Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston


The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston is an ecclesiastical territory or Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the New England region of the United States. It comprises several counties of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is led by a prelate archbishop who serves as pastor of the mother church, Cathedral of the Holy Cross in the South End of Boston.
As of 2017, there are 288 parishes in the archdiocese. In 2007, the archdiocese estimated that more than 1.8 million Catholics were in the territory, of whom about 315,000 regularly attended Mass.

History

The original Diocese of Boston was canonically erected on April 8, 1808 by Pope Pius VII. It took its territories from the larger historic Diocese of Baltimore and consisted of the states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.
In the nineteenth century, as Catholicism grew exponentially in New England, the Diocese of Boston was carved into smaller new dioceses: on November 28, 1843, Pope Gregory XVI erected the Diocese of Hartford; Pope Pius IX erected the Diocese of Burlington and the Diocese of Portland on July 29, 1853, the Diocese of Springfield on June 14, 1870, and the Diocese of Providence on February 16, 1872. On February 12, 1875, Pope Pius IX elevated the diocese to the rank of an archdiocese.
In the 1920s, Cardinal William O'Connell moved the chancery from offices near Holy Cross Cathedral in the South End to 127 Lake Street in Brighton. "Lake Street" was a metonym for the Bishop and the office of the Archdiocese.

Clergy sexual abuse scandal and settlements

At the beginning of the 21st century the archdiocese was shaken by accusations of sexual abuse by clergy that culminated in the resignation of its archbishop, Cardinal Bernard Francis Law, on December 13, 2002. In September 2003, the archdiocese settled over 500 abuse-related claims for $85 million. Victims received an average of $92,000 each and the perpetrators included 140 priests and two others.
In June 2004, the archbishop's residence and the chancery in Brighton and surrounding lands were sold to Boston College, in part to defray costs associated with abuse cases. The offices of the Archdiocese were moved to Braintree, Massachusetts. The diocesan seminary, Saint John's Seminary, remains on the property in Brighton.

Communications media

The diocesan newspaper The Pilot has been published in Boston since 1829.
The Archdiocese's Catholic Television Center, founded in 1955, produces programs and operates the cable television network CatholicTV. From 1964 to 1966, it owned and operated a broadcast television station under the call letters WIHS-TV.

Ecclesiastical province

The Archdiocese of Boston is also metropolitan see for the Ecclesiastical province of Boston. This means that the archbishop of Boston is the metropolitan for the province. The suffragan dioceses in the province are the Diocese of Burlington, Diocese of Fall River, Diocese of Manchester, Diocese of Portland, Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts, and the Diocese of Worcester.

Pastoral regions

The Archdiocese of Boston is divided into five pastoral regions, each headed by an episcopal vicar.
Pastoral RegionEpiscopal vicarLocationParishesNotable parishesCatholic institutions of higher educationHigh schoolsElementary schoolsCemeteries
CentralVery Rev. Brian McHughBoston, Brookline, Cambridge, Somerville, Winthrop64Cathedral, the Mission ChurchBoston College
Emmanuel College
St. John's Seminary		6298
MerrimackRobert F. HennesseyNorthern Essex County and northern Middlesex County49Merrimack College34
NorthMark W. O'ConnellSouthern Essex County and eastern Middlesex County64none46 11
SouthVery Rev. Robert Connors Plymouth County and eastern Norfolk County59Labouré College33
WestRobert P. ReedSouthern Middlesex County and western Norfolk County67Regis College3117

Bishops

The following are lists of the Bishops and Archbishops of Boston, Coadjutors and Auxiliaries of Boston, and their years of service. Also included are other priests of this diocese who served elsewhere as bishop.

Bishops of Boston

  1. Jean-Louis Lefebvre de Cheverus appointed Bishop of Montauban and later Archbishop of Bordeaux
  2. Benedict Joseph Fenwick, S.J.
  3. John Bernard Fitzpatrick
  4. John Joseph Williams

    Archbishops of Boston

  5. John Joseph Williams
  6. Cardinal William Henry O'Connell
  7. Cardinal Richard James Cushing
  8. Cardinal Humberto Sousa Medeiros
  9. Cardinal Bernard Francis Law, resigned; later appointed Archpriest of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
  10. Cardinal Seán Patrick O'Malley, O.F.M.Cap.

