Roman Catholic Diocese of Fall River

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Fall River (Latin: Dioecesis Riverormensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the New England region of the United States. It is led by the prelature of a bishop administering the diocese from the mother church St. Mary's Cathedral in Fall River, Massachusetts.

Diocese of Fall River

Dioecesis Riverormenensis
Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption
Location
Country United States
TerritoryCounties of Barnstable, Bristol, Dukes, Nantucket, and Plymouth (specifically, the towns of Marion, Mattapoisett, and Wareham)[1]
Ecclesiastical provinceBoston
MetropolitanBoston
Population
- Catholics
313,115[1][2] (39.7%)
Information
DenominationCatholic
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
EstablishedMarch 12, 1904
CathedralCathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption
Patron saintSaint Mary of the Assumption
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
BishopEdgar Moreira da Cunha, S.D.V.
Metropolitan ArchbishopSeán Patrick O'Malley, O.F.M. Cap.
Archbishop of Boston
Bishops emeritusGeorge William Coleman
Map
Website
fallriverdiocese.org

The diocese was canonically erected by Pope Pius X on March 12, 1904, taking its territories from the Diocese of Providence in Rhode Island. It comprises the counties of Barnstable, Bristol, Dukes, and Nantucket, as well as three towns in Plymouth County.

Diocesan statistics

Religious include the bishop, 147 priests currently serving in parishes, 90 permanent deacons, 16 religious brothers and 295 religious sisters. There are 96 parishes, 11 missions, a health care center, and 5 nursing homes.

The total Catholic population of the area as of 2013 is approximately 313,115.[2]

Education

The diocese maintains one college, Stonehill, five high schools — (Bishop Connolly High School in Fall River, Bishop Stang High School in Dartmouth, Bishop Feehan High School in Attleboro, Coyle and Cassidy School in Taunton, and Saint Pope John Paul II High School in Hyannis), two middle schools and fifteen elementary schools.

Superintendents

The current Superintendent of Schools is Stephen Perla.[3] The following is a list of superintendents:

  • George A. Milot, PhD (2001–2011)[4]
  • Michael S. Griffin, PhD (2011–2016)
  • Stephen Perla (2016 – present)

Bishops

The following is a list of bishops and their terms of service:

  1. William Stang (1904–1907)
  2. Daniel Francis Feehan (1907–1934)
  3. James Edwin Cassidy (1934–1951)
  4. James Louis Connolly (1951–1970)
  5. Daniel Anthony Cronin (1970–1992), appointed Archbishop of Hartford
  6. Seán Patrick O'Malley, O.F.M. Cap. (1992–2002), appointed Bishop of Palm Beach and later Archbishop of Boston (created Cardinal in 2006)
  7. George William Coleman (2003–2014)
  8. Edgar Moreira da Cunha, S.D.V. (2014–present)

Coadjutor bishops
  • James Edwin Cassidy (1934)
  • James Loius Connolly (1945-1951)

Auxiliary bishops

Other priests of this diocese who became Bishops

History

Father William Stang was appointed the first bishop of Fall River March 12, 1904, the day the diocese was erected. He died in office. Bishop Stang High School was named in his memory.

On July 2, 1907, Father Daniel Feehan was appointed Bishop of Fall River. Ordained a bishop on September 19, 1907, by Bishop Thomas Daniel Beaven, he served until incapacitation and died on July 19, 1934, in office. Bishop Feehan High School was named in his honor.

Feehan was succeeded by James E. Cassidy, his Coadjutor Bishop and Vicar General for many years. In 1945 Bishop Cassidy received the assistance of a Coadjutor Bishop, the Most Reverend James L. Connolly, who would later succeed him. Bishop Cassidy High School, now known as Coyle and Cassidy High School, was named in his honor.

Bishop James Louis Connolly was born in Fall River in 1894 and graduated from B. M. C. Durfee High School in 1913. In 1945, he was named Coadjutor Bishop of Fall River.

Following the death of Cassidy, Connolly became Bishop of Fall River in May 1951. One key to his tenure as Bishop was a special concern with providing secondary education in the four urban areas of the Diocese. As a result, four Catholic high schools were constructed under his guidance. Bishop Connolly High School[5] was dedicated in his name in 1967. He also founded the diocesan newspaper, The Anchor.[6] Connolly attended all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council. He served as Bishop of Fall River until 1970 when he retired.

