The Diocese of Ogdensburg ( la, Dioecesis Ogdensburgensis) 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

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 associ ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. It was founded on February 15, 1872. It comprises the entirety of Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties and the northern portions of Hamilton and Herkimer counties. On February 23, 2010, the Most Reverend Terry Ronald LaValley was appointed diocesan bishop by Pope Benedict XVI on February 23, 2010, and was installed on April 30, 2010. The Diocese of Ogdensburg 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 Alexandri ...

in 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 the Archdiocese of New York.

History

Beginnings

The area covered by the Diocese of Ogdensburg was originally inhabited by the

Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian Peoples, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Indigenous confederations in North America, confederacy of First Nations in Canada, First Natio ...

. The 1600s saw the arrival of French, Dutch, and English fur-traders. Initially Catholics in the North Country were served by priests from Quebec. In 1749, the Mission of The Holy Trinity was established by Sulpician Abbé François Picquet from Montreal, who built a mission fort named

Fort de La Présentation The Fort de La Présentation (; "Fort of the Presentation"), a mission fort, was built in 1749 and so named by the French Sulpician priest, Abbé Picquet. It was also sometimes known as Fort La Galette (). It was built at the confluence of the Os ...

near the junction of the Oswegatchie River and the St Lawrence River. Bishop de Pontbriand of Quebec visited in 1752. During the French and Indian War the fort was garrisoned by French-Canadian military, but abandoned in favor of

Fort Lévis Fort Lévis, a fortification on the St. Lawrence River, was built in 1759 by the French. They had decided that Fort de La Présentation was insufficient to defend their St. Lawrence River colonies against the British. Named for François Gaston d ...

Diocese of Baltimore

During the Colonial Period and until the end of the American Revolution, the Church in New York State was under the jurisdiction of the Vicariate of London. The first settlers in the region were Protestants from New England. It was only towards 1790 that Acadian Catholic immigrants occupied lands around Corbeau, now Coopersville, near Lake Champlain, where they were occasionally visited by missionaries from Fort Laprairie, Canada. After the Revolution the area came under the Apostolic Prefecture of the United States, which became in 1789 the Diocese of Baltimore.

Diocese of New York

In 1808 the area became part of the new Diocese of New York. In 1818, a colony of French and German Catholics was brought to Jefferson County by Jacques Leray, son of Count

Jacques-Donatien Le Ray de Chaumont Jacques-Donatien Le Ray de Chaumont (1 September 1726 – 22 February 1803) was a French "Father of the American Revolution", but later an opponent of the French Revolution. His son of the same name, known also in America as James Le Ray, e ...

, who built for them, and also for an Irish settlement, several Catholic churches. At the same time Irish and French Canadian immigrants began to arrive and soon there arose several Catholic missions. By 1833 there were congregations established in Ogdensburg, Carthage, and Plattsburgh, although Carthage did not as yet have a church. Each of them served a number of mission stations, while

Minerva, New York Minerva is a town in Essex County, New York, United States. The population was 809 at the 2010 census. The town is named after Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom. The town is located in the southwestern corner of the county. By road, it is no ...

was served by Father J. Quinn, who travelled from

Troy, New York Troy is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County, New York, Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Huds ...

, 100 miles away.

Diocese of Albany

In 1847 the northern section of the Diocese of New York was split off to become the newly created Diocese of Albany, and an influx of Irish immigrants saw an increase in parishes throughout the area. Missions were established at Antwerp, Belleville, Canton, and many other places. Under Bishop

John McCloskey John McCloskey (March 10, 1810 – October 10, 1885) was a senior-ranking American prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the first American born Archbishop of New York from 1864 until his death in 1885, having previously served as Bishop o ...

new parishes were founded at Cape Vincent, Hogansburg, Keeseville, and elsewhere. In 1860, Bishop McCloskey put the parish at Carthage under interdict for two years, when disputes between factions resulted in violent confrontations. In 1864 McCloskey established St. Joseph's Seminary as Provincial Seminary at

, which trained priests for the Archdiocese until it was relocated to Dunwoodie in 1896.

Diocese of Ogdensburg

On February 16, 1872, the Diocese of Ogdensburg was established. First Bishop of Ogdensburg was Edgar Philip Prindle Wadhams. In 1892, Henry Gabriels, Rector of St Joseph's Seminary in

, was appointed second Bishop of Ogdensburg. Catholic Summer School of America first took form in the Champlain Summer School which was founded at New London, Connecticut, 1892, and located more permanently in 1893 at Cliff Haven, New York. Bishop Henry Gabriels was responsible for the growth and development of the Catholic Summer School at Cliff Haven near Plattsburgh, (10,000 people annually), which was a strong influence in Catholic education for many years. (Advance news., October 20, 1968, Page 15, Image 15).

