Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts

The Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts (Latin: Diœcesis Campifontis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the 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. The Diocese of Springfield of Massachusetts is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Boston.

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

On 14 June 1870, Pope Pius XI erected the Diocese of Springfield, taking Berkshire, Franklin County, Hampden County, Hampshire County, and Worcester County from the Diocese of Boston and making it a suffragan of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of New York.[1]

On 12 February 1875, Pope Pius IX elevated the Diocese of Boston to a metropolitan archdiocese,[2] designating the Diocese of Burlington, the Diocese of Hartford, the Diocese of Portland, the Diocese of Providence, and the Diocese of Springfield as the initial suffragans of the new metropolitan see.[1]

The title of the Diocese of Springfield formally became Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts when Pope Pius XI moved the see of the Diocese of Alton to Springfield, Illinois, thus changing the title of the latter to Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, on 26 October 1923.[3]

On 14 January 1950, Pope Pius XII erected the Diocese of Worcester, taking Worcester County from the Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts and making it a suffragan of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Boston.[4] This action established the present territory of the Diocese of Springfield.

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.[5]

Sexual abuse

On September 24, 2004, former Springfield Bishop Thomas Dupré was indicted by a Hampden County grand jury on two counts of child molestation.[6] He became the first Catholic bishop ever to be indicted for sexual abuse.[7] However, the Springfield district attorney was forced to drop the charges because the statute of limitations had expired.[7]

In February 2019, a news report stated that the Diocese of Springfield had received 15 complaints of sexual abuse in 2018.[8] On May 27, 2020, the Diocese of Springfield formed an independent task force to advise the Diocesan Bishop on allegations of sexual abuse.[9] In June 2020, an independent investigation found allegations against the late Bishop Christopher J. Weldon to be credible.[10]

Both Bishops Weldon and Dupré were later alleged to have perpetrated sexual abuse of a minor or minors and to have covered up the murder of Danny Croteau by a priest in their charge, Richard R. Lavigne, who had sexually abused and then murdered the 13-year-old altar boy in 1972.[11][12]

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

Significant church buildings

The Basilica of St. Stanislaus in Chicopee, Massachusetts, is located within the Diocese of Springfield.

High schools

Closed:

See also

References
  1. "Springfield in Massachusetts (Diocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org.
  2. "Boston (Archdiocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org.
  3. "Springfield in Illinois (Diocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org.
  4. "Worcester (Diocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org.
  5. "Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield puts closed churches on the market". masslive. June 27, 2010.
  6. Finer, Jonathan (2004-09-28). "Mass. Bishop Charged With Rape; No Trial Planned". The Washington Post.
  7. Zezima, Katie (2004-09-28). "Bishop Is Indicted in Sex Abuse Case but Won't Be Prosecuted". The New York Times.
  8. Flynn, Anne-Gerard (February 14, 2019). "Springfield Catholic Diocese received 15 clergy sex abuse reports in 2018". masslive.
  9. "Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield forms independent task force to advise Bishop Mitchell Rozanski on confronting reported clergy sex abuse". masslive. May 27, 2020.
  10. "Investigation: Abuse allegations against Catholic bishop 'credible' - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com.
  11. Cullen, Kevin (October 28, 2021). "After visiting Canada, Pope Francis might want to stop off in Springfield". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  12. Fleming, E.J. Death of an Altar Boy: The Unsolved Murder of Danny Croteau and the Culture of Abuse in the Catholic Church. Exposit, 2018.
  13. "About". Pope Francis Preparatory School. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
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