the Church of St. Paul as the cathedral of the new diocese. On June 3, 2017, in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the apparitions at Fatima, Bishop McManus consecrated the diocese to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Sexual abuse

On August 31, 1997, a letter which former Worcester Bishop Bernard J. Flanagan sent to the Rev. Jerome Hayden, a Catholic therapist in Holliston, Massachusetts, in 1968 was made public. In his letter, Flanagan stated that Fr. David A. Holley "has been ... ccused ofmolesting teenage boys on at least two occasions—most recently in a hospital from which he has been barred—and with carrying around and showing to these boys pornographic magazines and books. Although the ... ccusationswere established beyond any doubt in the judgment of the priests who assisted me in the investigation as well as myself, Father has denied any wrongdoing." More letters which were obtained by the ''Dallas Morning News'' revealed that Holley was transferred to the Seton Institute in Baltimore in 1970 after more accusations against him surfaced. In May 2020, it was revealed that the Diocese of Worcester was named in a lawsuit involving a plaintiff whom Holley allegedly abused in the 1970s. The lawsuit, which also named the Dioceses where Holley was transferred to as defendants, faulted the Diocese of Worcester with the "most of the blame." Holley was later convicted of sexual abuse in New Mexico in 1993 and given a prison sentence of 55 to 275 years.

Bishops

Bishops of Worcester

John Joseph Wright John Joseph Wright (July 18, 1909 – August 10, 1979) was an American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy from 1969 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1969. Bio ...

(1950-1959), appointed Bishop of Pittsburgh and later

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 The Dicastery for the Clergy, formerly named Congregation for the Clergy (; formerly the Sacred Congregation for the Clergy and Sacred Congregation of the Council), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia responsible for overseeing matters regardi ...

(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 1969) #

Bernard Joseph Flanagan Bernard Joseph Flanagan (March 31, 1908 – January 28, 1998) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Norwich in Connecticut (1953–1959) and as bishop of the Diocese of Worcester in Massac ...

(1959-1983) #

Timothy Joseph Harrington Timothy Joseph Harrington (December 19, 1918 – March 23, 1997) was an American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Worcester in Massachusetts from 1983 to 1994. He previously served as an auxili ...

(1983-1994) # Daniel Patrick Reilly (1994-2004) #

(2004–present)

Auxiliary bishops

(1968-1983), appointed Bishop of Worcester * George Edward Rueger (1988-2005)

Other bishops who had been priests of the Diocese of Worcester

* Michael Wallace Banach, 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 ...

and

Titular Archbishop 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 an ...

in 2013

Organization of parishes

In 2004, Bishop Reilly grouped parishes into "clusters". The purpose of this system is to allow communities to come together for regional events. Also, priests may substitute for one another at a particular parish.

High schools

* St Paul Diocesan Junior/Senior High School, Worcester *

Immaculate Heart of Mary The Immaculate Heart of Mary () is a Roman Catholic devotional name used to refer to the Catholic view of the interior life of Mary, mother of Jesus, her joys and sorrows, her virtues and hidden perfections, and, above all, her virginal love ...

*, Harvard * Notre Dame Academy, Worcester * Notre Dame Preparatory School, Fitchburg * St. Bernard's High School, Fitchburg * St. John's High School, Shrewsbury * St. Mary's Central Catholic High School, Worcester * Trivium School*, Lancaster : * Operates independent of the Diocese

Closed

* Magnificat Academy, Warren *

Saint Peter-Marian High School Saint Peter-Marian Central Catholic Junior-Senior High School, was a private, coeducational Catholic junior high and senior high school in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. The school was more commonly referred to as St. Peter-Marian, or in ...

, Worcester *

Holy Name Central Catholic High School St. Paul Diocesan Junior-Senior High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States, associated with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester. It was established on the site of Holy Name Central Catholic J ...

, Worcester

Administrators

, Bishop *Daniel P. Reilly, Bishop Emeritus *Richard F. Reidy, Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia *F. Stephen Pedone, Judicial Vicar *Paul T. O'Connell, Associate Judicial Vicar *Raymond L. Delisle, Chancellor of Operations *James Mazzone, Director of Priest Personnel *Paula Kelleher, Vicar for Religious *James P. Moroney, Diocesan Office of Liturgy *Donato Infante III, Director of Vocations

References

External links

*
Catholic Hierarchy Profile of the Diocese of Worcester
*2012-2013 Worcester Diocesan Directory {{Authority control Catholic Church in Massachusetts

1950 establishments in Massachusetts Religion in Worcester County, Massachusetts