Joseph Henry Conroy Joseph Henry Conroy (November 8, 1858 – March 20, 1939) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Ogdensburg in Northern New York from 1921 until his death in 1939. He previously serv ...

served as Bishop from 1921 until his death in 1939. He was made an Honorary Life member of the Catholic Summer School of America, Cliff Haven, N.Y. On March 24, 1924, the Board of Governors elected him Honorary member of the Catholic Writers of America.

Sex abuse

On February 19, 2020, Diocese of Ogdensburg communications director Darcy Fargo revealed that the Diocese was considering

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whe ...

due to dozens of pending sex abuse lawsuits, stating "Chapter 11 reorganization has been a positive vehicle through which other diocese have been able to address the needs of claims while continuing to undertake their vital mission as church." The Diocese had already nearly $5.5 million in compensation to settle some previous sex abuse lawsuits, and even partook in healing masses and reconciliation therapy as well. By this point in time, 23 more lawsuits had been filed since the 2019 New York Child Victims Act went into effect. At the time of Fargo's announcement, one law firm alone stated it already has 30 more lawsuits in waiting. On May 8, 2020, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo extended the Child Victims Act's statute of limitation deadline to file sex abuse lawsuits from August 14, 2020 to January 14, 2021. On July 1, 2020, it was revealed that 20 additional sex abuse lawsuits where filed against the Diocese. Fargo responded by stating “I cannot comment on specific allegations or pending litigation. The Diocese of Ogdensburg takes all allegations of abuse seriously, and these new allegations will be investigated.”

Bishops

Bishops of Ogdensburg

# Edgar Philip Prindle Wadhams (1872–1891) # Henry Gabriels (1892–1921), former Rector of St Joseph's Seminary in

(1921–1939) # Francis Joseph Monaghan (1939–1942;

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, "co- ...

1936–1939) # Bryan Joseph McEntegart (1943–1953), appointed Rector of

The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...

and later Bishop of Brooklyn and

Archbishop 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 archdio ...

(ad personam) #

Walter P. Kellenberg Walter Philip Kellenberg (June 3, 1901 – January 11, 1986) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Ogdensburg in Northern New York (1954–1957) and bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Cent ...

(1954–1957), appointed in 1957 Bishop of Rockville Centre # James Johnston Navagh (1957–1963), appointed Bishop of Paterson #

Leo Richard Smith Leo Richard Smith (August 31, 1905 – October 9, 1963) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Ogdensburg in New York for five months in 1963. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop ...

(1963) # Thomas Andrew Donnellan (1964–1968), appointed

Archbishop of Atlanta 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 archdio ...

# Stanislaus Joseph Brzana (1968–1993) # Paul Stephen Loverde (1994–1999), appointed Bishop of Arlington # Gerald Michael Barbarito (2000–2003), appointed Bishop of Palm Beach # Robert Joseph Cunningham (2004–2009), appointed

Bishop of Syracuse The Archdiocese of Siracusa, also known as Syracuse, ( la, Archidioecesis Syracusana) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Sicily. It became an archdiocese in 1844.

# Terry R. LaValley (2010–present)

Former auxiliary bishops

(1912-1921), appointed bishop of this diocese

Other priest of this diocese who became bishop

* Douglas John Lucia, appointed Bishop of Syracuse in 2019

Deaneries

There are eight deaneries in the diocese: # Adirondack (Northern Essex County and southern Franklin County) # Clinton (Northeastern Essex and all of its namesake county) # Essex (The remainder of its namesake county) # Franklin (The remainder of its namesake county) # Hamilton/Herkimer (The remainder of

namesake A namesake is a person, geographic location, or other entity bearing the name of another. History The word is first attested around 1635, and probably comes from the phrase "for one's name's sake", which originates in English Bible translations ...

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

not occupied by the Diocese of Albany) # Jefferson # Lewis # St. Lawrence

Parishes

High schools

* Immaculate Heart Central High School, Watertown * Seton Catholic Central High School, Plattsburgh

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Ogdensburg Official Site
* {{Coord, 44, 42, 02, N, 75, 28, 52, W, source:plwiki, display=title Ogdensburg Ogdensburg 1872 establishments in New York (state) Ogdensburg