Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington
|This article needs additional citations for verification. (November 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)|
|Archdiocese of Washington
|Territory||District of Columbia plus counties of Montgomery, Prince George's, St. Mary's, Calvert, and Charles in Maryland|
|Area||2,104 sq mi (5,450 km2)|
|(as of 2010)
592,769  (22.0%)
|Established||November 15, 1947 (68 years ago)|
|Cathedral||Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle|
|Patron saint||St. Matthew|
|Archbishop||Donald Cardinal Wuerl|
|Auxiliary Bishops||Martin D. Holley
Barry Christopher Knestout
Mario E. Dorsonville
|Emeritus Bishops||Theodore Edgar Cardinal McCarrick
Francisco González Valer
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington is a particular church of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. It comprises the District of Columbia and Calvert, Charles, Montgomery, Prince George's and Saint Mary's counties in the state of Maryland.
The Archdiocese of Washington is home to The Catholic University of America, the national Catholic university operated by the United States bishops. Georgetown University, the oldest Catholic and Jesuit institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1789, is also located within the Archdiocese of Washington. The Archdiocese is also home to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, a minor basilica dedicated to the nation's patron saint, Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. The Basilica, though not a parish of the Archdiocese of Washington, is the site of the Archdiocese's Easter and Christmas Masses, which are normally televised nationally on EWTN.
The ordinary of the Archdiocese of Washington is an archbishop whose cathedra is the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in the City of Washington and who is metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical Province of Washington. Its sole suffragan see is the Diocese of Saint Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands.
The Archdiocese of Washington often prides itself in sharing the fact that the Society of Jesus celebrated the first Mass in British North America on its shores in 1634. During the colonial era however, Catholics would remain a persecuted people suffering the wrath of oppression allowed by local penal laws.
Upon the establishment of the United States by its founding fathers, the Jesuit, John Carroll, was elected head of the missionary territory (later Prefecture Apostolic) of the United States. In 1789 the Diocese of Baltimore was established, with Carroll as its first bishop. The newly created diocese, which would later become the Archdiocese of Baltimore, had jurisdiction over all American Catholics, including residents of the present-day City of Washington.
In 1939, Pope Pius XII separated the City of Washington from the Archdiocese of Baltimore and created two Archdioceses (Baltimore and Washington) under the oversight of one archbishop. The process of separation was officially concluded on November 15, 1947. The Archdiocese of Washington became a metropolitan see on October 12, 1965, when the Diocese of Saint Thomas became its suffragan see.
To manage Mount Olivet and three other cemeteries, in 1978 the archdiocese created and incorporated Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Washington; 25 years later, All Souls Cemetery in Germantown, Maryland became its fifth archdiosesan cemetery.
The lists of archbishops, auxiliary and affiliated bishops and their terms of service.
- Michael Joseph Curley (1939–1947) simultaneously Archbishop of Baltimore
- Patrick O'Boyle (1947–1973) retired
- William Wakefield Baum (1973–1980) appointed Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education and Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary
- James Aloysius Hickey (1980–2000) retired
- Theodore Edgar McCarrick (2000–2006) retired
- Donald Wuerl (since 2006)
- John Michael McNamara (1947–1960) died
- Patrick Joseph McCormick (1950–1953) died
- Philip Matthew Hannan (1956–1965) appointed Archbishop of New Orleans
- William Joseph McDonald (1964–1967) appointed Auxiliary Bishop of San Francisco
- John Selby Spence (1964–1973) died
- Edward John Herrmann (1966–1973) appointed Bishop of Columbus
- Thomas William Lyons (1974–1988) died
- Eugene Antonio Marino S.S.J. (1974–1988) appointed Archbishop of Atlanta
- Thomas Cajetan Kelly O.P. (1977–1981) appointed Archbishop of Louisville
- Alvaro Corrada del Rio S.J. (1985–1997) appointed Apostolic Administrator of Caguas, Puerto Rico, appointed Bishop of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico
- William George Curlin (1988–1994) appointed Bishop of Charlotte
- Leonard James Olivier S.V.D. (1988–2004) retired
- William Edward Lori (1995–2001) appointed Bishop of Bridgeport
- Kevin Joseph Farrell (2001–2007) appointed Bishop of Dallas
- Francisco González Valer S.F. (2001–2014) retired
- Martin David Holley (since 2004)
- Barry Christopher Knestout (since 2008)
- Mario E. Dorsonville (since 2015)
The following began their service as priests in the Archdiocese before being appointed bishops elsewhere:
- John Francis Donoghue, Archbishop of Atlanta
- David Edward Foley, Bishop of Birmingham
- Raymond James Boland, Bishop of Kansas City-Saint Joseph
- Academy of the Holy Cross, Kensington, MD
- Archbishop Carroll High School, DC
- The Avalon School, Gaithersburg, MD
- Bishop McNamara High School, Forestville, MD
- Brookewood School, Kensington, MD
- Connelly School of the Holy Child, Potomac, MD
- DeMatha Catholic High School, Hyattsville, MD
- Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School, Takoma Park, MD
- Elizabeth Seton High School, Bladensburg, MD
- Georgetown Preparatory School, North Bethesda, MD
- Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School, DC
- Gonzaga College High School, DC
- The Heights School, Potomac, MD
- Our Lady of Good Counsel High School, Olney, MD
- St. Anselm's Abbey School, DC
- St. John's College High School, DC
- St. Mary's Ryken High School, Leonardtown, MD
- St. Vincent Pallotti High School, Laurel, MD
- Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart, Bethesda, MD
District of Columbia parishes
Montgomery County (Maryland) parishes
Prince George's County (Maryland) parishes
Calvert County (Maryland) parishes
St. Mary's County (Maryland) parishes
Charles County (Maryland) parishes
- Mount Olivet Cemetery, Washington, D.C.
- Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Silver Spring, Maryland
- St. Mary's Queen of Peace Cemetery, Helen, Maryland
- Resurrection Cemetery, Clinton, Maryland
- All Souls Cemetery, Germantown, Maryland
Two former parish cemeteries are also operated by the parish:
- St. John’s Cemetery, Forest Glen, Maryland
- St. Mary’s Cemetery, Washington, D.C.
Province of Washington, D.C.
- Catholic Church in the United States
- Ecclesiastical Province of Washington
- Global organisation of the Catholic Church
- List of Roman Catholic archdioceses (by country and continent)
- List of Roman Catholic dioceses (alphabetical) (including archdioceses)
- List of Roman Catholic dioceses (structured view) (including archdioceses)
- List of the Catholic cathedrals of the United States
- List of the Catholic dioceses of the United States
- Mount St. Sepulchre Franciscan Monastery
- St. Mary's City, Maryland
- Archdiocese of Washington
- Catholic Hierarchy page
- "Prefect Apostolic". The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 12. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. Retrieved 6 Aug 2012.
- History from the official website of the Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Washington
- "Most Reverend John F. Donoghue". Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
- Parish Cemeteries from the official website of the Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Washington
- Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington Official Site
- Cathedral of Saint Matthew the Apostle
- Alphabetical Listing of Parishes