Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester

The Diocese of Worcester is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in central Massachusetts in the United States. The diocese consists of Worcester County. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Boston. The patron saint of the diocese is Paul the Apostle.

For other uses, see Diocese of Worcester.

Diocese of Worcester

Diœcesis Wigorniensis
Cathedral of St. Paul
Coat of arms
Location
Country United States
TerritoryCounty of Worcester, Massachusetts
Ecclesiastical provinceBoston
MetropolitanBoston
Coordinates42°15′55″N 71°48′24″W
Population
- Catholics
350,000 (43.8%)
Information
DenominationCatholic
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
EstablishedJanuary 14, 1950
CathedralSt. Paul's Cathedral
Patron saintSt. Paul[1]
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
BishopRobert Joseph McManus
Metropolitan ArchbishopSeán Patrick O'Malley
Bishops emeritusDaniel Patrick Reilly
Map
Website
worcesterdiocese.org
St. Joseph Basilica, Webster

The mother church of the Diocese of Worcester is the Cathedral of Saint Paul in the city of Worcester. The fifth and current bishop is Robert McManus.

History

1700 to 1808

Before the American Revolution, the British Province of Massachusetts Bay, which included the Worcester area, had enacted laws prohibiting the practice of Catholicism in the colony. It was even illegal for a priest to reside there. To gain the support of Catholics for the Revolution, colonial leaders were forced to make concessions to them. Massachusetts enacted religious freedom for Catholics in 1780.[2]

After the Revolution ended in 1783, Pope Pius VI erected in 1784 the Prefecture Apostolic of the United States, encompassing the entire territory of the new nation. Pius VI created the Diocese of Baltimore, the first diocese in the United States, to replace the prefecture apostolic in 1789.[3]

1808 to 1950

Pope Pius VII erected the Diocese of Boston on April 8, 1808 from the Diocese of Baltimore. The new diocese included all of New England in its jurisdiction.[4] In the 1820's, Irish immigrants began arrived in Worcester Country to work on the railroads and construct the Blackstone Canal. St. John's Church was established in 1834 in the City of Worcester. It is the oldest surviving Catholic church in New England outside of Boston.

Holy Cross College was founded in Worcester by Bishop Benedict Fenwick of the Diocese of Boston in 1843. Fenwick had tried to build the college in Boston, but was thwarted by Protestant politicians running the city. He finally decided to locate it in Worcester on existing church property.[5][6]

On June 14, 1870, Pope Pius IX created the Diocese of Springfield from the Diocese of Boston, including Worcester County.[7] The Worcester area would remain part of the Diocese of Springfield for the next 80 years.

1950 to 2004

Pope Pius XII erected the Diocese of Worcester on March 7, 1950. He removed Worcester County from the Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts to created the new diocese. Pius XII designated the Church of St. Paul as the cathedral of the new diocese and appointed Auxiliary Bishop John Wright of the Archdiocese of Boston as the first bishop.

In 1959. Pope John XXXIII appointed Wright as bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh and named Bishop Bernard Flanagan of the Diocese of Norwich as his successor. On April 2, 1968, Timothy Harrington was appointed as an auxiliary bishop of the diocese by Pope Paul VI. In 1973, the diocese joined the Worcester County Ecumenical Council, a predominantly Protestant organization.[8]

After Flannagan's retirement in 1983, Pope John Paul II appointed Harrington as the new bishop of Worcester. Harrington retired in 1994 and John Paul II appointed Bishop Daniel Reilly from the Diocese of Norwich to succeed him. During his tenure in Worcester, Reilly reopened St. Joseph Parish but merged it with Notre Dame des Canadiens Parish in Worcester.[9] He raised over $50 million for his Forward in Faith campaign to place the diocese in a stable financial condition.[9]

2004 to present

When Reilly retired in 2004, John Paul II appointed Auxiliary Bishop Robert McManus from the Diocese of Providence to replace him. He is the current bishop of Worcester.

