Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia

Archdiocese of Philadelphia Archidioecesis Philadelphiensis
Coat of arms
Flag
Location
Country	United States
Territory	Philadelphia City and County, counties of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery, Pennsylvania
Ecclesiastical province	Metropolitan Province of Philadelphia
Statistics
Area	2,183 sq mi (5,650 km2)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2013) 4,070,000 1,489,000 (36.6%)
Parishes	257
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	April 8, 1808
Cathedral	Cathedral-Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul
Patron saint	St. Peter and St. Paul
Secular priests	619
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Archbishop	Charles Joseph Chaput, O.F.M. Cap.
Auxiliary Bishops	John J. McIntyre Michael J. Fitzgerald Timothy C. Senior Edward Deliman
Emeritus Bishops	Justin Francis Cardinal Rigali Louis A. DeSimone Martin Nicholas Lohmuller Robert P. Maginnis
Map
Website
archphila.org

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in southeastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. It covers the City and County of Philadelphia as well as Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties. The diocese was erected by Pope Pius VII on April 8, 1808, from territories of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Originally the diocese included all of Pennsylvania, Delaware, and seven counties and parts of three counties in New Jersey. The diocese was raised to the dignity of a metropolitan archdiocese on February 12, 1875. The seat of the archbishop is the Cathedral-Basilica of Ss. Peter & Paul.

It is also the Metropolitan See of the Ecclesiastical Province of Philadelphia, which includes the suffragan episcopal sees of Allentown, Altoona-Johnstown, Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, and Scranton. The territory of the province is coextensive with the state of Pennsylvania.

History of the archdiocese

The history of the Catholic Church in the area dates back to William Penn and when Mass was said publicly as early as 1707.^[1] On April 8, 1808, the suffragan dioceses of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Bardstown (moved to Louisville in 1841) were erected by Pope Pius VII from the territory of the Diocese of Baltimore, which was simultaneously raised to the rank of metropolitan archdiocese.^[2] Michael Egan was appointed as the first bishop^[3] and was consecrated as a bishop on October 28, 1810, by Archbishop John Carroll.^[4]

In 1868, the dioceses of Harrisburg, Scranton, and Wilmington were erected from the territory of the diocese.^[1] Philadelphia was raised to a metropolitan archiepiscopal see on February 12, 1875,^[1] with Harrisburg and Scranton as suffragan dioceses. On January 28, 1961, the five northern counties of Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Northampton, and Schuylkill were split off from the archdiocese, to create the Diocese of Allentown.

By 1969, the archdiocese had grown to 1,351,704 parishioners, 1,096 diocesan priests, 676 priests of religious institutes and 6,622 religious women.^[1]

Beginning in 2005, members of the diocese and its hierarchy have been heavily impacted by sexual abuse scandals. Two grand jury reports, guilty pleas and convictions indicate administrative mishandling of cases and other issues.

In February 2012, the diocese announced the largest reorganization of their elementary and high school education system, with numerous recommended school closings and/or mergers.

In a Thursday, August 23, 2012 online news story article about the Archdiocese's schools by Lou Baldwin of Catholic News Service (CNS), it was announced that the Faith in the Future Foundation would assume management of the seventeen archdiocesan high schools and the four special education schools.^[5]

Bishops

Diocesan Bishops

See: Diocesan bishop

Bishops

1. † Michael Francis Egan, OFM (1808–1814)
2. † Henry Conwell (1819–1842)
3. † Francis Patrick Kenrick (1842–1851)
4. † Saint John Nepomucene Neumann, CSsR (1852–1860)

Archbishops

1. † James Frederick Wood (1860–1883)
2. † Patrick John Ryan (1884–1911)
3. † Edmond Francis Prendergast (1911–1918)
4. † Dennis Joseph Cardinal Dougherty (1918–1951)
5. † John Francis Cardinal O'Hara, CSC (1951–1960)
6. † John Joseph Cardinal Krol (1961–1988)
7. † Anthony Joseph Cardinal Bevilacqua (1988–2003)
8. Justin Francis Cardinal Rigali (2003–2011)
9. Charles Joseph Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. (2011–)

† = deceased

Auxiliary bishops

Current

• Timothy C. Senior (2009- )
• John J. McIntyre (2010- )
• Michael J. Fitzgerald (2010-)
• Edward Deliman (2016-)

Former

† = deceased

Other priests in the archdiocese who became bishops

Note: Years in parentheses indicate the time of service as a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, prior to appointment to the episcopacy.