In the early 1990s, revelations surfaced about how the Diocese of Fall River protected former priest James Porter from being potential sex abuse charges in between 1960 and 1964. After being transferred to St. Mary's parochial grammar school in 1960, where he was charged with managing the school's altar boys, Porter gained a reputation there as a child molester, However, no action was taken against him by the Catholic Church until 1963, by which time at least four parents had complained to his superiors about his inappropriate behavior. Rather than contact the police, however, Church officials moved Porter to a parish in Fall River, where further complaints about his behavior surfaced.[7] Despite being arrested as early as 1964 for sex abuse, all of his sex abuse charges only resulted in hospitalizations until he was jailed in Minnesota in 1992, which also happened many years after he left the priesthood to get married and start a family[8] In the early 1960s, Porter abused more than 60 North Attleboro children, and nearly 100 in southeastern Massachusetts.[9] In Massachusetts in 1993, Porter's lawyer struck a plea bargain, and Porter was sentenced to 18–20 years in prison, with the possibility of parole, with counseling, after six years. Parole was consistently denied for several years. He completed his prison sentence in 2004, but was held until his death pending a civil commitment hearing.[7] In December 1993, then-Diocese of Fall River Bishop Sean O'Malley acknowledged the Diocese's protection of Porter and apologized.[10]

Daniel Anthony Cronin became the fifth Bishop in December 1970 upon the retirement of Bishop Connolly. Cronin continued the work of implementing the decrees of the Second Vatican Council and supported liturgical renewal, continuing education of the clergy and the restoration of the permanent diaconate. He devoted himself to the pastoral care of the sick in hospitals, to the expansion of Catholic Counseling and Social Services, to the Family Life Ministry and other various activities.[11] Late in 1991 Pope John Paul II appointed Bishop Cronin Archbishop of Hartford.

On July 3, 2014, Bishop Edgar Moreira da Cunha, S.D.V., was announced as the eighth bishop of the Diocese of Fall River, and installed September 24.[12][13] Edgar M. da Cunha was born in Nova Fatima, then part of the municipality of Riachão do Jacuípe, Brazil. He studied at the Universidade Catolica Fatima dos Salvados[14] and was ordained a priest on March 27, 1982 by Bishop Joseph A. Francis, S.V.D. He was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark as well as titular bishop of Ucres on June 27, 2003 by John Paul II. da Cunha was consecrated an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Newark on September 3, 2003 as the only Brazilian-born bishop in the United States.[15]

Landmarks

In addition to St. Mary's Cathedral, two other major churches in the diocese are St. Anthony of Padua in New Bedford, Santo Christo Church and Shrine, and St. Anne's both in Fall River.

Suppressed parishes
YearParishCity/TownNotesRef
1966Our Lady of the Holy Rosary ParishNew Bedford[16][17]
1977St. Hyacinth ParishNew Bedford[18]
1982St. Roch's ParishFall River[19]
1987St. Boniface ParishNew Bedford[20]
1987Sacred Hearts ParishFairhaven[21]
1989St. Mathieu's ParishFall River[22]
1997Holy Cross ParishFall RiverMerged with SS. Peter & Paul Parish in 1997 to become SS. Peter & Paul Parish at Holy Cross Church; the parish merged again with St. Mary's Cathedral in 2013.[23]
1999St. Therese ParishNew Bedford[24]
2000St. Casimir ParishNew Bedford[25]
2000St. Elizabeth's ParishFall RiverMerged with St. Jean Baptiste Parish and St. William's Parish to form Parish of the Holy Trinity.[26]
2000St. Jean Baptiste ParishFall RiverMerged with St. Elizabeth's Parish and St. William's Parish to form Parish of the Holy Trinity.[27]
2000St. Louis ParishFall RiverMerged with St. Mary's Cathedral effective August 1, 2000.[28]
2000St. William's ParishFall RiverMerged with St. Jean Baptiste Parish and St. Elizabeth's Parish to form Parish of the Holy Trinity.[29]
2000Sacred Heart ParishTauntonMerged with Our Lady of Lourdes Parish to form Annunciation of the Lord Parish at the former Sacred Heart Church.
2000Our Lady of Lourdes ParishTauntonMerged with Sacred Heart Parish to form Annunciation of the Lord Parish at the former Sacred Heart Church.[30]
2004St. Anne ParishNew Bedford[31]
2004St. Hedwig ParishNew Bedford[32]
2007Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception ParishTaunton[33]
2007St. Jacques ParishTaunton[34]
2008St. Joseph ParishTaunton
2008St. Paul ParishTaunton
2008St. Peter ParishDightonMerged with St. Joseph Parish (Dighton) to form St. Nicholas of Myra Parish.[35]
2008St. Joseph ParishDightonMerged with St. Peter Parish to form St. Nicholas of Myra Parish.[35]
2012St. John the Baptist ParishNew Bedford[36]
2012Notre Dame de Lourdes ParishFall RiverMerged with Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Parish to form St. Bernadette's Parish.[37]
2012Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception ParishFall RiverMerged with Notre Dame de Lourdes Parish to form St. Bernadette's Parish. Immaculate Conception church building demolished in February 2019.[37][38]
2013Holy Ghost ParishAttleboro[39]
2013St. Joseph's ParishAttleboro[39]
2018St. Bernadette's ParishFall River
2018Ste. Anne's ParishFall River[40]

