The Archdiocese of Montréal () is a

Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...

ecclesiastical territory or

archdiocese 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 associated ...

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 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. A

metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

see, its arch

episcopal see An episcopal see is the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, making it synonymous with ''diocese'' ...

is the

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. It includes Montreal and surrounding areas within Quebec.

Cathedrals

The cathedral of the Archdiocese of Montréal is the Cathedral Basilica of Mary, Queen of the World and St. James the Greater (), built in 1894. Previously, the diocese had five cathedrals. (From 1821 to 1836, they were the seat of the auxiliary bishop of Quebec in Montréal.) * Notre-Dame Church (ancestor of today's Notre-Dame Basilica), 1821–1822 *Chapel of the

Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal The Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal (; founded in 1645) was the first hospital established in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. ''Hôtel-Dieu'', literally translated in English as ''Hotel of God'', is an archaic French term for hospital, referring to the ori ...

, 1822–1825 * Cathédrale Saint-Jacques, 1825–1852 (destroyed by fire, now part of the Judith-Jasmin pavilion of UQAM) *the chapel of the Asile de la Providence (corner of Sainte-Catherine and Saint-Hubert, site of the present

Esplanade Émilie-Gamelin An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...

), 1852–1855 *a small chapel at the site of the present archdiocese building, 1855–1894

History

* 1836.05.13: Established as Diocese of Montréal / Marianopolitan(us) (Latin), on territory split off from Archdiocese of Québec * Lost territory 1852.06.08 to establish Diocese of Saint-Hyacinthe * 1886.06.08: Promoted as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Montréal / Marianopolitan(us) (Latin) * Lost territories repeatedly : on 1892.04.05 to establish as suffragan Diocese of Valleyfield, on 1904.01.27 to establish as suffragan Diocese of Joliette, on 1933.06.09 to establish as suffragan

Diocese of Saint-Jean-de-Québec 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 associated ...

, on 1951.06.23 to establish as suffragan

Diocese of Saint-Jérôme 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 associated ...

* 2020.11.25 Former Quebec Superior Court justice Pepita Capriolo releases a report which found that some former officials in the Archdiocese of Montreal, including

Marc Cardinal Ouellet Marc Armand Ouellet (; born 8 June 1944) is a Canadian Catholic prelate who served as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America from 2010 to 2023. He is a member of the Sulpicians. Ouelle ...

Jean-Claude Cardinal Turcotte Jean-Claude Turcotte () (26 June 1936 – 8 April 2015) was a Canadian Roman Catholic cardinal who served as the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Montreal from 1990 to 2012. Early life and priesthood Jean-Claude Turcotte was ...

and Anthony Mancini took no action against pedophile priest Brian Boucher after receiving reports he sexually abused boys, stating, among other things, that "The primary culprit is the lack of accountability of the people involved in Boucher's education, training and career. Complaints were 'passed on' and no one took responsibility for acting on them." The Catholic church assigned Capriolo to the investigate the Archdiocese of Montreal after Boucher pled to sex abuse charges in January 2019 and received an eight year prison sentence.

Statistics

As per 2014, it pastorally served 1,724,357 Catholics (72.3% of 2,386,038 total) on 947 km² in 170 parishes and 35 missions with 901 priests (377 diocesan, 524 religious), 87 deacons, 3,817 lay religious (741 brothers, 3,076 sisters) and 16 seminarians.

Ecclesiastical province

The Metropolitan Archbishop of Montréal's province has as

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...

sees: *

Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliette The Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliette () (erected 27 January 1904) is a suffragan in Joliette of the Archdiocese of Montréal. Gallery File:QC Joliette1 tango7174.jpg, Saint-Charles-Borromée Cathedral File:QC Joliette2 tango7174.jpg, Interio ...

, daughter *

Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint-Jean-Longueuil 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 Roman civilization * Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter ...

, daughter * Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint-Jérôme, daughter *

Roman Catholic Diocese of Valleyfield The Roman Catholic Diocese of Valleyfield () is a Catholic diocese in Quebec and a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Montreal. It was erected in 1892. The diocese, which is based in the western suburbs of Montreal, features approximately 201,000 ...

, daughter.

Leadership

Ordinaries

Below is a list of individuals who have led the Archdiocese of Montreal and its antecedent jurisdictions since its founding.