† = deceased

The parish structure

The archdiocese is sub-divided into 12 Regional Deaneries, each administered by a Regional Dean. Present Deans and their Deaneries are as follows:

Regional Deaneries

Parishes of Philadelphia

Educational institutions

Elementary schools

The first Catholic school established in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia was at St. Mary Parish in Philadelphia during the late eighteenth century. During the nineteenth century, Bishop Kenrick encouraged the establishment of Catholic schools. Subsequently, St. John Neumann (1851–1860) made the establishment of parish elementary schools a priority and by 1860 there were seventeen parish elementary schools in Philadelphia. Between 1900 and 1930, Catholic elementary schools increased to 124 schools in Philadelphia and 78 schools in the four suburban counties. Between 1945 and 1965, 62 new Catholic elementary schools were established.

Special Needs schools

With the foundation of Archbishop Ryan School for Children with Deafness in 1912, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia embarked on a proud history of serving families of children with special needs. In 1951, John Cardinal O'Hara responded to the requests of hundreds of parents who sought education, and particularly education in the faith, for their children with mental retardation. As a result, St. Katherine Day School and Our Lady of Confidence School were opened in 1953 and 1954 respectively, and again in response to parent petition, St. Lucy Day School for Children with Visual Impairment was founded in 1955. Queen of the Universe Day Center was added in 1980 to serve students with mental retardation in Bucks County. These five schools of special education have been generously supported by the Catholic Charities Appeal.

High schools within the archdiocese

Diocesan high schools

Leadership within the Archdiocese of Philadelphia envisioned a continued comprehensive education for secondary students.

The first free Catholic high school in the United States was the "Roman Catholic High School of Philadelphia", founded for the education of boys in 1890. (It is often referred to as "Roman Catholic", occasionally as "Catholic High", and most commonly as "Roman".) The "Catholic Girls High School" was founded in 1912. Mary McMichan, one of the school's founders, requested in her last will that the school be renamed in honor of her brother. The school became "John W. Hallahan Catholic Girls High School" after her death. Both schools are still in existence.

Between 1916 and 1927 West Catholic Boys and Girls and Northeast Catholic were opened. Despite the economic hardships of the 1930s and 1940s, seven more diocesan high schools were founded. During a 22-year growth period from 1945 to 1967, fifteen high schools were opened.

Philadelphia high schools

• Archbishop Ryan High School, established 1966
• Father Judge High School, established 1954; administered by the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales
• John W. Hallahan Catholic Girls High School, established 1911
• Little Flower Catholic High School for Girls, established 1939
• Roman Catholic High School, established 1890
• St. Hubert Catholic High School for Girls, established 1941
• Saints John Neumann and Maria Goretti Catholic High School, established 2004 (merger of Saint John Neumann HS and Saint Maria Goretti HS)
• West Catholic Preparatory High School, established 1916, erected 1926. (West Catholic High School for Boys merged into West Philadelphia Catholic Girls'High School building in 1989.)

Bucks County high schools

• Conwell-Egan Catholic High School, established 1957
• Archbishop Wood Catholic High School, established 1964

Chester County high schools

• Bishop Shanahan High School, established 1957

Delaware County high schools

• Monsignor Bonner High School, established 1953
• Archbishop John Carroll High School, established 1967
• Cardinal O'Hara High School, established 1963
• Archbishop Prendergast High School, established 1956

Montgomery County high schools

• Lansdale Catholic High School, established 1949
• Bishop McDevitt High School, established 1958.
• Pope John Paul II High School, established 2010 (replaced Kennedy-Kenrick HS and St. Pius X HS and was Philadelphia's first newly constructed high school since 1967)^[7]

Former Philadelphia Archdiocese Parochial High Schools

• Archbishop Kennedy High School (Conshohocken), 1966 - 1993 (merged with Bishop Kenrick High School in 1993)^[8]
• Bishop Conwell High School (merged with Bishop Egan High School in 1993)
• Bishop Egan High School (merged with Bishop Conwell High School in 1993)
• Bishop Kenrick High School (Norristown), 1955-1993 (merged with Archbishop Kennedy High School in 1993)
• Cardinal Dougherty High School, 1956 - 2010
• Kennedy-Kenrick Catholic High School, 1993 - 2010 (resulted from merger of Archbishop Kennedy High School and Bishop Kenrick High School) (replaced by Pope John Paul II High School)
• Northeast Catholic High School, 1926 - 2010
• Notre Dame Catholic Girls High School (Moylan), 1935-1981
• St. James High School for Boys (Chester), 1940-1993
• St. John the Baptist High School, 1921-1956
• Saint John Neumann High School, 1934 - 2004 (merged with Saint Maria Goretti High School in 2004)
• Saint Maria Goretti High School, 1955 - 2004 (merged with Saint John Neumann High School in 2004)
• St. Matthew High School (Conshohocken), 1866-1966
• St. Patrick High School (Norristown), 1875-1955
• Saint Pius X High School, 1953 - 2010 (replaced by Pope John Paul II High School)
• St. Thomas More High School, 1936-1975
• West Philadelphia Catholic High School for Boys, 1916 - 1989 (merged with West Philadelphia Catholic Girls High School; demolished in 2009)^[9]
• West Philadelphia Catholic Girls High School, 1927 - 1989 (merged with West Philadelphia Catholic High School for Boys)

