Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton

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The Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton, of which St. Peter's Cathedral in Scranton, Pennsylvania, is the mother church, consists of 11 counties in northeastern Pennsylvania, United States.

Contents

[edit] Current Bishops

  • Most Rev. Joseph Francis Martino, D.D. , Bishop of Scranton.
  • Most Rev. John M. Dougherty, D.D., V.G., Auxiliary Bishop
  • Most Rev. James C. Timlin, D.D., Bishop Emeritus

[edit] Additional information

A suffragan see of Philadelphia, U.S.A., established on March 3, 1868, the diocese comprises Lackawanna, Luzerne, Bradford, Susquehanna, Wayne, Tioga, Sullivan, Wyoming, Lycoming, Pike, and Monroe counties, all in the northeast part of Pennsylvania. The area of the diocese is 8,487 square miles.

Scranton, the episcopal see, is in the heart of the anthracite region and is a city of 74,320 inhabitants (2003 est.). Other large cities are Wilkes-Barre, Williamsport, Hazleton, Carbondale, and Pittston.

The pioneer Catholic settlers were principally of Irish and German descent. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Slavic and Italian populations attracted by the coal-mining industry came to comprise one-half of the Catholic population.

[edit] Early history

Although many of the pioneer settlers were Catholic immigrants, the first official visit of a priest to this territory of which there is any authentic record was not until 1787. In that year Rev. James Pellentz traveled up the Susquehanna River as far as Elmira, New York, ministering to the Catholics scattered through this region. He returned to Baltimore, whence he had come, and reported conditions to his superiors. A few years after the visit of Father Pellentz the famous French settlement of Asylum or "Azilum" was founded (1793-94). The site chosen was on the banks of the Susquehanna River, opposite the present village of Standing Stone in Bradford County. It seems to have been planned as a retreat for the nobility, who were forced to flee from the terrors of the French Revolution, and it was evidently intended that the queen herself should take refuge there. The most conspicuous building in the village, the "Queen's house" or "La grande maison", as it was generally called, was built and furnished for her special accommodation. These plans, however, miscarried, for before the house was completed the unfortunate queen had followed her husband to the guillotine. For ten years this unique settlement flourished. It was made up, as we are told, of "some of the nobility and gentlemen of the court of Louis XVI, several of the clergy, a few mechanics and a number of the labouring class". The village consisted of about fifty houses. At the close of the Revolution most of the prominent refugees at Asylum accepted the invitation of Napoleon and returned to France. In 1804 we find the settlement practically abandoned.

This settlement was evidently made up almost entirely of French Catholics, and among them a few priests. From a contemporary writer we learn that among the inhabitants of Asylum in 1795 was a certain "M. Carles, a priest and canon of Guernsey" and also a "M. Becdellierre, formerly a canon". Religious services in the settlement were conducted by Ezra Fromentin, "acting priest in the little log chapel" and M. Carles. We read also of a certain Abbé Colin, who, after the abandonment of the settlement, went to the West Indies as chaplain in the army. Mention is also made of a beautiful illuminated missal used there in the religious services, and afterwards presented to the Vatican Museum. Today scarcely a trace of this unique and interesting settlement remains. The earliest permanent Catholic settlements were at Friendsville and Silver Lake in Susquehanna County. These, as well as the other Catholic settlers scattered throughout this district, were attended occasionally by priests sent from Philadelphia. In 1825, largely through the solicitations of Mr. Patrick Griffin, father of Gerald Griffin, the Irish novelist, dramatist, and poet, then a resident of Susquehanna County, Bishop Kenrick, of Philadelphia, sent Rev. John O'Flynn as the first resident pastor. His work, however, was rather that of a missionary, as his field of labor comprised thirteen counties in north-eastern Pennsylvania and five counties in New York state.

The first church was built in 1825 near Silver Lake. Father O'Flynn died at Danville in 1829, and was succeeded by Father Clancy. On 1 Feb., 1836, Rev. Henry Fitzsimmons was sent to take charge of this territory, and took up his residence at Carbondale, where a church had been built in 1832, Silver Lake being attended from Carbondale as a mission. In 1838 Rev. John Vincent O'Reilly was sent by Bishop Kenrick to assist in administering to the Catholics of this extensive territory. He took up his residence at Silver Lake, and his charge comprised Susquehanna, Bradford, Tioga, Potter, and Sullivan counties in Pennsylvania, and the five adjoining counties in New York. The early history of the diocese is intimately bound up with the truly heroic labors of Father O'Reilly, and foundations of many of the present parishes were the results of his missionary zeal. His fruitful career was brought to an untimely end at the railway station at Susquehanna, 4 Oct., 1873. He was killed while rescuing a friend from the path of an approaching train.

