| Archdiocese of Philadelphia Archidioecesis Philadelphiensis |
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| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| Territory | Philadelphia City and County, counties of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery, Pennsylvania |
| Ecclesiastical province | Metropolitan Province of Philadelphia |
| Metropolitan | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Population - Catholics |
1,486,058 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Established | April 8, 1808 |
| Cathedral | Cathedral-Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul |
| Patron saint | St. Peter and St. Paul |
| Current leadership | |
| Archbishop | Charles Joseph Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. Archbishop of Philadelphia[1] |
| Auxiliary Bishop | John J. McIntyre Michael J. Fitzgerald Timothy C. Senior Daniel E. Thomas |
| Emeritus Bishops | Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua Justin Cardinal Rigali |
| Map | |
Diocesan map of the Ecclesiastical Province of Philadelphia. |
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| Website | |
| archdiocese-phl.org | |
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in southeastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. It covers the City and County of Philadelphia as well as Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties. The diocese was erected by Pope Pius VII on April 8, 1808, from territories of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Originally the diocese included all of Pennsylvania, Delaware, and seven counties and parts of three counties in New Jersey. The diocese was raised to the dignity of a metropolitan archdiocese on February 12, 1875. The seat of the archbishop is the Cathedral-Basilica of Ss. Peter & Paul.
It is also the Metropolitan See of the Ecclesiastical Province of Philadelphia, which includes the suffragan episcopal sees of Allentown, Altoona-Johnstown, Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, and Scranton. The territory of the Province is coextensive with the state of Pennsylvania.
The history of the Catholic Church in the area dates back to William Penn and when Mass was said publicly as early as 1707.[2] On April 8, 1808, the suffragan dioceses of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Bardstown (moved to Louisville in 1841) were erected by Pope Pius VII from the territory of the Diocese of Baltimore, which was simultaneously raised to the rank of metropolitan archdiocese.[3] Michael Egan was appointed as the first bishop[4] and was consecrated as a bishop on October 28, 1810, by Archbishop John Carroll.[5]
In 1868, the dioceses of Harrisburg, Scranton, and Wilmington (Del.) were erected from the territory of the diocese.[2] Philadelphia was raised to a metropolitan archiepiscopal see on February 12, 1875,[2] with Harrisburg and Scranton as suffragan dioceses. On January 28, 1961, the five northern counties of Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Northampton, and Schuylkill were split off from the archdiocese, to create the Diocese of Allentown.
By 1969, the archodiocese had grown to 1,351,704 parishioneers, 1,096 diocesan priests, 676 priests of religious congregations and 6,622 women of various religious orders.[2]
On February 10, 2011, a grand jury accused the Archdiocese of Philadelphia of failing to stop the sexual abuse of children. A church official, William Lynn, was charged with endangering the welfare of children while two other priests, Edward Avery and Charles Englehardt were charged with rape and indecent assault of a minor.[6]
† = deceased
† = deceased
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The archdiocese is sub-divided into 12 Regional Deaneries, each administered by a Regional Dean. Present Deans and their Deaneries are as follows:
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The first Catholic school established in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia was at St. Mary Parish in Philadelphia during the late eighteenth century. During the nineteenth century, Bishop Kenrick encouraged the establishment of Catholic schools. Subsequently, St. John Neumann (1851–1860) made the establishment of parish elementary schools a priority and by 1860 there were seventeen parish elementary schools in Philadelphia. Between 1900 to 1930, Catholic elementary schools increased to 124 schools in Philadelphia and 78 schools in the four suburban counties. Between 1945 to 1965, 62 new Catholic elementary schools were established.
With the foundation of Archbishop Ryan School for Children with Deafness in 1912, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia embarked on a proud history of serving families of children with special needs. In 1951, John Cardinal O'Hara responded to the requests of hundreds of parents who sought education, and particularly education in the faith, for their children with mental retardation. As a result, St. Katherine Day School and Our Lady of Confidence School were opened in 1953 and 1954 respectively, and again in response to parent petition, St. Lucy Day School for Children with Visual Impairment was founded in 1955. Queen of the Universe Day Center was added in 1980 to serve students with mental retardation in Bucks County. These five schools of special education have been generously supported by the Catholic Charities Appeal.
Leadership within the Archdiocese of Philadelphia envisioned a continued comprehensive education for secondary students.
The first free Catholic high school in the United States was the "Roman Catholic High School of Philadelphia", founded for the education of boys in 1890. (It is often referred to as "Roman Catholic", occasionally as "Catholic High", and most commonly as "Roman".) The "Catholic Girls High School" was founded in 1912. Mary McMichan, one of the school's founders, requested in her last will that the school be renamed in honor of her brother. The school became "John W. Hallahan Catholic Girls High School" after her death. Both schools are still in existence.
Between 1916 and 1927 West Catholic Boys and Girls and Northeast Catholic were opened. Despite the economic hardships of the 1930s and 1940s, seven more diocesan high schools were founded. During a 22-year growth period from 1945 to 1967, fifteen high schools were opened.
Though not funded or operated by the archdiocese, the following independent schools operate with the blessing and spiritual support of the archdiocese:
| Stages of canonization in the Catholic Church |
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| Servant of God → Venerable → Blessed → Saint |
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