Roman Catholic Diocese of Fall River

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Roman Catholic Diocese of Fall River
Archidioecesis Riverormenensis

Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston
Basic information
Location Fall River, Massachusetts, United States
Territory Counties of Barnstable, Bristol, Dukes, Nantucket, and Plymouth (specifically, the towns of Mattapoisett, Marion, and Wareham)[1]
Population 347,385 Catholics[2]
Rite Roman Rite
Patron Saint Mary
Ecclesiastical province Archdiocese of Boston
Established March 12, 1904
Cathedral Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption
Bishop George Cardinal Coleman
Website www.fallriverdiocese.org
Current leadership
Pope Benedict XVI
Metropolitan Seán Cardinal O'Malley, OFM Cap
Archbishop of Boston
Diocesan Bishop George Cardinal Coleman
Bishop 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 Cathedral of Saint Mary in Fall River, Massachusetts. The diocese was canonically erected by Pope Saint Pius X on March 12, 1904, taking its territories from the Diocese of Providence in Rhode Island. It comprises the counties of Bristol, Barnstable, Dukes, and Nantucket, as well as 3 towns in Plymouth County.

[edit] Diocesan statistics

The Diocese of Fall River consists of

  • 1 Bishop
  • 147 Priests currently serving in parishes
  • 90 Permanent Deacons
  • 16 Religious Brothers
  • 295 Religious Sisters

There are 96 parishes and 11 missions; 1 health care center; and 5 nursing homes.

There is 1 college (Stonehill College), 5 high schools (Bishop Connolly High School in Fall River, Bishop Stang High School in Dartmouth, Bishop Feehan High School in Attleboro, Coyle and Cassidy High School in Taunton, and Pope John Paul II High School, in Hyannis), 2 middle schools, 25 elementary schools and 1 Nursery school.

The total population of the area is approximately 824,000 of those approximately 357,075 are Catholics.

[edit] Diocesan bishops

Bishop Stang was the first bishop of Fall River. Born in Langenbruecken, Germany on April 21, 1854, he was ordained a priest on June 15, 1878 He served as a professor at the Louvain University in Belgium and as a parish priest in the Diocese of Providence. On March 12, 1904, the day the diocese was erected, Father Stang was appointed the first Bishop of Fall River. He was ordained a bishop on May 1, 1904 by Bishop Matthew A. Harkins. He died on February 2, 1907 following surgery for an intestinal tumor. There is a high school named in memory of William Stang, Bishop Stang High School, located in North Dartmouth, just one mile from the New Bedford city limits.

Bishop Feehan was the second Bishop to serve the Diocese of Fall River. The son of William and Joanna (Foley) Feehan he was born in Athol, MA on September 24, 1855. He was ordained a priest on December 29, 1879 He served in the Diocese of Springfield, MA. On July 2, 1907 he was appointed Bishop of Fall River. Ordained a bishop on September 19, 1907 by Bishop Thomas Daniel Beaven, he served the people of the diocese until incapacitation and died on July 19, 1934. There is also a school in honor of Bishop Feehan, Bishop Feehan High School, located in Attleboro.

When Bishop Feehan died in 1934, he was succeeded by the Most Reverend James E. Cassidy, his Coadjutor Bishop and Vicar General for many years. Bishop Cassidy is remembered as a stern supporter of temperance and a staunch advocate of the rights of workingmen. He was concerned for the needs of the elderly and founded homes for the aged, which became model institutions of their kind. 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 in Taunton, was named in his honor.

  • James Louis Connolly

Bishop James L. Connolly was born in Fall River, Massachusetts in 1894 and graduated from B. M. C. Durfee High School in 1913. Ordained a priest in 1923, he continued graduate study and earned a doctorate in historical science at Louvain University in Belgium. At the age of thirty-two, Connolly was assigned to the Archdiocese of St. Paul in Minnesota where he served as a professor and spiritual director at the diocesan seminary and helped found a hospital specializing in cancer patients. On Good Friday night, 1945, he was named Coadjutor Bishop of Fall River.

In May 1951, following the death of Bishop James Cassidy, Connolly became Bishop of Fall River. 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 the guidance of Bishop Connolly. Bishop Connolly High School was dedicated in his name in 1967. He also founded the diocesan newspaper, The Anchor. Bishop Connolly attended all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council. He served as Bishop of Fall River until 1970 when he retired. Bishop Connolly died on September 12, 1986.

  • Daniel Anthony Cronin

The Most Reverend Daniel A. Cronin became the fifth Bishop of Fall River in December 1970 upon the retirement of Bishop Connolly. Bishop Cronin had previously served the Holy See in Ethiopia and at the Vatican Secretariat of State before returning to Boston as Auxiliary Bishop in 1968. Bishop Cronin faithfully and carefully carried on the work of implementing the decrees of the Second Vatican Council. He supported liturgical renewal, continuing education of the clergy and the restoration of the permanent diaconate. In addition 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 Pro-life activities. Late in 1991 Pope John Paul II appointed Bishop Cronin Archbishop of Hartford.

  • George William Coleman

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