McManus in 2007 criticized the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester for renting out "sacred space" to the Massachusetts Alliance on Teen Pregnancy for workshops. He said that the Alliance taught subjects that violated Catholic teachings. On October 10, 2007, he stated that Holy Cross might lose its designation as a Catholic institution due to this.[10] Holy Cross President Michael C. McFarland said that the college had contractual obligations to the Alliance and would not cancel its agreement.[11]

In April 2012, McManus asked Anna Maria College in Paxton, Massachusetts, to rescind an invitation to activist Victoria Kennedy to speak at its commencement ceremony, citing her views on abortion rights for women and same sex marriage.[12] On May 4, 2012, the college agreed to disinvite Kennedy, but also disinvited McManus, stating that his presence at the ceremony would be a "distraction".[13]

In June 2012, diocesan officials declined to sell Oakhurst, an historic mansion in Northbridge, Massachusetts used as a retreat center, to James Fairbanks and Alain Beret, a married gay couple.[14][15] In September 2012, the couple sued McManus and the diocese for discrimination. They cited an email in which church officials said that McManus wanted to stop the sale "because of the potentiality of gay marriages there."[16][17] On October 12, 2012, the diocese sold the property to a different buyer.[18]

McManus was arrested on May 4, 2013, in Narragansett, Rhode Island for drunken driving, leaving the scene of an accident, and refusing a chemical sobriety test. At 10:30 pm, McManus had been involved in a crash with another vehicle, then fled the scene. The other driver followed him and called the police. They arrested McManus 20 minutes later at his family home in Narragansett.[19]On June 3, 2017, in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the three secrets of Fátima in Portugal, McManus consecrated the diocese to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.[20] The Shrine of Mary, Mother of Persecuted Christians was opened in Clinton, Massachusetts, on October 20, 2022 . It was started by Father Benedict Kiely Nasarean.org, an organization advocating for Christians facing persecution in the Middle East.[21]

Sexual abuse

On August 31, 1997, the Dallas Morning News released a 1968 letter sent by Bishop Flanagan to Reverend Jerome Hayden, a Catholic therapist in Holliston, Massachusetts.[22] In his letter, Flanagan stated that Reverend David A. Holley, a diocesan priest;

"...has been ... [accused of] molesting teenage boys on at least two occasions—most recently in a hospital from which he has been barred—and with carrying around and showing to these boys pornographic magazines and books. Although the ... [accusations] were established beyond any doubt in the judgment of the priests who assisted me in the investigation as well as myself, Father has denied any wrongdoing."[22]

The Dallas Morning News in 1997 released more letters showing that in 1970, after receiving accusations against Holley, the diocese transferred him to the Seton Institute in Baltimore, Maryland without notifying law enforcement.[22]

In May 2020, the Albuquerque Journal that the diocese was being sued in New Mexico by a person who claimed that Holley sexually abused him in the 1970s.[23][24] The lawsuit, which named other dioceses in which Holley served, faulted the Diocese of Worcester with "most of the blame."[24] Holley had been convicted of sexual abuse in New Mexico in 1993 and sentenced to 55 to 275 years. He died in prison in 2008.[23]

On October 1, 2020, Bishop McManus and the diocese were named in a sexual abuse lawsuit filed by a former parishioner.[25] The plaintiff alleged that Reverend Thomas E. Mahoney, a diocesan priest, had groomed and abused him and other boys in the early 1970s in Worcester and Boylston. The lawsuit accused the diocese of failing to stop Mahoney's alleged crimes. After the lawsuit was filed, McManus suspended Mahoney, already retired, from any ministerial duties.[25]

Bishops

Bishops of Worcester
  1. John Joseph Wright (1950-1959), appointed Bishop of Pittsburgh and later Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy (elevated to Cardinal in 1969)
  2. Bernard Joseph Flanagan (1959-1983)
  3. Timothy Joseph Harrington (1983-1994)
  4. Daniel Patrick Reilly (1994-2004)
  5. Robert Joseph McManus (2004–present)

Auxiliary bishops

Other bishops who had been priests of the Diocese of Worcester

Organization of parishes

In 2004, Bishop Reilly grouped parishes into "clusters".[26][27] The purpose of this system is to allow communities to come together for regional events. Also, priests may substitute for one another at a particular parish.

