The Archdiocese of St. John's, Newfoundland () is a

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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 ...

in St. John's,

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the populatio ...

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 ...

. It is the metropolitan of an

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consist ...

with two

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 Alexandr ...

s: Grand Falls and Corner Brook and Labrador. The current archbishop is the Most Reverend Peter Hundt. The Archdiocese of St. John's is the oldest Roman Catholic

ecclesiastical jurisdiction Ecclesiastical jurisdiction is jurisdiction by Clergy, church leaders over other church leaders and over the laity. Overview Jurisdiction is a word borrowed from the legal system which has acquired a wide extension in theology, wherein, for examp ...

in English-speaking North America. The Basilica of St. John the Baptist is the

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

of the archdiocese. The building sits within the St. John's Ecclesiastical District, a National Historic District of Canada.

History

Canada 1984 Postage Stamp - Newfoundland Catholic Church

The first Catholic presence in North America was the proprietary

Colony of Avalon The Province of Avalon was the area around the English settlement of Ferryland in what is now Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada in the 17th century, which upon the success of the colony grew to include the land held by Sir William Vaughan and ...

, established by

George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore (; 1580 – 15 April 1632) was an English politician. He achieved domestic political success as a member of parliament and later Secretary of State under King James I. He lost much of his political power a ...

in 1610. A Catholic himself, Calvert intended the colony to be open to Irish and English Catholics facing persecution at home. 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 spoken by some immigrants to the island of Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland before it disappeared in the early 20th century. The language was introduced through mass immigration by Irish speakers, chiefly from coun ...

. It was promoted to a Vicariate Apostolic on 5 January 1796 and on 4 June 1847 was elevated to a diocese. In 1904, St. John's was elevated to an archdiocese. 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 1988, a scandal erupted over allegations of widespread abuse of children at Mount Cashel Orphanage. From 1989 to 1993, nine Christian Brothers were charged and prosecuted for various criminal offences including sex offences against the boys of Mount Cashel orphanage. The religious order that ran the orphanage filed for bankruptcy in the face of numerous lawsuits. Since the Mount Cashel scandal erupted, a number of priests across the country have been accused of

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. It often consists of a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is re ...

. In July 2020, Rev. Peter Power, who was originally from the Archdiocese of Toronto, 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 in July 2020, the Newfoundland and Labrador court of appeal unanimously reversed a 2018 decision of the

Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador The Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador is the superior court for the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction to hear appeals in both criminal and civil matters from the Provincial Court and desig ...

and ruled that the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John's was vicariously liable for the sexual abuse committed at the Mount Cashel Orphanage in the 1950s and 1960s, paving the way for victims of the Mount Cashel sex abuse scandal to receive compensation from the Diocese. In July 2021, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of NL announced plans to sell off assets in order to compensate victims of the Mount Cashel sex abuse scandal. On July 5, 2024, a third-party insolvency monitor put forward a sum of $104 million to pay the victims of sexual abuse by the Archdiocese. A document filed with Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court put the net claim award at $104,074,667. Among the 367 claims filed, 292 had already been accepted, while 65 were disallowed and 10 were considered pending. The document stated the average payment to a claimant was $356,417.

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

Michael Anthony Fleming Michael Anthony Fleming, O.F.M. ( – July 14, 1850) was an Irish-born Franciscan 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 wit ...

, O.F.M. Ref. (1829-1830) as Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic *

John Thomas Mullock John Thomas Mullock (September 27, 1807 – March 26, 1869) was Roman Catholic bishop of St. John's, Newfoundland and did much to establish and develop the church in the region. Born in Limerick, Ireland, he died in St. John's and is buried ...

, 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 of St. John's (1951)

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

* William Aquin Carew, appointed titular Archbishop of Telde in 1969, serving as Apostolic Nuncio to Burundi and Rwanda (1969-1974), Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Cyprus (1974-1983), Apostolic Delegate to Jerusalem and Palestine (1974-1983), and Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Japan (1983-1997) * Michael Fintan Power, appointed Bishop of Saint George's, Newfoundland in 1911 * Henry Thomas Renouf, appointed Bishop of Saint George's, Newfoundland in 1920 * Richard Thomas McGrath, appointed Bishop of Saint George's, Newfoundland in 1970 * 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
{{coord, 47.5656, N, 52.7082, W, source:wikidata, display=title Culture of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador