Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilmington

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilmington is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the eastern United States and comprises the entire state of Delaware and the Eastern Shore of Maryland. It is led by Bishop William Francis Malooly, whose seat is the Cathedral of Saint Peter in the City of Wilmington.

The Diocese publishes a newspaper, The Dialog, which underwent a circulation and format transformation in 2011 as a result of financial pressures.^[1]

History

The first Roman Catholic mission in Delaware was established in 1804 by Rev. Patrick Kenney on the site of the Coffee Run Cemetery in Mill Creek, Delaware. The mission appears on the National Register of Historic Places.^[2] The diocese was canonically erected on March 3, 1868 by Pope Pius IX. It took its territories from the Archdiocese of Baltimore and the then Diocese of Philadelphia, and also received the 2 eastern-shore counties of Virginia, thus extending all the way down the Delmarva Peninsula. The Virginia part was returned to the Diocese of Richmond in 1974, leaving the Diocese of Wilmington with all of Delaware and the 9 eastern-shore counties of Maryland. In 2009, the diocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the face of financial liabilities from lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by priests.^[3] A settlement was reached in February 2011, implementation of which had not yet occurred by May 2011.^[4]

Diocesan bishops

1. † Thomas Albert Andrew Becker (1868–1886), appointed Bishop of Savannah
2. † Alfred Allen Paul Curtis (1886–1896)
3. † John James Joseph Monaghan (1897–1925)
4. † Edmond John Fitzmaurice (1925–1960)
5. † Michael William Hyle (1960–1967)
6. † Thomas Joseph Mardaga (1968–1984)
7. Robert Edward Mulvee (1985–1995), appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Providence
8. † Michael Angelo Saltarelli (1995–2008)
9. William Francis Malooly (2008–present)

Affiliate Bishops

1. † Hubert James Cartwright (1956-1958), Coadjutor Bishop of the Wilmington Diocese

High schools

• Archmere Academy *, Claymont, DE
• Padua Academy, Wilmington, DE
• Saints Peter and Paul High School, Easton, MD
• St. Elizabeth High School, Wilmington, DE
• St. Mark's High School, Wilmington, DE
• St. Thomas More Preparatory, Magnolia, DE
• Salesianum School *, Wilmington, DE
• Ursuline Academy *, Wilmington, DE

* Privately operated

Ecclesiastical province

See: List of the Catholic bishops of the United States#Province of Baltimore

See also

• Resurrection Catholic Parish (Wilmington)
• St. Anthony's Roman Catholic Church (Wilmington, Delaware)
• St. Catherine of Siena Parish, Wilmington, Delaware
• Serviam Girls Academy
• List of the Catholic cathedrals of the United States
• List of the Catholic dioceses of the United States
• United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

Notes

External links

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilmington
• Catholic Hierarchy Profile of the Diocese of Wilmington