The Roman Catholic Diocese of Antigonish ( la, Dioecesis Antigonicensis) is a

Latin Rite Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, are Catholic rites of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church '' sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church, that originated in Europe where the Latin language once ...

diocese 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 associa ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

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 ...

. Its current diocesan ordinary is Wayne Joseph Kirkpatrick.

History

The Diocese was established on 22 September 1844, under the name of the Diocese of Arichat, on territory split off from the Diocese of Halifax. Its proto-cathedral (now Église Notre Dame de l’Assomption) was located on Cape Breton Island, in the port town of

Arichat Arichat is an unincorporated place in the Municipality of the County of Richmond, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the main village on Isle Madame on the southeastern tip of Cape Breton Island. Toponym The name derives from a Mi'kmaq word meaning c ...

. In both Scottish and

Canadian folklore Canadian folklore is the traditional material that Canadians pass down from generation to generation, either as oral literature or "by custom or practice". It includes songs, legends, jokes, rhymes, proverbs, weather lore, superstitions, and pract ...

, the first ordinary of the Diocese, Bishop William Fraser of

Strathglass Strathglass is a strath or wide and shallow valley in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland down which runs the meandering River Glass from the point at which it starts at the confluence of the River Affric and Abhainn Deabhag to the point where ...

, is a

folk hero A folk hero or national hero is a type of hero – real, fictional or mythological – with their name, personality and deeds embedded in the popular consciousness of a people, mentioned frequently in folk songs, folk tales and other folklore; a ...

. He is said to have been a man of enormous physical strength and to have been able to break steel horseshoes with his bare hands. On both sides of the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, many legends have been collected of the Bishop's exploits. On 23 August 1886, the diocese was renamed the Diocese of Antigonish, and its episcopal see moved to St. Ninian's Cathedral, on the Nova Scotia mainland in the town of

Antigonish , settlement_type = Town , image_skyline = File:St Ninian's Cathedral Antigonish Spring.jpg , image_caption = St. Ninian's Cathedral , image_flag = Flag of Antigonish.pn ...

. Prior to the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the highly influential

Antigonish Movement The Antigonish Movement blended adult education, co-operatives, microfinance and rural community development to help small, resource-based communities around Canada's Maritimes to improve their economic and social circumstances. A group of pr ...

, which combined adult education,

co-operatives A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

, microfinance and rural community development to help small, resource-based villages throughout the Maritimes to improve their economic and social circumstances, was largely founded and led by a small group of Diocesan

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

s: Father James Tompkins, Father

Moses Coady Moses Michael Coady (3 January 1882 – 28 July 1959) was a Roman Catholic priest, adult educator and co-operative entrepreneur best known for his instrumental role in the Antigonish Movement. Credited with introducing "an entirely new organizati ...

, and Fr. Hugh MacPherson. In 1946,

Scottish nationalist Scottish nationalism promotes the idea that the Scottish people form a cohesive nation and Scottish national identity, national identity. Scottish nationalism began to shape from 1853 with the National Association for the Vindication of Scottish ...

, folklorist, and

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researc ...

Scottish Gaelic literature Scottish Gaelic literature refers to literature composed in the Scottish Gaelic language and in the Gàidhealtachd communities where it is and has been spoken. Scottish Gaelic is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages, along with Iri ...

John Lorne Campbell Dr John Lorne Campbell FRSE LLD OBE ( gd, Iain Latharna Caimbeul) (1906–1996) was a Scottish historian, farmer, environmentalist and folklorist, and recognized scholar of Scottish Gaelic literature. Early life According to his biographer, R ...

was received into the

Roman 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 ...

inside St. Ninian's Cathedral in

Antigonish , settlement_type = Town , image_skyline = File:St Ninian's Cathedral Antigonish Spring.jpg , image_caption = St. Ninian's Cathedral , image_flag = Flag of Antigonish.pn ...

. Campbell, along with his American-born

musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some m ...

wife, Margaret Fay Shaw, had previously collected much folklore and traditional music from Diocesan Catholics in both Canadian Gaelic and the indigenous Mi'kmaq language, which was recorded onto

Ediphone Phonograph cylinders are the earliest commercial medium for recording and reproducing sound. Commonly known simply as "records" in their era of greatest popularity (c. 1896–1916), these hollow cylindrical objects have an audio recording engra ...

wax cylinders Phonograph cylinders are the earliest commercial medium for Sound recording and reproduction, recording and reproducing sound. Commonly known simply as "records" in their era of greatest popularity (c. 1896–1916), these hollow cylinder, cylind ...

