Archdiocese of Boston Archidiœcesis Bostoniensis | |
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Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Boston, 2007 | |
![]() Coat of arms | |
Location | |
Country | ![]() |
Territory | Essex County, Middlesex County, Norfolk County, Suffolk County, and also Plymouth County except the towns of Marion, Mattapoisett, and Wareham[1] |
Ecclesiastical province | Boston |
Coordinates | 42°12′47″N 71°02′29″W / 42.21306°N 71.04139°W |
Statistics | |
Area | 6,386 km2 (2,466 sq mi)[2] |
Population - Total - Catholics | (as of 2021[2]) 4,420,879 1,989,396 (45%) |
Parishes | 266[2] |
Information | |
Denomination | Catholic Church |
Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
Rite | Roman Rite |
Established | April 8, 1808 |
Cathedral | Cathedral of the Holy Cross |
Patron saint | Saint Patrick |
Secular priests | 952 (600 diocesan; 352 religious)[2] |
Current leadership | |
Pope | Francis |
Archbishop-elect | Richard Henning |
Auxiliary Bishops | |
Apostolic Administrator | Seán Patrick O'Malley |
Vicar General | Mark William O'Connell |
Bishops emeritus | |
Map | |
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Website | |
bostoncatholic |
The Archdiocese of Boston (Latin: Archidiœcesis Bostoniensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church in eastern Massachusetts in the United States. Its mother church is the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston. The archdiocese is the fourth largest in the United States.[3]
It was formed in 1808, branching off from the Diocese of Baltimore and growing rapidly during the 19th century. Starting in 2002 the archdiocese faced a sexual abuse scandal which touched off investigations of Catholic Church sexual abuse cases throughout the United States.
Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley, OFM Cap., on August 5, 2024, and has appointed Bishop Richard G. Henning of Providence, as his successor.[4] O’Malley will continue to administer the archdiocese as its apostolic administrator until Henning's installation on October 31.
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