Parish
 City/Town
 Pastor/Administrator
 Associate Pastor/Vicar
Annunciation Parish Gardner Rev. Stephen Lundrigan Rev. Miguel Pagan
St. John Paul II Southbridge Rev. Kenneth R. Cardinale Rev. Carlos Ardilla
Blessed Sacrament Worcester Rev. Richard Trainor
Christ the King Worcester Rev. Msgr. Thomas J. Sullivan
Divine Mercy Blackstone Rev. John Larochelle
Holy Cross Templeton (East Templeton) Rev. Patrick Ssekyole
Holy Family Worcester Monsignor Robert K. Johnson Rev. Cleber dePaula
Holy Family of Nazareth Leominster Rev. José A. Rodriguez
Holy Trinity Harvard/Bolton Rev. Terence T. Kilcoyne
Immaculate Conception Lancaster Rev. Thomas H. Hultquist
Immaculate Conception Worcester Rev. Walter J. Riley
Immaculate Heart of Mary Winchendon Rev. Henry Ramirez
Mary, Queen of the Rosary Spencer Rev. William Schipper
North American Martyrs Auburn Rev. John F. Gee
Our Lady Immaculate Athol Rev. Edwin Montaña
Our Lady of Częstochowa Worcester Rev. Ryszard Polek Rev. Edward Michalski
Our Lady of Good Counsel West Boylston Rev. Steven M. Labaire
Our Lady of Hope Grafton Rev. Anthony Mpagi Rev. Derek Mobilio
Our Lady of Mount Carmel And Our Lady of Loreto Parish Worcester Monsignor F. Stephen Pedone
Our Lady of Lourdes Worcester Rev. James B. O'Shea
Our Lady of Mercy (Maronite Eparchy of Brooklyn) Worcester Rev. Paul Mooradd
Our Lady of Perpetual Help (Melkite Eparchy of Newton) Worcester Rev. Bryan McNeil
Our Lady of Providence Worcester Rev. Jonathan Slavinskas
Our Lady of the Angels Worcester Rev. Charles F. Monroe
Our Lady of the Assumption Millbury Rev. Daniel R. Mulcahy
Our Lady of the Lake Leominster Rev. C. Michael Broderick
Our Lady of the Rosary Worcester Rev. Patrick J. Hawthorne
Our Lady of Vilna (historically Lithuanian, currently Vietnamese) Worcester Rev. Peter Tam M. Bui
Prince of Peace Princeton Rev. James J. Caldarella
Sacred Heart of Jesus Hopedale Rev. William C. Konicki
Sacred Heart of Jesus Milford Rev. Richard A. Scioli, CSS Rev. Gregory J. Hoppough, CSS (weekends)
Sacred Heart of Jesus Webster Rev. Adam Reid
Sacred Heart-St. Catherine of Sweden Worcester Rev. Erik Asante
St. Aloysius Gilbertville Rev. Richard A. Lembo
St. Aloysius-St. Jude Leicester Rev. John M. Lizewiski
St. Andrew Bobola (Polish) Dudley Rev. Krzysztof Korcz
St. Andrew the Apostle Worcester Rev. Msgr. Francis J. Scollen
St. Ann Oxford (North Oxford) Rev. Michael Roy
St. Anna Leominster Rev. Carlos Ruiz
St. Anne Ashburnham (South Ashburnham) Rev. Kevin Hartford (interim)
St. Anne Shrewsbury Rev. Walter Riley Rev. Paul T. O'Connell (Senior Priest)
St. Anne Southborough Rev. Conrad S. Pesevich
St. Anne & St. Patrick (run by Assumptionists) Sturbridge (Fiskedale) Rev. Alex Castro, A.A.
St. Anthony of Padua Fitchburg Rev. Juan Ramirez
St. Anthony of Padua Dudley Rev. Daniel Moreno