2009–2010 apostolic administration

On August 7, 2009, Bishop Raymond Lahey announced that the

Diocese of Antigonish The Roman Catholic Diocese of Antigonish ( la, Dioecesis Antigonicensis) is a Latin Rite diocese in Nova Scotia, Canada. Its current diocesan ordinary is Wayne Joseph Kirkpatrick. History The Diocese was established on 22 September 1844, under ...

had reached a $15 million settlement in a

class action lawsuit A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class actio ...

filed by 125 victims of

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assa ...

by Hugh Vincent MacDonald and other diocese priests dating from 1950 to 2009. On September 26, 2009

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

accepted the resignation of Bishop Raymond Lahey, one day after a warrant was issued for his arrest by the

Ottawa Police Service The Ottawa Police Service (OPS; French: ''Service de police d'Ottawa'') is a municipal police force in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The OPS serves an area of 2,790 square kilometres and 1,017,449 (2021 census) people alongside several other police ...

relating to child pornography charges (cf.

sexual abuse scandal in Antigonish diocese There have been various cases of sexual abuse in the Diocese of Antigonish on the part of Roman Catholic clergy. 1950s cases On 7 August 2009, Bishop Raymond Lahey announced that the Diocese of Antigonish had reached a $15 million settlement in a ...

). The bishop pleaded guilty to child pornography charges and was jailed. Archbishop

Anthony Mancini Anthony Mancini KGOHS (born November 27, 1945) is a Canadian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the Archbishop of Halifax-Yarmouth. He retired on November 27, 2020. Biography Early life Born in Mignano Monte Lungo, near Napl ...

of the Archdiocese of Halifax was named the

Apostolic Administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic adm ...

effective September 26, 2009, and remained in that position until the installation of Brian Dunn on January 25, 2010.

Extent

The Diocese of Antigonish covers 18,800 square kilometers, comprising the counties of Pictou, Antigonish, Guysborough, Inverness, Victoria, Richmond and Cape Breton. As of 2006, the diocese contained 123 parishes, 119 active diocesan priests, 8 religious priests, and 129,905 Catholics. It also has 290 women religious, 12 religious brothers and 1 permanent deacon. In 2012 in order to satisfy its legal obligations to pay out $15 million to the victims of sexual abuse, the diocese had to sell a large number of its lands and properties, liquidating the bank accounts of many of its churches, and borrowing $6.5 million from private lenders to make the payout. Until 2015, the Bishop of Antigonish served '' ex officio'' as Chancellor of

St. Francis Xavier University St. Francis Xavier University is a public undergraduate liberal arts university located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a member of the Maple League, a group of primarily undergraduate universities in Eastern Canada. History St. Franc ...

Bishops

The following is a list of the bishops, all Roman Rite, and their terms of service: ; ''suffragan bishops of Arichat'' * William Fraser razer(1844-1851), previously titular

Bishop of Tanis The bishop of Tanis was the head of the Christian church in the ancient Egyptian city of Tanis (today Ṣān al-Ḥagar). Although it is no longer a residential bishopric, it has been a titular bishopric in the Roman Catholic Church since the Middl ...

(1825.06.03 – 1842.02.15),

Apostolic Vicar Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Chur ...

(Canada) (1825.06.03 – 1842.02.15), Bishop of Diocese of Halifax (Canada) (1842.02.15 – 1844.09.27) *

Colin Francis MacKinnon Colin Francis MacKinnon (July 20, 1810 – September 26, 1879) was a Canadian Roman Catholic Archbishop and founder of St. Francis Xavier University and Saint Ninian's Cathedral. Biography Born in William's Point, in the County of Antigon ...

(1851-1877), later

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 ...

of Amida (1877.08.30 – 1879.09.26) * John Cameron (1877.07.17 – 1886.08.23 ''see below''), previously Titular Bishop of

Titopolis Titiopolis or Titioupolis ( el, Τιτιούπολις) was a town of ancient Cilicia and later in the Roman province of Isauria. Name and location Some refer to the town by the name Titopolis, but a coin minted there in the time of Emperor H ...

(1870.03.11 – 1877.07.17) and Coadjutor Bishop of Arichat (Canada) (1870.03.11 – 1877.07.17) ; ''suffragan bishops of Antigonish'' * John Cameron (''see above'') (1886.08.23 – 1910.04.06) * James Morrison (1912–1950), created Archbishop ad personam (1944.02.26 – 1950.04.13) * John Roderick MacDonald (1950–1959), previously Bishop of

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

(Canada) (1943.06.05 – 1945.04.14), Titular Bishop of Ancusa (1945.04.14 – 1950.04.13), Coadjutor Bishop of Antigonish (Canada) (1945.04.14 – 1950.04.13) *

William Edward Power William Edward Power (September 27, 1915 - November 29, 2003) was consecrated Bishop of the Diocese of Antigonish, Canada on July 20, 1960: installed August 10, 1960: resigned December 17, 1986. Power died in 2003. References External links Dioc ...

(1960–1986), also President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (1971 – 1973) *

Colin Campbell Colin may refer to: * Colin (given name) * Colin (surname) * ''Colin'' (film), a 2008 Cannes film festival zombie movie * Colin (horse) (1905–1932), thoroughbred racehorse * Colin (humpback whale), a humpback whale calf abandoned north of Sydney, ...