[edit] Bishops

Rt. Rev. William O'Hara, D.D., the first bishop, was born at Dungiven, County Londonderry, Ireland, 14 Apr., 1816, where his early education was received. His philosophical and theological studies were made at the Urban College of the Propaganda, Rome, where he was ordained, 21 Dec., 1842. His first appointment was as assistant at St. Patrick's Church, Philadelphia. He was afterwards made rector and professor of moral theology at St. Charles's Seminary. In 1856 he was appointed pastor of St. Patrick's Church, Philadelphia. He was afterwards made rector and professor of moral theology at St. Charles's Seminary. In 1856 he was appointed pastor of St. Patrick's Church, Philadelphia, where he remained until his consecration as Bishop of Scranton, 12 July, 1868. The diocese then numbered 50 churches and 25 priests. He died on 3 Feb., 1899, and is buried under the main altar of the cathedral of Scranton.

Rt. Rev. Michael John Hoban, D.D., the second bishop, was born in Waterloo, New Jersey, 6 June, 1853. His early education was received at Hawley, Pennsylvania, whither his parents moved shortly after his birth. He afterwards attended St. Francis Xavier's College (New York), College of the Holy Cross (Worcester, Massachusetts), and St. John's College (now known as Fordham University). After one year at St. Charles's Seminary, Overbrook, he entered the American College, Rome in 1875, where he was ordained to the priesthood, 22 May, 1880. His first appointment was as assistant at Towanda. He afterwards labored successively as assistant at Pittston and pastor at Troy. In 1887 he organized St. Leo's parish, Ashley, Pennsylvania, where the present beautiful church and rectory are monuments of his zeal. There he remained until his consecration as Bishop of Alalis and coadjutor Bishop of Scranton, 22 Mar., 1896. During his administration, since the death of Bishop O'Hara, he enacted important legislation with regard to the internal affairs of the diocese, and under his inspiration the present beautiful and well-equipped St. Joseph's Infant Asylum, as also the Maloney Home for the Aged, were added to the equipment of the diocese; the latter being the gift of the Marquess Martin J. Maloney of Philadelphia, in memory of his parents. In 1911, the diocese had grown to 265 priests, 232 churches, and a Catholic population of 265,000.

[edit] List of Bishops

  • William O'Hara † (3 Mar 1868 Appointed - 3 Feb 1899 Died)
  • Michael John Hoban † (3 Feb 1899 Succeeded - 13 Nov 1926 Died)
  • Thomas Charles O'Reilly † (19 Dec 1927 Appointed - 25 Mar 1938 Died)
  • William Joseph Hafey † (25 Mar 1938 Succeeded - 12 May 1954 Died)
  • Jerome Daniel Hannan † (17 Aug 1954 Appointed - 15 Dec 1965 Died)
  • Joseph Carroll McCormick † (4 Mar 1966 Appointed - 15 Feb 1983 Retired)
  • John Joseph O'Connor † (6 May 1983 Appointed - 26 Jan 1984 Appointed, Archbishop of New York)
  • James Clifford Timlin (24 Apr 1984 Appointed - 25 Jul 2003 Retired)
  • Joseph Francis Martino (25 Jul 2003 Appointed - )

[edit] Catholic Education

Catholic education in the diocese began with and received a great impetus from the great pioneer Father O'Reilly. In the autumn of 1842 he opened a college at St. Joseph's, Susquehanna County. From a very modest beginning, and under his immediate supervision, it grew and flourished; and in the twenty-two years of its existence educated two bishops and over a score of priests. It was destroyed by fire, 1 Jan, 1864, and was never rebuilt. St. Thomas College was established in 1888 and came under the direction of the Christian Brothers. In 1938, it was elevated to become the University of Scranton, and in 1942 the Society of Jesus took charge of its governance. Marywood (College) University, also located in Scranton, was founded and is operated by the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. King's College in Wilkes-Barre is operated by the Congregation of the Holy Cross. Because of declining Catholic school enrollment, the two Catholic high schools in Lackawanna county, Bishop O'Hara and Bishop Hannan, combined in 2007 under the new name Holy Cross high school. The high schools in Luzerne county- Seton Catholic, Bishop Hafey, Bishop O'Reilly, and Bishop Hoban- will combine under the new name Holy Redeemer High School. Many elementary centers will combine to form Good Shepherd.

[edit] High schools

* Schools operated independent of the Diocese.

[edit] Other schools

  • St. Rose Academy*, Mayfield (Independent School in the Catholic Tradition)
  • Our Lady of Peace School*, Clarks Green
  • St. Paul's
  • Marian Catholic School, Scranton
  • St. Aloyius School, Wilkes-Barre
  • St. Nicholas/St. Mary's School, Wilkes-Barre
  • St. Jude's, Mountaintop

[edit] Religious orders

Religious Sisters of Mercy of the Americas (RSM); Sisters Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM); Sisters of Christian Charity (SCC); Sisters of Sts. Cyril and Methodius (ScCM); Congregation of Notre Dame (CND); Benedictine Sisters of St. Francis (OSF); Little Sisters of the Poor; Society of Jesus (SJ-Jesuits), University of Scranton; Congregation of the Holy Cross (CSC), King's College; Congregation of the Passion (CP-Passionists), St. Ann's Basilica and Monastery; Oblates of St. Joseph (OSJ-Italian), Fraternal Society of St. Peter (FSSP-North American District Headquarters).

[edit] External links

Official Site:

More info:

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