Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts (Latin: Diœcesis Campifontis) is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the New England region of the United States comprising the counties of Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts

Diœcesis Campifontis
St. Michael's Cathedral
Coat of arms
Location
Country United States
Territory Western Massachusetts
Ecclesiastical provinceBoston
MetropolitanBoston
Coordinates42°06′19″N 72°35′07″W
Statistics
Area2,822 sq mi (7,310 km2)
Population
- Catholics (including non-members)
235,000 (28.9%)
Parishes81
Information
DenominationCatholic
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
EstablishedJune 14, 1870
CathedralSt. Michael's Cathedral
Patron saintSaint Michael
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
BishopWilliam Draper Byrne
Bishops emeritusTimothy A. McDonnell
Map
Website
diospringfield.org

History

Pope Pius IX erected the Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts by canon June 14, 1870, in territory taken from the present-day Archdiocese of Boston.

The Basilica of St. Stanislaus in Chicopee is under the circumscription of the diocese.[1]

Suppression and closure of parishes

Following a decline in parish membership and attendance at weekly Mass, many churches in the diocese have been merged or closed. As of 2010, 65 churches had been closed, with 13 of those buildings housing new congregations created by mergers. Bishop Timothy McDonnell was responsible for the majority of these parish closures.[2]

Sex abuse

On September 24, 2004, former Springfield Bishop Thomas Dupré was indicted by a Hampden County grand jury on two counts of child molestation.[3] He became the first Catholic bishop ever to be indicted for sexual abuse.[4] However, the Springfield district attorney's office was forced to drop the charges because the statute of limitations had run out.[4]

In February 2019 it was reported that the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield received 15 sex abuse complaints in 2018.[5] On May 27, 2020, the Diocese of Springfield formed an independent task force to advise the Diocesan Bishop on sex abuse allegations.[6] In June 2020, an independent investigation found allegations against the late Bishop Christopher Weldon to be credible.[7]

Bishops

Bishops of Springfield in Massachusetts
  1. Patrick Thomas O'Reilly (1870-1892)
  2. Thomas Daniel Beaven (1892-1920)
  3. Thomas Michael O'Leary (1921-1949)
  4. Christopher Joseph Weldon (1950-1977)
  5. Joseph Francis Maguire (1977-1992; coadjutor bishop 1976-1977)
  6. John Aloysius Marshall (1992-1994)
  7. Thomas Ludger Dupré (1995-2004)
  8. Timothy Anthony McDonnell (2004–2014)
  9. Mitchell Thomas Rozanski (2014–2020)
  10. William Draper Byrne (2020-present)

Auxiliary bishops

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

High schools

Closed:

See also

References
  1. "Basilicas: USA -82". GCatholic.org. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  2. Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield puts closed churches on the market
  3. Finer, Jonathan (2004-09-28). "Mass. Bishop Charged With Rape; No Trial Planned". The Washington Post.
  4. Zezima, Katie (2004-09-28). "Bishop Is Indicted in Sex Abuse Case but Won't Be Prosecuted". The New York Times.
  5. https://www.masslive.com/news/2019/02/springfield_diocese_received_1.html
  6. https://www.masslive.com/police-fire/2020/05/roman-catholic-diocese-of-springfield-forms-independent-task-force-to-advise-bishop-mitchell-rozanski-on-confronting-reported-clergy-sex-abuse.html
  7. Investigation: Abuse allegations against Catholic bishop ‘credible’
  8. "About". Pope Francis Preparatory School. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
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