Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlottetown

Last updated
Diocese of Charlottetown

Dioecesis Carolinapolitana

Diocèse de Charlottetown
Sgìre-easbaig Bhaile Shearlot
Catholic
St. Dunstan's Basilica (Charlottetown PEI).jpg
Cathedral–Basilica of Saint Dunstan
Location
CountryFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
TerritoryFlag of Prince Edward Island.svg  Prince Edward Island
Ecclesiastical region Atlantic
Ecclesiastical province Flag of Nova Scotia.svg Halifax–Yarmouth
HeadquartersCatholic Centre
#350 North River Rd., Charlottetown, PE C1A 7L9
Statistics
Area5,686 km2 (2,195 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics		(as of 2021 [1] )
159,713
68,150 (42.7%)
Parishes52
Information
Denomination Catholic Church
Sui iuris church Latin Church
Rite Roman Rite
EstablishedAugust 11, 1829;194 years ago (1829-08-11)
Cathedral Cathedral–Basilica of Saint Dunstan
Patron saint Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury
Secular priests 39
Language English and French
Current leadership
Pope Francis
Bishop Joseph Andrzej Dabrowski, CSMA
Metropolitan Archbishop Brian Joseph Dunn
Bishops emeritus
Website
www.dioceseofcharlottetown.com
All current statistics are based from updated data taken by Catholic-Hierarchy.org.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlottetown (Latin : Dioecesis Carolinapolitana) is a diocese of the Catholic Church in Canada. It is a suffragan diocese comprising the entire province of Prince Edward Island.

Contents

Originally carved from the Archdiocese of Quebec on August 11, 1829, it was then transferred to the Archdiocese of Halifax–Yarmouth on May 4, 1852. It is the second-oldest English-speaking diocese in Canada. [2]

Its seat is the Cathedral–Basilica of Saint Dunstan, located at Great George Street in downtown Charlottetown.

History

Early history

Then known as Île Saint-Jean , the island was initially part of the vast Diocese of Quebec. In the spring of 1721, René-Charles de Breslay and Marie-Anselme de Metivier, priests of the Society of Saint Sulpice, arrived at the Acadian settlement of Port-LaJoye and built a small church dedicated to Saint John the Evangelist. It was then handed-over to Franciscan priests from Louisbourg (in modern-day Nova Scotia) two years later. [3]

By 1752, four more small parishes were then established. In 1758, however, following the Île Saint-Jean campaign, British authorities expelled the Acadians.

Scottish immigration and establishment

Roughly three years after separation from Nova Scotia and becoming its own colony, a further expansion of the Church on now-renamed Saint John's Island began in 1772, when the first band of about 200 Scottish Catholic immigrants set foot, led by the layman John MacDonald of Glenaladale. [4] The idea was conceived and the financed by two bishops of the Scottish Catholic Church — John MacDonald and George Hay — in order to relieve the persecution of Catholics on Uist. They were accompanied by James MacDonald, a cousin of John of Glenaladale. MacDonald was well-suited for the assignment, as he was fluent in Gaelic, English, Latin and French. [5]

Another group of Scots settled in 1790, led by Angus MacEachern, to join their families who had migrated earlier. MacEachern was fluent in English, French and Gaelic. He traveled extensively throughout the Maritimes as a missionary. He built the original Saint Dunstan's in 1816. MacEachern served as an auxiliary bishop of Quebec from 1821 until 1829, when he became the first-ever Bishop of Charlottetown. [6]

Split and transfer to new metropolitan see

On September 30, 1842, the diocese was then split off when the new Diocese of Saint John in New Brunswick was created. Ten years later, on May 4, 1852, the diocese was officially transferred to the recently elevated Archdiocese of Halifax (now Halifax–Yarmouth).

On July 20, 1946, another piece of its territory was split off again, as the Magdalen Islands were transferred to the Diocese of Gaspé.

Education

Saint Dunstan's University

In 1831, MacEachern established Saint Andrew's College. Although it was closed down by Bernard Donald Macdonald in 1844, he also supervised the construction of Saint Dunstan's College in Charlottetown in 1848 and its eventual opening on January 15, 1855. It was built to respond to the needs of Catholic students on the Island, as opposed to Prince of Wales College, which was a majority-Protestant public institution.

