Roman Catholic Diocese of Arlington

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The Roman Catholic Diocese of Arlington is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the southern United States. The Diocese of Arlington comprises 68 parishes located within in the 21 northern-most counties within the Commonwealth of Virginia, including the Northern Virginia counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, and Prince William as well as the independent cities of Alexandria and Falls Church.[1] The Diocese of Arlington is led by a bishop who resides at the Cathedral of Saint Thomas More in Arlington County, Virginia[2]. In 2007, there were 258 priests who ministered to 402,541 registered Catholics in the Diocese of Arlington.[3] The total population within the Diocese of Arlington, both Catholics and non-Catholics, was 2,715,932.[4]


The parishes in the Diocese of Arlington are located in the Virginia Counties of Arlington, Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, Frederick, King George, Lancaster, Loudoun, Madison, Northumberland, Orange, Page, Prince William, Rappahannock, Richmond, Shenandoah, Spotsylvania, Stafford, Warren and Westmoreland, and Cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, Manassas Park, and Winchester.


The Diocese of Arlington also has two missions in the Dominican Republic-- Banica Mission Parish and Pedro Santana Mission Parish, which are overseen by the diocesan Office of the Propagation of the Faith. The Director of the Propagation of the Faith in the Diocese of Arlington is currently Fr. Patrick L. Posey, who also serves as Pastor of St. James Church in Falls Church.[5]


The diocese was canonically erected on May 28, 1974 by Pope Paul VI. [6] The parishes which comprise the Diocese of Arlington were ceded from the neighboring Diocese of Richmond. The current Bishop of Arlington is Paul S. Loverde.[7]


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[edit] Bishops

The Founding Bishop of the Diocese, Thomas Jerome Welsh, was installed on August 13, 1974.[8] Bishop Welsh served until February 8, 1983, when he was transferred by Pope John Paul II to become Bishop of the Diocese of Allentown, Pennsylvania.[9] Bishop Welsh was previously Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and rector of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania.


The second Bishop of the Diocese, John R. Keating, was ordained as Bishop of Arlington on August 4, 1983[10], and served until his death March 22, 1998.[11] Bishop Keating was previously Vicar General and Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Chicago, Illinois.


The Diocese's third Bishop, Paul S. Loverde, previously Bishop of the Diocese of Ogdensburg, New York, was installed on March 25, 1999.[12]


[edit] High Schools

[edit] Parishes

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ "Fast Facts", The Diocese of Arlington, March 2007. See The Official Website of the Diocese of Arlington
  2. ^ Andressi, Anthony D.,Walking in Faith: the first 25 Years. A History of the Diocese of Arlington, Editions du Signe:France 2002. ISBN 2-7468-0625-8 (This is an official publication on behalf of the Diocese of Arlington, see p. 3.)
  3. ^ Catholic Diocese of Arlington, Official 2008 Directory, p. 177.
  4. ^ Ibid.
  5. ^ Contact Information: Propagation of the Faith, The Diocese of Arlington, April 2007. See The Official Website of the Diocese of Arlington
  6. ^ Andreassi, p. 5.
  7. ^ History of the Catholic Diocese of Arlington, The Diocese of Arlington, April 2007.See The Official Website of the Diocese of Arlington
  8. ^ Andreassi, p. 33.
  9. ^ Andreassi, p. 37.
  10. ^ Andreassi, p. 39.
  11. ^ Andreassi, p. 43.
  12. ^ See, History.


[edit] Sources

  • Andreassi, Anthony D.,Walking in Faith: the first 25 Years. A History of the Diocese of Arlington, Editions du Signe:France 2002. ISBN 2-7468-0625-8.
  • The Official Catholic Directory (2006)

[edit] Resources

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