(1986–2002) * Raymond Lahey (2003–2009), previously Bishop of Saint George's (Canada) (1986.07.05 – 2003.04.05); ''later Lay state (May 2012) * ''

- (2009 - 2010), while Metropolitan Archbishop of Halifax(-Yarmouth) (Canada) (2007.10.18 – 2009.10.22) * Brian Dunn (2010–2019), previously Titular Bishop of

Munatiana Munatiana was an ancient Roman- Berber civitas located in the province of Byzacena in the present-day Sahel region of Tunisia. The former town was also the seat of an old Christian diocese, which remains a titular bishopric of the Roman Catholic ...

and Auxiliary Bishop of Sault Sainte Marie (Canada) (2008.07.16 – 2009.11.21); ''appointed, 13 Apr 2019, Coadjutor Archbishop of Halifax-Yarmouth, Nova Scotia'' *

Wayne Joseph Kirkpatrick Wayne may refer to: People with the given name and surname * Wayne (given name) * Wayne (surname) Geographical Places with name ''Wayne'' may take their name from a person with that surname; the most famous such person was Gen. "Mad" Antho ...

(2019-), previously Titular Bishop of Aradi and Auxiliary Bishop of Toronto (2012.05.18 - 2019.12.18) ; ''Other priests of this diocese who became bishops'' *

Thomas Sears Thomas Warren Sears (December 15, 1880 – June 1966) was a noted American landscape architect. Sears was born in Brookline, Massachusetts to Alexander Pomeroy and Elizabeth Prescott (Jones) Sears. He received his A.B. in 1903 from Harvard Co ...

, appointed Prefect of Western Newfoundland (St. George’s) in 1871 * Neil McNeil, appointed Vicar Apostolic of Western Newfoundland (St. George’s) in 1895 * Ronald MacDonald, appointed Bishop of Harbour Grace, Newfoundland in 1881 * Alexander MacDonald, appointed Bishop of Victoria, British Columbia in 1908 * John Hugh MacDonald, appointed Bishop of Victoria, British Columbia in 1934 * Malcolm Angus MacEachern, appointed Bishop of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island in 1954 * Joseph Neil MacNeil, appointed Bishop of Saint John, New Brunswick in 1969

In
Canadian literature Canadian literature is the literature of a multicultural country, written in languages including Canadian English, Canadian French, Indigenous languages, and many others such as Canadian Gaelic. Influences on Canadian writers are broad both g ...

* Following Bishop William Fraser's death in 1851, local Catholic poet Ailean a' Ridse MacDhòmhnaill, a major figure in both

and in that of Canadian Gaelic, composed the poem ''Cumha do' n Easguig Friseal'' ("Lament for Bishop Fraser"), which MacDhòmhnaill set to the air ''A' bliadhna leum dar milleadh''. According to Effie Rankin, Ailean a' Ridse adapted the traditional verse iconography of a Highland clan mourning for the death of their Chief to the Catholic

Gaels The Gaels ( ; ga, Na Gaeil ; gd, Na Gàidheil ; gv, Ny Gaeil ) are an ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man in the British Isles. They are associated with the Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic langu ...

of the Diocese mourning for the death of their Bishop.Effie Rankin (2004), ''As a' Braighe/Beyond the Braes: The Gaelic Songs of Allan the Ridge MacDonald'', Cape Breton University Press. Pages 169-170. *

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

writer

Linden MacIntyre Linden Joseph MacIntyre (born May 29, 1943) is a Canadian journalist, broadcaster and novelist. He has won ten Gemini Awards, an International Emmy and numerous other awards for writing and journalistic excellence, including the 2009 Scotiabank ...

, fictionalized the events of the ongoing

in his award-winning novel '' The Bishop's Man'', which was published in 2009. The novel's guilt-ridden protagonist is a

Roman Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

and former fixer for the Diocese of Antigonish named Fr. Duncan MacAskill. After years of quietly burying potential scandals involving the Diocese's priests, Fr. MacAskill has been assigned by his Bishop to a remote parish on Cape Breton Island,

and ordered to maintain a low profile.

References

Diocese of Antigonish page at catholichierarchy.org
retrieved July 17, 2006

Sources and external links

*

St. Francis Xavier University

{{coord, 45.6201, N, 61.9935, W, source:wikidata, display=title

Antigonish , settlement_type = Town , image_skyline = File:St Ninian's Cathedral Antigonish Spring.jpg , image_caption = St. Ninian's Cathedral , image_flag = Flag of Antigonish.pn ...

Catholic Church in Nova Scotia Antigonish County, Nova Scotia Cape Breton County Guysborough County, Nova Scotia Inverness County, Nova Scotia Pictou County Richmond County, Nova Scotia Victoria County, Nova Scotia Religious organizations established in 1844 1844 establishments in Nova Scotia 1844 establishments in Canada

History

2009–2010 apostolic administration

Extent

Bishops

In Canadian literature Canadian literature is the literature of a multicultural country, written in languages including Canadian English, Canadian French, Indigenous languages, and many others such as Canadian Gaelic. Influences on Canadian writers are broad both g ...

References

Sources and external links

In
Canadian literature Canadian literature is the literature of a multicultural country, written in languages including Canadian English, Canadian French, Indigenous languages, and many others such as Canadian Gaelic. Influences on Canadian writers are broad both g ...