Bishops of Montreal

Jean-Jacques Lartigue Jean-Jacques Lartigue, S.S., (20 June 1777 – 19 April 1840) was a Canadians, Canadian Society of Saint-Sulpice, Sulpician, who served as the first Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Montreal, Catholic Bishop of Montreal. Early life Lartigue wa ...

(1836–1840), previously auxiliary Bishop of Quebec in Montréal (1821–1836) *

Ignace Bourget Ignace Bourget (; October 30, 1799 – June 8, 1885) was a Canadian Roman Catholic priest who held the title of Bishop of Montreal from 1840 to 1876. Born in Lévis, Quebec, in 1799, Bourget entered the clergy at an early age, undertook several ...

(1840–1876) *

Édouard-Charles Fabre Édouard-Charles Fabre (; February 28, 1827 – December 30, 1896) was Bishop of Montréal in 1876 and first Archbishop of Montreal in 1886. Life Fabre was the eldest of 11 children in an important Montreal business family. His father Édou ...

(1876–1886)

Archbishops of Montreal

(1886–1896) * Paul Bruchési (1897–1939) * Georges Gauthier (1939–1940) * Joseph Charbonneau (1940–1950) * Cardinal

Paul-Émile Léger Paul-Émile Léger (April 26, 1904 – November 13, 1991) was a Canadian Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Montréal from 1950 to 1967. A member of the Sulpicians, he was made a cardinal in 1953 by Pope Pius XII. Early life and ed ...

(1950–1968) * Cardinal

Paul Grégoire Paul Grégoire, (October 24, 1911 – October 30, 1993) was a Canadian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Montreal from 1968 to 1990, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1988. Biography Paul Grégoire was ...

(1968–1990) * Cardinal

Jean-Claude Turcotte Jean-Claude Turcotte () (26 June 1936 – 8 April 2015) was a Canadian Roman Catholic cardinal who served as the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Montreal from 1990 to 2012. Early life and priesthood Jean-Claude Turcotte was ...

(1990–2012) *

Christian Lépine Christian Lépine (; born 18 September 1951) is a Canadian prelate of the Catholic Church who has been Archbishop of Montreal since March 2012, after eight months as an auxiliary bishop there. With the exception of two years working in the Roma ...

(2012–present)

Coadjutor archbishops

Under the

Code of Canon Law Code of Canon Law () may refer to: * '' Corpus Juris Canonici'' ('Body of Canon Law'), a collection of sources of canon law of the Catholic Church applicable to the Latin Church until 1918 * 1917 ''Code of Canon Law'', code of canon law for the Ca ...

, the

coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) ("co-assister" in Latin) is a bishop in the Latin Catholic, Anglican and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in administering the diocese. The coa ...

has the right of succession (''cum jure successionis'') upon the death, retirement or resignation of the diocesan bishop he is assisting. All coadjutor ordinaries except for John Charles Prince and Joseph La Rocque eventually succeeded to become head of the Archdiocese of Montreal or its antecedent jurisdictions. *

(1837–1840), as coadjutor bishop * John Charles Prince (1844–1852), as coadjutor bishop; did not succeed, appointed Bishop of Saint-Hyacinthe * Joseph La Rocque (1852-1860), as coadjutor bishop: did not succeed, appointed Bishop of Saint-Hyacinthe *

(1873–1876), as coadjutor bishop * Georges Gauthier (1923–1939) * Joseph Charbonneau (1940)