St. Augustine Mission Hardwick (Wheelwright) Rev. Richard A. Lembo
St. Bernadette Northborough Rev. Ronald G. Falco
St. Bernard @ St. Camillus de Lellis Church Fitchburg Rev. Joseph M. Dolan
St. Boniface Lunenburg Rev. Anthony Mpagi
St. Brigid Millbury Rev. Daniel R. Mulcahy, Jr.
St. Cecilia Leominster Rev. Robert D. Bruso
St. Christopher Worcester Rev. Stanley F. Krutcik
St. Columba Paxton Rev. David Cotter
St. Denis Ashburnham Rev. Kevin Hartford (interim)
St. Denis Douglas Rev. Ernest P. Allega
St. Edward the Confessor Westminster Rev. Juan Herrara
St. Francis of Assisi Athol Rev. Edwin Montaña
St. Francis of Assisi (Hispanic) Fitchburg Rev. Angel Matos
St. Francis of Assisi South Barre Rev. James B. Callahan
St. Gabriel the Archangel Upton Rev. Laurence V. Brault
St. George Worcester Rev. Edward D. Niccolls
St. Joan of Arc (Hispanic) Worcester Rev. Nelson J. Rivera
St. John Worcester Rev. John F. Madden
St. John the Baptist East Brookfield Rev. Richard A. Jakubauskas (Admin.) Rec. Donald C. Ouellette
St. John, Guardian of Our Lady Clinton Rev. James S. Mazzone Rev. Juan Sánchez
St. Joseph Auburn Rev. Paul M. Bomba
St. Joseph Charlton Rev. Robert A. Grattaroti Rev. Charles Monroe
St. Joseph Fitchburg Rev. Dario Acevedo
St. Joseph & St. Pius X Leicester Rev. John M. Lizewski
St. Joseph North Brookfield Rev. Richard A. Jakubauskas (Admin.) Rev. Donald C. Ouellette
St. Joseph Basilica Webster Rev. Grzegorz Chodkowski
St. Joseph the Good Provider Berlin Rev. Thomas Tokarz
St. Leo Leominster Rev. William E. Champlin
St. Louis Webster Rev. William F. Sanders
St. Luke the Evangelist Westborough Rev. Diego A. Buritica
St. Mark Sutton Rev. Michael A. Digeronimo
St. Martin Mission Templeton (Otter River) Rev. Patrick Ssekyole
St. Mary Holden (Jefferson) Rev. Timothy M. Brewer
St. Mary Shrewsbury Rev. Msgr. Michael F. Rose Rev. José Carvajal
St. Mary Uxbridge Rev. Nicholas Desimone Rev. Michael Hoye
St. Mary of the Hills Boylston Rev. Juan Echavarria
St. Mary the Assumption Milford Rev. Peter Joyce Rev. Victor A. Sierra
St. Matthew Southborough Rev. James B. Flynn
St. Patrick Rutland Rev. James Boland
St. Patrick Whitinsville Rev. Tomasz J. Borkowski
St. Paul Warren Rev. Alan Martineau
St. Paul Cathedral Worcester Rev. Hugo Cano Rev. Diego A. Buriticá
St. Peter Northbridge Rev. Michael Lavallee
St. Peter Petersham Rev. Edwin Montaña
St. Peter (Hispanic and African-American) Worcester Rev. Msgr. Francis J. Scollen
St. Richard of Chichester Sterling Rev. James M. Steuterman
St. Roch Oxford Rev. Michael J. Roy
St. Rose of Lima Northborough Rev. Juan Escudero
St. Stanislaus Warren (West Warren) Rev. Alan Martineau
St. Stephen Worcester Monsignor Robert K. Johnson Rev. Cleber dePaula
St. Vincent de Paul Templeton (Baldwinville) Rev. Francis A. Roberge

