Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre

Diocese of Rockville Centre Dioecesis Petropolitana in Insula Longa
Location
Country	United States
Territory	Long Island, New York
Ecclesiastical province	New York
Statistics
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2014) 2,851,977 1,531,445 (53.7%)
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	April 6, 1957
Cathedral	St. Agnes Cathedral
Patron saint	Saint Agnes
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	William Francis Murphy
Metropolitan Archbishop	Timothy Cardinal Dolan
Auxiliary Bishops	Andrzej Jerzy Zglejszewski Robert J. Brennan Nelson J. Perez
Emeritus Bishops	Auxiliary Bishops Emeritus: Paul Henry Walsh and John Charles Dunne
Map
Website
drvc.org

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre (Latin: Dioecesis Petropolitana in Insula Longa) comprises the territory of Nassau and Suffolk counties (regionally known as Long Island) in New York state, USA. Founded in 1957, this diocese was created from territory that once belonged to the Diocese of Brooklyn. It is the sixth-largest Catholic diocese in the United States, currently serving approximately 1.5 million people in 134 parishes. The diocese is named for the village where its cathedral, St. Agnes Cathedral, is located, Rockville Centre in Nassau County.

History

Most Reverend Walter P. Kellenberg served as first bishop of the diocese from 1957-1976. Kellenberg was followed by Bishop John McGann, who retired in 2000 and died in 2002. The diocese was led briefly by Bishop James T. McHugh, who died of cancer on December 10, 2000.

The Most Reverend William Murphy has served as the diocese's fourth bishop since 2001. Murphy arrived in Long Island from his native Archdiocese of Boston, where he served as the archdiocese's vicar general.

Ordinaries

The following are the lists of the diocesan and auxiliary bishops and their years of service:

Bishops

1. Bishop Walter P. Kellenberg (1957–1976) †
2. Bishop John R. McGann (1976–2000) †
3. Bishop James T. McHugh (2000) †
4. Bishop William F. Murphy (2001–present)

† = deceased

Auxiliary bishops

Current

• Bishop Robert J. Brennan (2012–present)
• Bishop Nelson J. Perez (2012–present)
• Bishop Andrzej Jerzy Zglejszewski (2014–present)

Former

• Bishop Vincent John Baldwin (1962–1979) †
• Bishop James Joseph Daly (1977–1996) †
• Bishop Peter Anthony Libasci (2007–2011)
• Bishop Alfred John Markiewicz (1986–1994) †
• Bishop Gerald Augustine John Ryan (1977–1985) †
• Bishop Emil Aloysius Wcela (1988–2007)
• Bishop Paul Henry Walsh (2003–2012) †
• Bishop John Charles Dunne (1988–2013)

† = deceased

Arms

Arms of Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre

Notes Arms was designed and adopted when the diocese was erected Adopted 1957 Escutcheon The arms of the Diocese of Rockville Centre is divided per saltire and is bordered by a bordure composed of wavy lines. The colors of the field within the bordure are gold and blue. Three of the four partitions formed by the saltire are emblazoned with a scallop shell. The top partition is filled with a lamb’s head. A black roundel in the center of the shield with the three stones or rocks is present. Symbolism The arms is based on the history of Long Island and the etymology of the name Rockville Centre. The colors of the field within the bordure, gold and blue, appears on the coat of arms of King William III of the House of Nassau and on the arms which the county of Suffolk in England has used at times, these arms being those of Ipswich. Although there are more than 12 names for Long Island, the name generally preferred by the Indians of the mainland was Seawanhacky or “Island of Shells.” The scallop shell is also truly heraldic, and a symbol which is often used to signify the flowing of water in the Sacrament of Baptism. The wavy silver bordure is the heraldic equivalent of water and surrounding, as it does, the other charges, signifies the insular nature of the diocese. The lamb’s head is the symbol of St. Agnes, virgin and martyr, the titular of the Cathedral of the Diocese of Rockville Centre. St. Agnes has been represented with a lamb, the symbol of her virginal innocence, since the Middle Ages. The black roundel in the center of the shield with the three stones or rocks affords canting arms for Rockville Centre. The black roundel is in the exact center of the shield. The three rocks or stones are derived from the coat of arms of Pope Pius XII, who established the new Diocese of Rockville Centre in April, 1957. The roundel is tinctured in black to represent the seventeenth century name of Brooklyn, from the diocese from which the See of Rockville Centre was separated. The black tincture represents the marshes, which recalled to the Dutch their homeland in Breuckelen in the Province of Utrecht. The Dutch who first settled Brooklyn called it “Breuck-Landt’” meaning “broken land,’ or “marshland,” inasmuch as a great deal of the land was broken up by patches of water.

Media

Television

• Telecare TV channel Founded in 1969 serving subscribers in three states.

Seminary

St. Agnes Cathedral

Seminary of the Immaculate Conception

High schools

Diocesan

• Holy Trinity Diocesan High School, Hicksville
• Bishop McGann-Mercy Diocesan High School, Riverhead
• St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School, West Islip

Private

• Academy of Saint Joseph, Brentwood (Closed June 2009)
• Chaminade High School, Mineola
• Kellenberg Memorial High School, Uniondale
• Our Lady of Mercy Academy, Syosset
• Sacred Heart Academy, Hempstead
• St. Anthony's High School, South Huntington
• St. Dominic High School, Oyster Bay
• St. Mary's High School, Manhasset

Elementary schools

Private

• Holy Child Academy (Old Westbury)
• Our Lady of Grace (Manhasset)
• St. Martin de Porres (Uniondale)
• De La Salle (Freeport)

Province of New York

See: List of the Catholic bishops of the United States

External links

• The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre Official Site