The Archdiocese of St. John's, Newfoundland ( la, Archidioecesis Sancti Ioannis Terrae Novae) 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 archdiocese 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 St. John's,

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic Canada, Atlantic region. The province comprises t ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It is the metropolitan of an

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 seve ...

with two suffragan dioceses: Grand Falls, and Corner Brook and Labrador. The current archbishop is Peter Hundt. The Archdiocese of St. John's is the oldest Roman Catholic ecclesiastical jurisdiction in English-speaking North America. The Basilica of St. John the Baptist is the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

of the archdiocese. The building sits within the

St. John's Ecclesiastical District St. John's Ecclesiastical District is a formally-recognized heritage precinct, located in the central part of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. It is composed of separate nodes containing buildings and spaces associated with the Roman Cathol ...

, a National Historic District of Canada.

History

The future Archdiocese of St. John's was established 30 May 1784 as Catholics in Newfoundland gradually gained religious liberty, made explicit by a public declaration by Governor John Campbell. After a request from Irish merchants in St. John's to Bishop William Egan,

Bishop of Waterford and Lismore The Bishop of Waterford and Lismore is an episcopal title which takes its name after the city of Waterford and town of Lismore in Ireland. The title was used by the Church of Ireland until 1838, and is still used by the Roman Catholic Church. Hi ...

, James Louis O'Donel was appointed Prefect Apostolic of Newfoundland, as a pre-diocesan jurisdiction entitled to a titular bishop and exempt, ''i.e.'', directly subject to the Holy See, not part of any ecclesiastical province. In addition to O'Donel's personal popularity, one of his qualifications for the position was an ability to preach in

Newfoundland Irish The Irish language was once widely spoken on the island of Newfoundland before largely disappearing there by the early 20th century.

. It was promoted to a Vicariate Apostolic on 5 January 1796 and on 4 June 1847 was elevated to diocese. In 1904, St. John's was elevated to an archdiocese and presently contains 40 parishes, 39 active diocesan priests, 33 religious priests, and 120,135 Catholics. It also has 220 Women Religious, and 42 Religious Brothers. In July 2021, the Archdiocese of St. John's announced plans to sell off assets in order to compensate victims of the Mount Cashel sex abuse scandal.

Sex abuse scandals

For decades, the Archdiocese of St. John's has been tied to sex abuse scandals. In July 2020, Rev. Peter Power, who was originally from the

Archdiocese of Toronto The Archdiocese of Toronto ( la, Archidioecesis Torontina) is a Roman Catholic archdiocese that includes part of the Province of Ontario. Its archbishop is also the ecclesiastical provincial for the dioceses of Hamilton, London, Saint Catharines ...

, was charged with charges of sexual touching, sexual assault and committing an indecent act involving two teenaged boys, aged 18 and 16 years old at a residence in a small Newfoundland community earlier in the year. Though officially retired, Power was still occasionally active in Catholic ministry when he relocated to Newfoundland. The same month, the

Court of Appeal of Newfoundland and Labrador The Court of Appeal of Newfoundland and Labrador is at the top of the hierarchy of courts for the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Court of Appeal derives its powers and jurisdiction from the Court of Appeal Act. The independe ...

unanimously reversed a 2018 Canadian Supreme ruling and ruled that the Archdiocese of St. John's was liable for the sexual abuse committed at the

Mount Cashel Orphanage The Mount Cashel Orphanage, known locally as the Mount Cashel Boys' Home, was a boys' orphanage located in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The orphanage was operated by the Congregation of Christian Brothers, and became infamous for ...

in the 1950s and 1960s.

Bishops

Prefecture Apostolic of Newfoundland

Vicariate Apostolic of Newfoundland

Diocese of Newfoundland

Diocese of St. John's, Newfoundland

Archdiocese of St. John's, Newfoundland

Coadjutor bishops

* Patrick Lambert, O.F.M. Ref. (1805-1807) as Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic *

Thomas Scallan Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

, O.F.M. Ref.(1815-1816) as Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic *

Michael Anthony Fleming Michael Anthony Fleming, O.S.F. ( – July 14, 1850) was an Irish-born Friar Minor who served as the Roman Catholic Church bishop of the Diocese of St. John's, Newfoundland. He was principally responsible for changing a small mission wi ...

, O.F.M. Ref. (1829-1830) as Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic * John Thomas Mullock, O.F.M. Ref. (1847-1850) * Thomas John Flynn (1945-1949), did not succeed to the see

Auxiliary bishop

* Thomas Francis Brennan (1893-1905) * Patrick James Skinner, C.I.M. (1950-1951), appointed Archbishop here

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

* Michael Fintan Power, appointed Bishop of Saint George's, Newfoundland in 1911 * Henry Thomas Renouf, appointed Bishop of Saint George's, Newfoundland in 1920 * Raymond John Lahey, appointed Bishop of Saint George's, Newfoundland in 1986

Bibliography

Archdiocese of St. John's, Newfoundland page at catholichierarchy.org
retrieved July 14, 2006

retrieved November 30, 2007

References

External links

*
Basilica Heritage Foundation website
Culture of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador {{Newfoundland-stub