High schools
* Operates independent of the Diocese

Closed

Administrators
  • Robert Joseph McManus, Bishop
  • Daniel P. Reilly, Bishop Emeritus
  • Richard F. Reidy, Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia
  • F. Stephen Pedone, Judicial Vicar
  • Paul T. O'Connell, Associate Judicial Vicar
  • Raymond L. Delisle, Chancellor of Operations
  • James Mazzone, Director of Priest Personnel
  • Paula Kelleher, Vicar for Religious
  • James P. Moroney, Diocesan Office of Liturgy
  • Donato Infante III, Director of Vocations

See also

References
  1. "Our History". St. Paul Diocesan Jr/Sr High School. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  2. "Freedom of Religion Comes to Boston | Archdiocese of Boston". www.bostoncatholic.org. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  3. "Our History". Archdiocese of Baltimore. Archived from the original on July 24, 2008. Retrieved March 30, 2009.
  4. Page on Archdiocese of Baltimore on Catholic Hierarchy web site.
  5. Kuzniewski, Anthony J. (1999). Thy Honored Name: A History of the College of the Holy Cross, 1843-1994. CUA Press. ISBN 978-0-8132-0911-1. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2017.
  6. "History". holycross.edu. Archived from the original on October 21, 2021. Retrieved October 8, 2017.
  7. "Springfield in Massachusetts (Diocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org.
  8. Telegram & Gazette. May 22, 2007
  9. Shaw, Kathleen (May 6, 2003). "Bishop Reilly to retire". Worcester Telegram & Gazette.
  10. Hudson, Deal W. (October 15, 2007). "High Noon at College of the Holy Cross". Crisis Magazine. Retrieved July 27, 2012.
  11. "High Noon at College of the Holy Cross". Crisis Magazine. October 15, 2007. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  12. "Bishop Stands Firm On Kennedy Snub". WCVB. April 27, 2012. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  13. "Bishop who disinvited Kennedy to skip graduation". Boston.com. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  14. Williamson, Dianne (July 26, 2012). "'Plans' don't include sale to gay couple". Worcester Telegram. Retrieved July 27, 2012.
  15. Anderson, Karen. "Gay Couple Says Church Is Blocking Sale Of Historic Home". CBS Boston. Retrieved July 27, 2012.
  16. Wangsness, Lisa (September 10, 2012). "Gay couple says church denied Northbridge mansion sale to stop same-sex weddings". Boston Globe. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
  17. Fenton, Josh. "Gay Couple Sues Diocese of Worcester for Discrimination". GoLocalWorcester. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  18. "Diocese sells retreat center despite lawsuit; Buyer says no gay marriages". Boston Business Journal. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  19. "Bishop McManus of Worcester arrested for drunken driving; admits 'terrible error in judgment'". www.boston.com. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  20. "Diocese to be Consecrated to Immaculate Heart of Mary". Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester, May 30, 2017
  21. CNA. "A Marian shrine for persecuted Christians to open". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
  22. "Path of a Pedophile Priest [David A. Holley], Dallas Morning News, August 31, 1997". www.bishop-accountability.org. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  23. "Worcester Diocese named in New Mexico child sex abuse suit - Blog View - The 016 - Worcester, Mass". the016.com. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  24. Maxwell, Nicole. "St. Jude's, Immaculate Conception named in lawsuit for 1970s child sexual abuse". Alamogordo Daily News. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  25. Thompson, Elaine (October 1, 2020). "Worcester priest removed after lawsuit alleges sex abuse in the '70s". Telegram & Gazette. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  26. "Office of Pastoral Planning" (PDF). Diocese of Worcester. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2007.
  27. "The Catholic Free Press". Archived from the original on September 4, 2007. Retrieved August 16, 2007.
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