In 1969, as part of the Prince Edward Island Comprehensive Development Plan designed by the government of then-premier Alex Campbell, the two schools amalgamated to form the University of Prince Edward Island. [7]

Healthcare

Charlottetown Hospital was established in 1879, under the leadership of Peter McIntyre. It was the first hospital in Charlottetown.

In 1982, after 102 years of service, the Charlottetown Hospital finally closed its doors when the newly opened Queen Elizabeth Hospital on Riverside Drive opened. The campus that once stood on Haviland Street is now the Tourism and Culinary Centre of Holland College.

Community

Priests

As of 2021, [1] there are a total of 40 priests (39 diocesan and 1 religious) serving within the jurisdiction of the diocese.

Most of them are in the 52 parishes, but there are also others without a parish, carrying out diocesan or apostolate tasks. Some are outside the diocese, either on study-leave, on mission, working in other dioceses, or on-leave from the ministry, and some are retired.

There used to be three (3) male religious congregations serving the diocese over the course of more than a century, before the last congregation finally left the Island:

Nuns

Today, there are three (3) religious institutes of women in the diocese, although there also have been six (6) others that formerly served the Island over the course of more than a century.

Current

Past

  • Sisters of Charity of Montreal (1879–1925)
  • Filles de Jésus (1903–1909)
  • Little Sisters of the Holy Family (1909–1916)
  • Sisters of the Precious Blood (1929–2012)
  • Notre-Dame-du-Sacré-Coeur (1959–1979)
  • Servantes du Saint Cœur de Marie (1977–1989) [8]

Ordinaries

Diocesan Bishops

BishopPeriod in OfficeCoat of Arms
1. Bernard Angus MacEachern - French.jpg Angus Bernard MacEachern†
(1759–1835)		August 11, 1829 – April 22, 1835
(5 years, 254 days)
2. BernardDonaldMcDonald.jpg Bernard Donald McDonald†
(1797–1859)		February 21, 1837 – December 30, 1859
(22 years, 312 days)
3. Peter McIntyre†
(1818–1891)		August 15, 1860 – May 1, 1891
(30 years, 259 days)
4. James Charles McDonald.png James Charles McDonald†
(1840–1912)		May 1, 1891 – December 1, 1912
(21 years, 214 days)
5. Henry Joseph O'Leary.png Henry Joseph O'Leary†
(1879–1938)		January 29, 1913 – September 7, 1920
(7 years, 222 days)
6. Louis James O'Leary†
(1877–1930)		September 10, 1920 – July 8, 1930
(9 years, 301 days)
7. Joseph Anthony O'Sullivan†
(1886–1972)		February 6, 1931 – February 26, 1944
(13 years, 20 days)
8.James Boyle†
(1885–1954)		March 18, 1944 – June 3, 1954
(10 years, 77 days)
9.Malcolm Angus MacEachern†
(1901–1982)		November 27, 1954 – February 24, 1970
(15 years, 89 days)
10. Francis John Spence†
(1926–2011)		August 17, 1970 – April 24, 1982
(11 years, 250 days)
11.James Hector MacDonald, CSC
(b. 1925)		August 12, 1982 – February 2, 1991
(8 years, 174 days)
12. Joseph Vernon Fougère†
(1943–2013)		December 11, 1991 – July 11, 2009
(17 years, 212 days)
13. Richard John Grecco
(b. 1946)		July 11, 2009 – March 4, 2021
(11 years, 236 days)		 Coat of arms of Richard Grecco.svg
14. Joseph Andrzej Dabrowski, CSMA
(b. 1964)		April 2, 2023 – present
(278 days)		 Coat of arms of Jozef Andrzej Dabrowski.svg

Affiliated Bishops

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Quebec</span> Catholic ecclesiastical territory

The Archdiocese of Québec is a Catholic archdiocese in Quebec, Canada. Being the first see in the New World north of Mexico, the Archdiocese of Québec is also the primatial see for Canada. The Archdiocese of Québec is also the ecclesiastical provincial for the dioceses of Chicoutimi, Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière and Trois-Rivières. The archdiocese's cathedral is Notre-Dame de Québec in Quebec City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Morrison (bishop)</span>

James Morrison was the longest-serving bishop of the Diocese of Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. Although one of the last powerful and austere Roman Catholic bishops in Canada, Morrison presided over a diocese that created one of the most successful Catholic social movements in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Dunstan's Basilica</span> Church in Prince Edward Island, Canada