Auxiliary episcopate

Auxiliary Bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

Francis Leo (later Archbishop of Toronto) (2022.09.12 – 2023.02.11) # Auxiliary Bishop Alain Faubert (2016.04.19 – 2024.09.12), Titular Bishop of Vicus Pacati, appointed Bishop of Valleyfield # Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Dowd (later Bishop of Sault Ste. Marie) (2011.07.11 –2020.10.22) # Auxiliary Bishop: Christian Lépine (later Archbishop) (2011.07.11 – 2012.03.20) # Auxiliary Bishop: André Gazaille (2006.02.11 – 2011.07.11) # Auxiliary Bishop: Lionel Gendron, P.S.S. (2006.02.11 – 2010.10.28) # Auxiliary Bishop: Anthony Mancini (later Archbishop of Halifax-Yarmouth) (1999.02.18 – 2007.10.18) # Auxiliary Bishop: Louis Dicaire (1999.02.18 – 2004.06.19) # Auxiliary Bishop: André Rivest (1995.06.27 – 2004.06.19) # Auxiliary Bishop: Neil E. Willard (1995.06.27 – 1998.03.25) # Auxiliary Bishop: Jean-Claude Turcotte (later Archbishop and Cardinal) (1982.04.14 – 1990.03.17) # Auxiliary Bishop: Jude Saint-Antoine (1981.03.20 – 2006.02.11) # Auxiliary Bishop: Gérard Tremblay, P.S.S. (1981.03.20 – 1991.08.27) # Auxiliary Bishop: Jean-Marie Lafontaine (1979.04.18 – 1981.06.03) # Auxiliary Bishop: Leonard James Crowley (1971.02.08 – 1997.03.26) # Auxiliary Bishop: Norman Joseph Gallagher (1966 – 1970.04.16) # Auxiliary Bishop: Adrien André Maria Cimichella, O.S.M. (1964.06.05 – 1996.04.25) # Auxiliary Bishop:

(later Archbishop and Cardinal) (1961.10.26 – 1968.04.20) # Auxiliary Bishop: Léo Blais (1959.03.18 – 1971.05.11) # Auxiliary Bishop: Valérien Bélanger (1956.03.16 – 1983.02.19) # Auxiliary Bishop: Laurent Morin (1955.09.08 – 1959.02.28) # Auxiliary Bishop: Lawrence-Patrick Whelan (1941.06.28 – 1980.10.04) # Auxiliary Bishop: Joseph-Conrad Chaumont (1941.06.28 – 1966.10.08) # Auxiliary Bishop: Alphonse-Emmanuel Deschamps (1925.02.20 – 1940.06.23) # Auxiliary Bishop: Georges Gauthier (later Archbishop) (1912.06.28 – 1923.04.05) # Auxiliary Bishop: François-Théophile-Zotique Racicot (1905.01.14 – 1915.09.14)

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

* Charles-François-Calixte Morisson, appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Vancouver Island, British Columbia in 1862 (resigned from episcopate) * Louis-Zéphirin Moreau, appointed Bishop of Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec, in 1875; beatified in 1987 * Narcisse Zéphirin Lorrain, appointed Vicar Apostolic of Pontiac, Ontario in 1882 * Richard Alphonsus O’Connor, appointed Bishop of Peteborough, Ontario in 1889 *

Joseph-Médard Émard Joseph-Médard Émard (31 March 1853 – 28 March 1927) was a Canadian Roman Catholic 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 ...

, appointed Bishop of Valleyfield, Québec in 1892 *

Joseph-Guillaume-Laurent Forbes Joseph-Guillaume-Laurent Forbes (August 10, 1865-May 22, 1940) was a Canadian Roman Catholic priest and the Archbishop of Ottawa. Forbes was born on August 10, 1865, probably in Île Perrot, Lower Canada. He was the second of 16 children, and in ...

, appointed Bishop of Joliette, Québec in 1913 *

Peter Joseph Monahan Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

, appointed Bishop of Calgary, Alberta in 1932 *

Émilien Frenette Émilien is a French masculine given name and may refer to: *Émilien of Nantes (died c. 725), French religious leader canonized as a saint * Émilien Allard (1915–1977), Canadian carillonneur, pianist, clarinetist, and composer *Émilien Ama ...

, appointed Bishop of Saint-Jérôme, Québec in 1951 * Alexander Carter, appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario in 1956 * William Edward Power, appointed Bishop of Antigonish, Nova Scotia in 1960 *

Gerald Emmett Carter Gerald Emmett Cardinal Carter (March 1, 1912 – April 6, 2003) was a Canadian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Toronto from 1978 to 1990, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1979. Biography Youth and ordi ...

, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of London, Ontario in 1961; future Cardinal * Charles-Omer Valois, appointed Bishop of Saint-Jérôme, Québec in 1977 * Robert Harris, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario in 2002 *

Paul Terrio Paul Terrio (born May 4, 1943) is a Canadian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He currently serves as bishop of the Diocese of Saint Paul, Alberta. Biography Terrio was born in Montreal. He was ordained a priest on May 23, 1970. He was appoin ...

(priest here, 1970-2001), appointed Bishop of Saint Paul in Alberta in 2012

References

Sources

*
GCatholic, with Google map - data for all sections

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Montréal, Roman Catholic Archdiocese Christianity in Montreal *