Private high schools

Though not funded or operated by the archdiocese, the following independent schools operate "with the blessing and spiritual support of the archdiocese:"

• Academy of Notre Dame de Namur, Villanova
• Country Day School of the Sacred Heart, Bryn Mawr
• Cristo Rey Philadelphia High School, Philadelphia
• Devon Preparatory School, Devon
• Gwynedd Mercy Academy High School, Gwynedd Valley
• Holy Ghost Preparatory School, Bensalem
• La Salle College High School, Wyndmoor
• Malvern Preparatory School, Malvern
• Mercy Vocational High School, Philadelphia
• Merion Mercy Academy, Merion
• Mount Saint Joseph Academy, Flourtown
• Nazareth Academy High School, Philadelphia
• Saint Basil Academy, Jenkintown
• Saint Joseph's Preparatory School, Philadelphia
• Villa Joseph Marie High School, Holland
• Villa Maria Academy, Malvern

Seminary

• St. Charles Borromeo Seminary

Colleges and universities within the archdiocese

Note: Each Roman Catholic college and university within the archdiocese is affiliated with a religious institute, rather than the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

• Cabrini College, Radnor Township (Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus)
• Chestnut Hill College, Philadelphia (Sisters of Saint Joseph)
• Gwynedd-Mercy College, Lower Gwynedd Township (Sisters of Mercy)
• Holy Family University, Philadelphia (Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth)
• Immaculata University, East Whiteland Township (Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary)
• La Salle University, Philadelphia (Christian Brothers)
• Neumann University, Aston Township (Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia)
• Rosemont College, Lower Merion Township (Society of the Holy Child Jesus)
• Saint Joseph's University, Philadelphia (Jesuits)
• Villanova University, Radnor Township (Augustinians)

Controversies

The sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia, in Pennsylvania, U.S., is a significant episode in the series of Catholic sex abuse cases in the United States, Ireland and elsewhere. The Philadelphia abuses were substantially revealed through a grand jury investigation in 2005. In early 2011, a new grand jury reported extensive new charges of abusive priests active in the archdiocese. In 2012, a guilty plea by priest Edward Avery and the related trial and conviction of Monsignor William Lynn and mistrial on charges against Rev. James J. Brennan followed from the grand jury's investigations. In 2013, Rev. Charles Engelhardt and teacher Bernard Shero were tried, convicted and sentenced to prison. Lynn was the first official to be convicted in the United States of covering up abuses by other priests in his charge and other senior church officials have been extensively criticized for their management of the issue in the archdiocese.

In 2015, it was reported that the school's long-serving director of religious education, Margie Winters, had been fired from the Waldron Mercy Academy after a parent had reported her directly to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia for marrying her long-term lesbian partner in a civil ceremony in 2007. Winters had been upfront with school administrators at the time of her hiring and was advised to keep a low profile which she says she did. Many parents expressed anger and concern over the school's decision. Principal Nell Stetser justified the decision by arguing that "many of us accept life choices that contradict current Church teachings, but to continue as a Catholic school, Waldron Mercy must comply with those teachings." But she called urgently for "an open and honest discussion about this and other divisive issues at the intersection of our society and our Church." The Archbishop of Philadelphia Charles Chaput, however, has not yet responded to such a call and instead spoke out in favour of her firing, simply calling the dismissal "common sense.".^[10][11]

Publications

The Catholic Standard & Times (newspaper)

Saints of Philadelphia

• St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, for whom the suburban college is named and who visited on numerous occasions. She started an orphanage and an Italian national parish that still is functioning today, St. Donato's in West Philadelphia.
• St. Katharine Drexel
• St. John Nepomucene Neumann – A Redemptorist; became the fourth Bishop of Philadelphia (1852–60) and the first U.S. bishop to be canonized; as bishop of Philadelphia, he founded the first Catholic diocesan school system in the U.S.

Shrines of Philadelphia

• Miraculous Medal Shrine^[12]
• National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa
• National Shrine of Saint John Neumann
• Saint Katharine Drexel Mission Center and Shrine
• National Shrine of Saint Rita of Cascia^[13]

See also

References

External links

• Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia Official Site
• Office of Catholic Education
•  Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Archdiocese of Philadelphia". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 

Coordinates: 39°57′26″N 75°10′04″W / 39.95722°N 75.16778°W / 39.95722; -75.16778