Province of Boston

See also

References
  1. "Diocese of Fall River". Catholic Hierarchy. 30 September 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-05.
  2. "A Look at the Diocese". Diocese of Fall River. Retrieved 2013-11-05.
  3. "Leadership Team – CS Alliance". www.catholicschoolsalliance.org. Retrieved 2018-07-12.
  4. "Former Principal Milot to Return as Bishop Feehan Principal | Patch". Foxborough, MA Patch. Retrieved 2016-01-04.
  5. "History". Bishop Connolly High School. Retrieved 2013-11-05.
  6. "About The Anchor". The Anchor. Retrieved 2016-03-03.
  7. "Pedophile priest James Porter dies at 70". NBC News. New York City: NBCUniversal. Associated Press. February 11, 2005. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  8. Kurkjian, Stephen; Matchan, Linda (July 24, 1992). "Other abuse by Porter alleged in N.M." Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts: Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  9. Matchan, Linda (August 29, 1993). "Abuse in the Catholic Church: Town secret". Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts: Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  10. https://apnews.com/1b36dbe79b0eed05f276d7fdea5ea59e
  11. "Our History". Diocese of Fall River. Archived from the original on 2013-11-05. Retrieved 2013-11-05.
  12. "Pope Francis appoints new bishop for Fall River Diocese". Taunton Daily Gazette. Taunton, Mass. July 3, 2014. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
  13. Allard, Deborah (July 4, 2014). "Da Cunha named new bishop of Fall River diocese". Taunton Daily Gazette. Taunton, Mass. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
  14. "Interview with Auxiliary Bishop Edgar Moreira da Cunha". Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  15. "Bishop Edgar Moreira da Cunha". Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  16. "Diocese Suppresses New Bedford French-Language Holy Rosary Church". The Anchor. Fall River. April 14, 1966. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  17. "Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Parish, New Bedford". The Anchor. Fall River. September 12, 2003. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  18. "St. Hyacinth Parish, New Bedford". The Anchor. Fall River. May 16, 2003. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  19. "St. Roch's Parish, Fall River". The Anchor. Fall River. June 13, 2003. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  20. "St. Boniface Parish, New Bedford". The Anchor. Fall River. September 5, 2003. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  21. "Sacred Hearts Parish, Fairhaven". The Anchor. Fall River. September 12, 2003. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  22. "St. Mathieu's Parish, Fall River". The Anchor. Fall River. May 9, 2003. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  23. Fraga, Brian (21 July 2013). "As churches merge, diocese and parishioners struggle with transitions". The Herald News. Fall River. Retrieved 2013-11-05.
  24. Thomas, Sarah (20 November 1999). "A tender farewell at St. Therese". The Standard-Times. New Bedford: southcoasttoday.com. Retrieved 2013-11-05.
  25. Barcellos, Robert J. "St. Casimir's priest retires". The Standard-Times. New Bedford: southcoasttoday.com. Retrieved 2013-11-05.
  26. "St. Elizabeth's Parish, Fall River". The Anchor. Fall River. October 24, 2003. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  27. "St. Jean Baptiste Parish, Fall River". The Anchor. Fall River. May 30, 2003. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  28. "Decree". The Anchor. Fall River. 28 July 2000. Retrieved 2019-04-06.
  29. "St. Williams's Parish, Fall River". The Anchor. Fall River. August 15, 2003. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
  30. Dion, Marc Monroe (8 April 2012). "Fall River, Greater Taunton churches see downsizing, transitions". Taunton Daily Gazette. tauntongazette.com. Retrieved 2013-11-05.
  31. Spillane, Jack (26 February 2004). "Diocese to merge four New Bedford Parishes". The Standard-Times. New Bedford: southcoasttoday.com. Retrieved 2013-11-05.
  32. Spillane, Jack (29 February 2004). "Parish merger a unilateral decision". The Standard-Times. New Bedford: southcoasttoday.com. p. A1. Retrieved 2013-11-05.
  33. "Whittenton churches merge into new parish". wickedlocal.com. GateHouse News Service. 8 June 2007. Retrieved 2013-11-05.
  34. Lopes, Ashley (21 June 2007). "Two churches merge to create new parish". Taunton Daily Gazette. tauntongazette.com. Retrieved 2013-11-05.
  35. Tuoti, Gerry (8 April 2012). "FEWER BUT STRONGER: Diocese hopes Greater Taunton church consolidations result in 'stronger parish community'". Taunton Daily Gazette. tauntongazette.com. Retrieved 2013-11-05.
  36. Phillips, Jim (4 November 2012). "Parishioners Saddened As St. John The Baptist Closes In New Bedford". WBSM News. wbsm.com. Retrieved 2013-11-05.
  37. "Flint Parishes to merge". The Standard-Times. New Bedford: southcoasttoday.com. 22 March 2012. Retrieved 2013-11-05.
  38. "Demolition of Fall River's Immaculate Conception Church begins". The Herald News. Fall River. February 5, 2019. Retrieved 2019-02-05.
  39. "Home Page | The Anchor". Anchornews.org. 2014-08-09. Retrieved 2014-08-19.
  40. "The last Mass at St. Anne's ends a long-time legacy in community". The Herald News. Fall River. November 25, 2018. Retrieved 2018-11-25.

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