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Archdiocese of Washington Directory † Archdiocese of Washington Map of the Archdiocese of Washington Updated: 11/19/2019 Who We Are History of the Archdiocese of Washington The history of the Catholic Church can be sites of parishes that still exist today within traced back to the first settlers of the colony the Archdiocese of Washington. of Maryland. Jesuit Father Andrew White celebrated the first Mass held in the John Carroll, a Jesuit priest who was born in English-speaking colonies, on the-shores of Upper Marlboro, was appointed the first St. Clement’s Island, in modern day St Bishop of Baltimore. Carroll also was the Mary’s County, in 1634. Fr White and two first Bishop of the United States and initially companions had traveled with the original oversaw all the Catholic priests and founders of Maryland on the Ark and the churches in the fledgling nation. In 1808 Dove. Pope Pius VII created the Dioceses of New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Bardstown, Maryland was founded by the Lords of Kentucky and at the same time raised Baltimore as a haven for religious toleration. Baltimore to a metropolitan see with Carroll In 1649, the Legislature passed the as Archbishop. More dioceses would be Maryland Toleration Act, the first legislation created throughout the nineteenth century enacted for religious freedom in America. as the United States expanded west. With the expulsion of King James II from England during the Glorious Revolution in The Jesuits had five large estates in 1689, all colonies in the New World came Maryland with four of the five located within under the jurisdiction of the crown. Religious the boundaries of the Archdiocese of freedom as it been in Maryland for most of Washington. Three of these plantations are the seventeenth century was abolished. the sites of modern-day Archdiocesan Catholics were barred from public office and parishes. It has been estimated that the harassed by the courts and other legal Jesuits owned as many as 500 enslaved authorities. In 1704, all Catholic chapels and men, women and children in Maryland by schools were ordered closed by the 1820 making them one of the largest Maryland Council. slaveholders in the United States. The Manors incurred increasing debt in the first Two years later in 1706 after lobbying from quarter of the nineteenth century and to prominent Catholics in England, Queen Anne counteract that financial loss, the Jesuits gave permission for Mass to be offered in began to sell portions of lands and small private homes in Maryland. This action groups of enslaved persons. allowed for the continuance of the Catholic faith privately. The use of private house In 1838, the Maryland Province of the chapels instead a freestanding churches Society of Jesus sold their remaining 272 defined the life of the priests and lay people enslaved men, women and children for in Maryland for nearly a century. Commonly $115,000. This equates to just under three referred to as the circuit rides, priests would million dollars today by one calculation. The spend their time traveling between one or money was used to settle the pension debt more private homes and chapels. Many of with the Archbishop of Baltimore, who had these private chapels continued to exist after received a stipend from the Manors since the the establishment of the Archdiocese of time of John Carroll, pay off the debts Baltimore in 1789 and several became the incurred during a building campaign at 1 Who We Are Georgetown University, and to support the encyclical Humanae Vitae. The controversy training of new Jesuits. that followed culminated in the open The Archdiocese of Washington was descent of more than 50 priests and created in 1939 from part of the theologians within the Archdiocese with the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Originally canonical case that affirmed O’Boyle’s encompassing only the City of Washington. handling of the matter only resolved in Michael Curley, the sitting Archbishop of 1971. O’Boyle retired in 1973. Baltimore became by decree of Pope Pius XII the Archbishop of Baltimore-Washington Bishop William W. Baum, of the Diocese of in 1939. Eight years later after Curley’s Springfield-Cape Girardeau succeeded death, then Msgr. Patrick A. O’Boyle was Cardinal O’Boyle in 1973 and was names named the first resident Archbishop of Cardinal in 1976. Baum continued the social Washington. At this time Calvert, Charles, and racial justice efforts begun by creating Montgomery, Prince George’s and St. the Secretariat of Black Catholic and the Mary’s Counties, Maryland, joined the city of Secretariat of Spanish Catholics in 1974 to Washington to create the new archdiocese. look to the temporal and spiritual needs of these populations. He welcomed Pope John At the time of his appointment the new Paul II on his first papal visit to the United Archbishop O’Boyle, a native of Scranton, States in 1979. Cardinal Baum was PA, had served as the Director of