    Coadjutor bishops

Seminaries

As of 2018, the archdiocese had 112 schools with about 34,000 students in pre-kindergarten through high school.
In 1993 the archdiocese had 53,569 students in 195 archdiocesan parochial schools. Boston had the largest number of parochial schools: 48 schools with a combined total of about 16,000 students.

Superintendents

SchoolLocationReligious orderFounded
Academy of Notre DameTyngsboroSisters of Notre Dame de Namur1854
Archbishop Williams High SchoolBraintreeSisters of Charity of Nazareth1949
Arlington Catholic High SchoolArlingtonSisters of St. Joseph1960
Austin Preparatory SchoolReadingOrder of Saint Augustine1961
Bishop Fenwick High SchoolPeabodySisters of Notre Dame de Namur1958
Boston College High SchoolDorchesterSociety of Jesus1863
Cardinal Spellman High SchoolBrocktonSisters of St. Joseph1958
Cathedral High SchoolBostonSisters of St. Joseph1926
Catholic Memorial SchoolWest RoxburyCongregation of Christian Brothers1957
Central Catholic High SchoolLawrenceMarist Brothers1935
Cristo Rey Boston High SchoolDorchester2010
Fontbonne AcademyMiltonSisters of St. Joseph1954
Lowell Catholic High SchoolLowellXaverian Brothers1989
Malden Catholic High SchoolMaldenXaverian Brothers1968
Matignon High SchoolCambridge1945
Mount Alvernia High SchoolNewtonMissionary Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception1935
Newton Country Day SchoolNewtonSociety of the Sacred Heart1880
Notre Dame AcademyHinghamSisters of Notre Dame de Namur1853
Notre Dame Cristo Rey High SchoolLawrenceSisters of Notre Dame de Namur2004
Presentation of Mary AcademyMethuenSisters of the Presentation of Mary1958
Sacred Heart High SchoolKingstonCongregation of Divine Providence1947
Saint Clement High SchoolMedfordSisters of St. Joseph1925
Saint Joseph Preparatory High SchoolBrightonSisters of St. Joseph2012
Saint Sebastian's SchoolNeedham1941
St. John's Preparatory SchoolDanversXaverian Brothers1907
St. Mary's High SchoolLynn1881
Ursuline AcademyDedhamUrsuline Sisters1819
Xaverian Brothers High SchoolWestwoodXaverian Brothers1963

; Former high schools
SchoolLocationReligious orderOpenedClosed
Academy of the AssumptionWellesley
Academy of Notre DameBoston
Blessed Sacrament High SchoolJamaica Plain
Boys' Catholic High SchoolMaldenXaverian Brothers19361968
Cardinal Cushing High SchoolSouth Boston
Cheverus High SchoolMalden
Christopher Columbus High SchoolBostonFranciscan Friars1945
Don Bosco Technical High SchoolBostonSalesians of Don Bosco19981998
Elizabeth Seton AcademyBoston2003
Girls' Catholic High SchoolMalden1992
Holy Trinity High SchoolRoxbury1966
Hudson Catholic High SchoolHudson19592009
Keith AcademyLowell1989
Keith HallLowell1989
Marian High SchoolFraminghamSisters of St. Joseph19562018
Mission Church High SchoolMission Hill19261992
Monsignor Ryan High SchoolSouth Boston
Mount Saint Joseph AcademyBostonSisters of St. Joseph18842012
Nazareth High SchoolSouth Boston
North Cambridge Catholic High SchoolCambridge19512010
Notre Dame AcademyRoxburySisters of Notre Dame de Namur18541954
Pope John XXIII High SchoolEverett19652019
St. Anne's SchoolArlington
St. Augustine High SchoolSouth Boston
St. Bernard High SchoolNewton
St. Clare High SchoolRoslindale
St. Columbkille High SchoolBrighton
St. John the Evangelist High SchoolCambridge19211951
St. Joseph AcademyRoxbury
St. Joseph's High School for GirlsLowell1989
St. Louis AcademyLowell1989
St. Patrick High SchoolLowell1989
St. Patrick High SchoolRoxbury
St. Peter's High SchoolCambridge
St. Thomas Aquinas High SchoolJamaica Plain
Savio Preparatory High SchoolEast BostonSalesians of Don Bosco19582007
Trinity Catholic High SchoolNewton18942012
Our Lady of Nazareth AcademyWakefieldSisters of Charity of Nazareth19472009

Other facilities

The archdiocese previously used a headquarters facility in Brighton but sold it to Boston College in 2004 for $107,400,000.