St. Dunstan's Basilica is the Cathedral of the Diocese of Charlottetown in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. It is named for St. Dunstan the Anglo Saxon saint from Glastonbury. It is located on Great George Street, between the harbour and the Confederation Centre of the Arts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Edmonton</span> Catholic ecclesiastical territory

The Archdiocese of Edmonton is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese in the Canadian civil province of Alberta. The archbishop's cathedral see is located in St. Joseph Cathedral, a minor basilica in Edmonton. The Archdiocese of Edmonton is the metropolitan see of its ecclesiastical province, which also contains two suffragan dioceses: the Dioceses of Calgary and Saint Paul in Alberta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Antigonish</span> Latin Catholic diocese in Canada

The Diocese of Antigonish is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in Nova Scotia, Canada. Its current diocesan ordinary is Wayne Joseph Kirkpatrick.

Joseph Vernon Fougère was a Canadian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the 12th Bishop of Charlottetown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angus Bernard MacEachern</span>

Angus Bernard MacEachern was a Scottish bishop in the Roman Catholic Church who rose to become the first bishop of the newly formed Diocese of Charlottetown following its separation from the Archdiocese of Quebec on August 11, 1829.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernard Donald Macdonald</span> Catholic bishop

Bernard Donald Macdonald was the second bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlottetown, succeeding Bishop Bernard Angus MacEachern.

Peter McIntyre was the third bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlottetown, succeeding Bishop Bernard Donald McDonald.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Charles McDonald</span>

James Charles McDonald was a Roman Catholic bishop who served as fourth Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlottetown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Joseph O'Leary</span>

Henry Joseph O'Leary was a Canadian cleric, the fifth Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlottetown, and later the second Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Edmonton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Hamilton, Ontario</span> Catholic ecclesiastical territory

The Diocese of Hamilton is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Canada. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese in Toronto.

Louis James O'Leary was the sixth Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlottetown, who also happened to be the older brother of his predecessor, Bishop Henry Joseph O'Leary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Prince Edward Island</span>

The history of Prince Edward Island covers several historical periods, from the pre-Columbian era to the present day. Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the island formed a part of Mi'kma'ki, the lands of the Mi'kmaq people. The island was first explored by Europeans in the 16th century. The French later laid claim over the entire Maritimes region, including Prince Edward Island in 1604. However, the French did not attempt to settle the island until 1720, with the establishment of the colony of Île Saint-Jean. After peninsular Acadia was captured by the British in 1710, an influx of Acadian migrants moved to areas still under French control, including Île Saint-Jean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Bathurst in Canada</span> Catholic ecclesiastical territory

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bathurst (in Canada) (originally Diocese of Chatham) (Latin: Dioecesis Bathurstensis in Canada) is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Moncton. It has its cathedral episcopal see, Sacred Heart Cathedral, in Bathurst, New Brunswick, Canada.

The Charlottetown Hospital is a former acute care hospital that was located in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. It was the first public hospital established in the province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John MacDonald of Glenaladale</span>

John MacDonald of Glenaladale was a Scottish-born soldier, land owner and colonizer. He played an important role in bringing Scottish settlers to Prince Edward Island, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcel-François Richard</span>

Marcel-François Richard was a Roman Catholic priest and a Canadian educator. He played an important part in the development of the Acadian people.

References

  1. 1 2 All current statistics are based from updated data taken by Catholic-Hierarchy.org.
  2. ↑ MacMillan, J.C. (1908). "Diocese of Charlottetown"  . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia . Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  3. ↑ Macmillan, John C., The Early History of the Catholic Church in Prince Edward Island, Evenement Printing Company, 1905 PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  4. ↑ McDonell, James K; Campbell, Robert Bennett (1997). Lords of the North. pp. 53–54. ISBN   1896182712.
  5. ↑ Bumsted, J. M., “MacDONALD, JAMES (1736-85)” Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 4, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003
  6. ↑ Mullally, Emmet J. "Life of Angus Bernard MacEachern, First Bishop of Charlottetown". CCHA Report. 13 (1945–46): 71–106.
  7. ↑ Bolger, Francis. "University of Prince Edward Island", The Canadian Encyclopedia, March 4, 2015
  8. ↑ "History", Diocese of Charlettetown

46°14′02″N63°07′30″W / 46.2338°N 63.1251°W / 46.2338; -63.1251

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.