Catholic transferred to the Roman Curia in 1980, War Relief Services since 1941. He came to where he served until retirement in 2001. a new diocese with little administrative structure and also built or established nearly James A. Hickey, a Michigan native who 40 parishes in his time as Archbishop. His served as Rector of the North American first initiative was to desegregate all College, was appointed Archbishop of Catholic schools and parishes, which he did Washington in 1980 and elevated to the quietly and persistently over eight years. College of Cardinals in 1988. Under O’Boyle worked closely with the Catholic Cardinal Hickey’s leadership the internal Interracial Council of Washington and in structure of the Archdiocese was 1963 created the Office of Urban Renewal reorganized. He created the first formalized to assist in justice work within the city. policies, most prominently the first policies Because of his work, he was invited to give for Child Protection and Safe Environment the invocation at the Lincoln Memorial in 1986, and established a permanent home during the 1963 March on Washington. for the offices of the Archdiocese on Patrick O’Boyle was elevated to the College Eastern Avenue in Hyattsville. of Cardinals in 1967. All of the social services organizations in the Archdiocese had been reorganized under The turmoil that world saw in 1968 was the umbrella of Associated Catholic particularly felt in the Archdiocese. The April Charities in 1978. Cardinal Hickey took 4th assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King advantage of this realignment to further Jr. was followed by days of rioting that left expand services where the city needed large sections of the city of Washington them most. Hickey invited Mother Teresa destroyed. Cardinal O’Boyle dedicated the and her Missionaries of Charity to the whole of the Annual Archdiocesan Appeal Archdiocese where they founded Gift of for that year to assist in rebuilding the city. Peace convent to care for terminal patients On July 25th Pope Paul VI promulgated his with AIDS. In addition, Cardinal Hickey 2 Who We Are founded the Archdiocesan Health Care well as at the restored brick chapel in St. Network (1983) and Archdiocesan Legal Mary’s County. Network (1989), which provide access to legal and health services for those in need. On April 4, 2019, Pope Francis appointed The archdiocese also grew in diversity his Wilton Gregory to be the seventh tenure, with Mass celebrated in over 20 Archbishop of Washington. He was languages, including Chinese, French, ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, and Chicago on May 9, 1973, and has Vietnamese. previously served as auxiliary bishop of Chicago, bishop of the Diocese of Belleville, In November 2000, Cardinal Hickey retired. IL, and archbishop of the Archdiocese of His successor, then-Newark Archbishop Atlanta. Archbishop Gregory has served in Theodore E. McCarrick, was installed in many leading roles in the U.S. church, January 2001 and served until his including president of the U.S. Conference retirement in 2006. of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and as member of the USCCB’s Executive and In May 2006 Pope Benedict XVI appointed Administrative Committees, the then-Pittsburgh Bishop Donald W. Wuerl as Administrative Board, the Committee on Archbishop of Washington. Wuerl was Doctrine, and the U.S. Catholic Conference known for his catechetical and teaching Committee on International Policy. He has ministry and for his efforts to strengthen written extensively on church issues, Catholic education. He introduced a including pastoral statements on the death successful initiative on the Sacrament of penalty, euthanasia/physician-assisted Reconciliation, “The Light is On,” that suicide and has published numerous quickly became a model for other dioceses. articles on the subject of liturgy, particularly He hosted Pope Benedict XVI during his in the African-American community. historic visit to Washington, D.C. in April 2008 where the Holy Father celebrated Mass Today, the Archdiocese of Washington is for nearly 50,000 people at Nationals Park. home to over 655,000 Catholics. Its 92 Two years later Archbishop Wuerl was Catholic schools educate approximately created a cardinal. In 2011, Cardinal Wuerl 27,000 children while service agencies, opened the Saint John Paul II Seminary for including Catholic Charities and Victory the Archdiocese of Washington. In Housing, have made the archdiocese one of September 2015 Cardinal Wuerl hosted the largest private social service providers Pope Francis during his apostolic visit to in the region. Catholics are finding new Washington. opportunities to deepen their faith through parish formation, evangelization efforts, and The Archdiocese of Washington marked its small faith communities. Although diverse in 75th anniversary in 2014 and in the same nationality, Catholics of the Archdiocese of year held its first Archdiocesan Synod.
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