Roman Catholic Diocese of London, Ontario
Diocese of London, Ontario Diœcesis Londonensis | |
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![]() Coat of arms | |
Location | |
Country | ![]() |
Ecclesiastical province | Ontario |
Metropolitan | Archdiocese of Toronto |
Deaneries | 7 |
Statistics | |
Area | 21,349 km2 (8,243 sq mi) The territory comprises the following counties of Ontario: Middlesex, Elgin, Norfolk, Perth, Huron, Lambton, Kent, & Essex. |
Population - Total - Catholics (including non-members) | 1,944,182 444,310 (22.8%) |
Parishes | 131 |
Information | |
Denomination | Catholic |
Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
Rite | Roman Rite |
Established | February 21, 1856 |
Cathedral | St. Peter's Cathedral Basilica |
Patron saint | The Immaculate Conception & St. Patrick |
Secular priests | 169 |
Current leadership | |
Pope | Francis |
Bishop | Ronald Peter Fabbro |
Metropolitan Archbishop | Thomas Christopher Collins |
Auxiliary Bishops | |
Website | |
dol.ca |
The Roman Catholic Diocese of London (Latin: Diœcesis Londonensis) is a Latin rite suffragan of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Toronto in Ontario, southeastern Canada.
The present episcopal see of the Diocese, St. Peter's Cathedral, was built in a French Gothic Revival style from 1880 to 1885. It was raised to the status of a minor basilica by Pope John XXIII in December, 1961.
Statistics and Extent[]
The Diocese covers the counties of Middlesex, Elgin, Norfolk, Oxford, Perth, Huron, Lambton, Kent and Essex.
As of 2020, it pastorally served 444,310 Catholics (22.8% of 1,944,182 total) on 21,349 km² in 130 parishes and 1 mission with 136 priests (101 diocesan, 35 religious), 73 deacons, 474 lay religious (1 brother, 473 sisters) and 11 seminarians.[1]
The Diocese also runs St. Peter's Seminary, which is now affiliated with the University of Western Ontario.
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 (now a Metropolitan Archdiocese), 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(sis) (Latin), 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(sis) (Latin), 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.[2] Deschenes first began legal action against the Diocese of London in 1996.[2] Sylvestre pled guilty in August 2006 to sexually abusing 47 females, whose ages ranged between 9 and 14, between 1952 and 1989[3] Local newspapers documented the lives of many of the women who refused the publication ban and spoke out about their abuse.[4] He was given a three-year sentence in October 2006 and died January 22, 2007, of natural causes after only three months in prison.[5] The case was documented by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation news programme The Fifth Estate.[5]
Bishops[]
Episcopal Ordinaries[]
(all Roman Rite)
- Suffragan Bishops of London, Ontario
- Pierre-Adolphe Pinsonnault (May 13, 1856 - 1859.02.02 see below)
- Suffragan Bishops of Sandwich
- Pierre-Adolphe Pinsonnault (see above 1859.02.02 - retired December 18, 1866), emeritus as Titular Bishop of Birtha (1868.12.04 – death 1883.01.30)
- John Walsh (November 10, 1867 - 1869.10.03 see below)
- Suffragan Bishops of London, Ontario
- John Walsh (see above 1869.10.03 - July 25, 1889), next Metropolitan Archbishop of Toronto (Ontario, Canada) (1889.07.25 – death 1898.07.30)
- Denis (T.) O'Connor, Congregation of St. Basil (C.S.B.) (19 October 1890 – 7 January 1899), next Metropolitan Archbishop of Toronto (Canada) (1899.01.07 – 1908.05.04), emeritus as Titular Archbishop of Laodicea (1908.05.04 – death 1911.06.30)
- Fergus Patrick McEvay (August 6, 1899 - April 13, 1908), next Metropolitan Archbishop of Toronto (Canada) (1908.04.13 – death 1911.05.10)
- , Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (O.M.I.) (April 25, 1910 - death February 22, 1931)
- (July 3, 1931 - death June 2, 1950), previously Bishop of Calgary (Alberta, Canada) (1925.02.06 – 1931.07.03)
- (June 2, 1950 – death December 5, 1963), previously Bishop of Victoria (Canada) (1936.12.09 – 1946.04.06), Titular Bishop of Elatea (1946.04.06 – 1950.06.02) as Coadjutor Bishop of London (1946.04.06 – 1950.06.02)
