Roman Catholic Diocese of Palm Beach

In the early 19th century, Florida was part of the Spanish Empire. In the Adams-Onís Treaty of 1819, Spain ceded all of Florida to the United States, which established the Florida Territory in 1821. For Catholics, the territory was still under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Havana. In 1825, Pope Leo XIII erected the Vicariate of Alabama and Florida, which included all of Florida.

A quarter century later, Pope Pius IX erected the Diocese of Savannah in 1850, including the new state of Florida minus the Florida Panhandle region.  However, seven years later, Pope Pius IX stripped Florida from the Diocese of Savannah and created a new Apostolic Vicariate of Florida. Finally, in 1870 the vicariate was converted into the Diocese of St. Augustine, which included the Palm Beach area. The Diocese of Palm Beach would remain part of several Florida dioceses for the next 114 years.

Pope John Paul II established the Diocese of Palm Beach on June 16, 1984 taking its territory from the Archdiocese of Miami and the Diocese of Orlando.[3][4]He appointed Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Daily of the Archdiocese of Boston as the first bishop of Palm Beach. Among his most noteworthy actions were the leading of anti-abortion prayer vigils at local women’s health clinics. In 1990, John Paul II selected Daily to serve as bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn.

On June 12, 1990, John Paul II appointed Bishop Joseph Symons of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee as the second bishop of the Diocese of Palm Beach. In 1991, Symons authorized the taping of an exorcism. The rite was performed by Reverend James J. LeBar and other priests on a 16-year-old girl identified as "Gina". Footage of the exorcism was then broadcast on ABC's 20/20 TV program. In allowing the taping, Symons said that he hoped it would help "counteract diabolical activities around us."[5]

In April 1998, a 53 year old man informed Archbishop John C. Favalora that Symons had sexually abused him when he was an altar server decades earlier. When confronted with the allegations, Symons admitted his guilt. The Vatican immediately asked Bishop Robert N. Lynch of the Diocese of St. Petersburg to hear Symons' confession. During that session, Symons admitted that he had abused four other boys. He also said that he had confessed the abuses to a priest at the time, but the priest simply told Symons to avoid alcohol and remain chaste.[6] According to Lynch, the molestations all took place in the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee.[7]

On June 2, 1998, Lynch announced that John Paul II had accepted Symons' resignation as bishop of Palm Beach and had named Lynch as apostolic administrator of the diocese.[8][9] [10]To replace Symons, John Paul II in 1998 named Bishop Anthony O'Connell of the Diocese of Knoxville as the new bishop of Palm Beach.

On March 8, 2002, O'Connell admitted that he had molested at least two students of St. Thomas Aquinas Preparatory Seminary in the Diocese of Jefferson City during his 25-year career there.[11] That same day, O'Connell offered his resignation as bishop of Palm Beach to the Vatican. It was accepted by Pope John Paul II on March 13, 2002.[12][13]

John Paul II in 2002 then selected Bishop Seán O'Malley of the Diocese of Fall River as bishop of the Diocese of Palm Beach. After less than a year in office, the pope appointed O'Malley as archbishop of Boston.

The current bishop of the Diocese of Palm Beach is Gerald Barbarito, formerly bishop of the Diocese of Ogdensburg. He was named by John Paul II in 2003.

On January 7, 2015, Reverend Jose Palimattom, serving as the pastor at Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church in West Palm Beach, was arrested for possessing child pornography and for asking a child to erase it from his phone.[14]

On September 17, 2020, a lawsuit was filed against both the Diocese of Palm Beach and administrators of its All Saint's School in Jupiter, alleging that both parties failed to protect an 11-year-old girl from repeated sexual abuse by another student in an unsupervised classroom on campus.[15] The alleged abuse occurred between January and March 2020.[15]

1. Thomas Vose Daily (1984–1990), appointed Bishop of Brooklyn
2. Joseph Keith Symons (1990–1998)
   - Robert Nugent Lynch, Bishop of St. Petersburg (apostolic administrator 1998–1999.)
3. Anthony Joseph O'Connell (1999–2002)
4. Seán Patrick O'Malley, OFM Cap. (2002–2003), appointed Archbishop of Boston (elevated to Cardinal in 2006)
5. Gerald Michael Barbarito (2003–present)