Roman Catholic Diocese of London, Ontario

Statistics and Extent

History

• The Diocese of London was created on February 21, 1856 by Pope Pius IX, on territory carved out of the then Roman Catholic Diocese of Toronto, along with the Diocese of Hamilton, Ontario. Pierre-Adolphe Pinsonnault was named the first Bishop of London on May 18 of that year.
• On 1859.02.02 it was renamed as Diocese of Sandwich / Sandvicen, as its first Bishop Pinsoneault moved the seat of the diocese to Sandwich, on the Detroit River
• On 1869.11.15 it was renamed back as Diocese of London / Londonen, the diocesan see having been returned under second Bishop John Walsh.
• On 2020.05.21 an Ontario appeals court dismissed a bid by the Diocese of London to drop a lawsuit filed by Irene Deschenes, who claimed that notorious predator priest Charles Henry Sylvestre sexually abused her when she was a minor between 1970 and 1973. Deschenes first began legal action against the Diocese of London in 1996. Sylvestre pled guilty in August 2006 to sexually abusing 47 females, whose ages ranged between 9 and 14, between 1952 and 1989 Local newspapers documented the lives of many of the women who refused the publication ban and spoke out about their abuse. He was given a three-year sentence in October 2006 and died January 22, 2007, of natural causes after only three months in prison. The case was documented by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation new programme The Fifth Estate.

  Bishops

Episcopal Ordinaries

• John Walsh, next Metropolitan Archbishop of Toronto
• Denis O'Connor, Congregation of St. Basil , next Metropolitan Archbishop of Toronto , emeritus as Titular Archbishop of Laodicea
• Fergus Patrick McEvay, next Metropolitan Archbishop of Toronto
• Michael Francis Fallon, Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate
• Thomas Kidd, previously Bishop of Calgary
• John Christopher Cody, previously Bishop of Victoria , Titular Bishop of Elatea as Coadjutor Bishop of London
• Gerald Emmett Carter, succeeded as previous Titular Bishop of Altiburus and Auxiliary Bishop of London ; also President of Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops ; later Metropolitan Archbishop of Toronto , created Cardinal-Priest of S. Maria in Traspontina
• John Michael Sherlock, also President of Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops ; succeeded as previous Titular Bishop of Macriana in Mauretania and Auxiliary Bishop of London ; Bishop Emeritus when he died
• * Auxiliary Bishop: Marcel André J. Gervais, Titular Bishop of Rosemarkie ; later Bishop of Sault Sainte Marie , Coadjutor Archbishop of Ottawa succeeding as Metropolitan Archbishop of Ottawa , President of Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops
• * Auxiliary Bishop: Frederick Bernard Henry, Titular Bishop of Carinola ; later Bishop of Thunder Bay , Bishop of Calgary
• * Auxiliary Bishop: Richard John Grecco, Titular Bishop of Uccula ; later Bishop of Charlottetown
• Ronald Peter Fabbro, C.S.B., previously Superior General of Congregation of St. Basil .
• * Auxiliary Bishop: Robert Anthony Daniels, Titular Bishop of Scebatiana ; next Bishop of Grand Falls
• * Auxiliary Bishop: Józef Andrzej Dąbrowski, Michaelites , Titular Bishop of Casæ in Numidia .

  Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

• Eugène Philippe LaRocque, appointed Bishop of Alexandria in Ontario in 1974
• James Leonard Doyle, appointed Bishop of Peterborough, Ontario in 1976
• William Terrence McGrattan, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Toronto, Ontario in 2009

  Churches