- Gerald Emmett Carter (February 17, 1964 - April 29, 1978), succeeded as previous Titular Bishop of Altiburus (1961.12.01 – 1964.02.17) and Auxiliary Bishop of London (1961.12.01 – 1964.02.17); also President of Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (1975 – 1977); later Metropolitan Archbishop of Toronto (Canada) (1978.04.27 – retired 1990.03.17), created Cardinal-Priest of S. Maria in Traspontina (1979.06.30 – death 2003.04.06)
- John Michael Sherlock (July 8, 1978 - April 27, 2002), also President of Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (1983 – 1985); succeeded as previous Titular Bishop of (1974.06.25 – 1978.07.07) and Auxiliary Bishop of London (1974.06.25 – 1978.07.07); Bishop Emeritus when he died
- Auxiliary Bishop: Marcel André J. Gervais (1980.04.19 – 1985.05.03), Titular Bishop of Rosemarkie (1980.04.19 – 1985.05.03); later Bishop of Sault Sainte Marie (Canada) (1985.05.03 – 1989.05.13), Coadjutor Archbishop of Ottawa (Ontario, Canada) (1989.05.13 – 1989.09.27) succeeding as Metropolitan Archbishop of Ottawa (Canada) (1989.09.27 – retired 2007.05.14), President of Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (1991 – 1993)
- Auxiliary Bishop: Frederick Bernard Henry (1986.04.18 – 1995.03.24), Titular Bishop of Carinola (1986.04.18 – 1995.03.24); later Bishop of Thunder Bay (Canada) (1995.03.24 – 1998.01.19), Bishop of Calgary (Canada) (1998.01.19 – retired 2017.01.04)
- Auxiliary Bishop: Richard John Grecco (1997.12.05 – 2002.04.27), Titular Bishop of Uccula (1997.12.05 – 2009.07.11); later Bishop of Charlottetown (Canada) (2009.07.11 – ...)
- Ronald Peter Fabbro, C.S.B. (August 15, 2002 - ...), previously Superior General of Congregation of St. Basil (Basilians) (1997 – 2002.04.27).
- Auxiliary Bishop: Robert Anthony Daniels (2004.09.21 – 2011.03.01), Titular Bishop of Scebatiana (2004.09.21 – 2011.03.01); next Bishop of Grand Falls (Canada) (2011.03.01 – ...)
- Auxiliary Bishop: Józef Andrzej Dąbrowski, Michaelites (C.S.M.A.) (2015.01.31 – ...), Titular Bishop of (2015.01.31 – ...).
Other priests of this diocese who became bishops[]
- Eugène Philippe LaRocque, appointed Bishop of Alexandria in Ontario in 1974
- , appointed Bishop of Peterborough, Ontario in 1976
- William Terrence McGrattan, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Toronto, Ontario in 2009
Education[]
- Conseil scolaire catholique Providence
- Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board
- Huron Perth Catholic District School Board
- London District Catholic School Board
- St. Clair Catholic District School Board
- Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board
Churches[]
Cemeteries[]
- Heavenly Rest Catholic Cemetery (Windsor)
- Resurrection Catholic Cemetery (Sarnia)
- St. Peter's Catholic Cemetery (London)
See also[]
- List of Catholic dioceses in Canada
- Ecclesiastical Province of Toronto
- St. Peter's Cathedral Basilica
- St. Peter's Seminary
- Our Lady of the Assumption
References[]
- ^ "Statistics". Diocese of London. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
- ^ Jump up to: a b https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/london-catholic-diocese-loses-appeal-in-child-sexual-abuse-case-1.5578775
- ^ Sims, Jane (August 4, 2006). "'Guilty' 47 times: Rev. Charles Sylvestre admits to decades of sexual abuse involving 47 girls – many still suffering". The London Free Press.
- ^ Wilhem, Trevor. "To hell ...and back". The Windsor Star. Archived from the original on November 10, 2012. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
- ^ Jump up to: a b The Fifth Estate, CBC. "The Good Father". Archived from the original on September 19, 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
Sources and external links[]
- Roman Catholic Diocese of London site
- GCatholic, with Google map - date for all sections
- St. Peter's Seminary (Diocese of London, Ontario)
- "Diocese of London". Catholic-Hierarchy. Retrieved 2007-03-13.
- Bibliography
- Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. .
- Roman Catholic bishops of London, Ontario
- Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Toronto
- Organizations based in London, Ontario
- 1856 establishments in Ontario
- 1856 establishments in Canada