Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland

This article is about the diocese of Portland, Maine. For the diocese of Portland, Oregon, see Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon.

Diocese of Portland Dioecesis Portlandensis
Location
Country	United States
Territory	The state of Maine
Ecclesiastical province	Boston
Metropolitan	Boston
Coordinates
Statistics
Area
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2013) 1,329,000 193,228 (14.5%)
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	July 29, 1853
Cathedral	Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Robert Deeley
Metropolitan Archbishop	Sean Patrick O'Malley
Emeritus Bishops	Richard Joseph Malone
Map
File:Diocese of Portland map.png
Website
portlanddiocese.net

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the New England region of the United States comprising the entire state of Maine. It is led by a bishop, and its cathedral, or motherchurch, is the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in the city of Portland.

The Diocese of Portland was canonically erected on July 29, 1853, by Pope Pius IX. Its territories were taken from the present-day Archdiocese of Boston in the nearby state of Massachusetts.

Richard. J. Malone was installed March 31, 2004, as the eleventh bishop of the diocese. On May 29, 2012, Malone was appointed bishop of Buffalo, New York. On December 18, 2013, Robert Deeley, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston, was appointed Bishop of the Diocese of Portland by Pope Francis and was installed in a Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland on February 14, 2014.

Bishops

Ordinaries

1. David William Bacon (1855–1874) – Died
2. James Augustine Healy (1875–1900) – Died
3. William Henry O'Connell (1901–1906) – Appointed coadjutor archbishop of Boston
4. Louis Sebastian Walsh (1906–1924) – Died
5. John Gregory Murray (1925–1931) – Appointed archbishop of Saint Paul
6. Joseph Edward McCarthy (1932–1955) – Died
7. Daniel Joseph Feeney (1955–1969) – Died
8. Peter Leo Gerety (1969–1974) – Appointed archbishop of Newark
9. Edward Cornelius O'Leary (1974–1988) – Retired
10. Joseph John Gerry, O.S.B. (1988–2004) – Retired
11. Richard Joseph Malone (2004–2012) – Appointed bishop of Buffalo
12. Robert Deeley (2014- ) - installed on February 14, 2014

Auxiliaries

• Daniel Joseph Feeney (1946-1955) - Appointed bishop of Portland
• Edward Cornelius O'Leary (1970-1974) - Appointed bishop of Portland
• Amédée Wilfrid Proulx (1975-1993) - Died

History

Bishop Richard J. Malone was installed March 31, 2004, as the eleventh bishop of the diocese. On May 29, 2012, Malone was appointed bishop of Buffalo, New York. Subsequently, Malone was also appointed apostolic administrator of the diocese of Portland; which means that after he was installed in Buffalo, he continued to lead in Portland until the new bishop was installed. On December 18, 2013, Pope Francis appointed Robert Deeley, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston as Bishop of Portland with his installation which took place on February 14, 2014.

Parishes

The Diocese is currently divided into 30 Clusters/Parishes.

Notable churches

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland

Cathedral

Main article: Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of Portland in Maine

The Diocese's cathedral is the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland.

Basilica

Main article: Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul (Lewiston, Maine)

Located in Lewiston is the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. Due to a wave of late 19th century immigration by French Canadians, the church was built and expanded until 1936, by which time it was the second largest church in New England. In 1983, the church was added to the National Register of Historic Places. In 2004, the church was named a minor basilica by the Holy See.

Historic places

Located in Bangor is the St. John The Evangelist Catholic Church. In 1855, the church was built by Fr. John Bapst, and in 1973 the church was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Education

High schools

• Catherine McAuley High School, Portland
• Cheverus High School, Portland
• Saint Dominic Academy, Auburn

Public affairs

On January 6, 2000 the Associated Press reported that the Diocese of Portland had negotiated with and supported a Maine lawmakers' bill that barred discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation; this bill aimed to overcome the results of the Maine election in February 1998 that repealed the gay marriage law that then Maine Gov.Angus King had signed into law. The Diocese did not have a position on the February 1998 vote, citing ambiguities in the law while acknowledging discrimination as unjust.

In November 2009 it was reported that the Diocese of Portland had contributed $550,000, or 20% of the total cash contributed to Stand For Marriage Maine, a successful campaign to prevent then-impending legalization of same-sex marriage in Maine. Roughly 55% of the funds donated by the Diocese came from other out-of-state dioceses who donated money to the Diocese of Portland's PAC.

Ecclesiastical province

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

See also

• Catholic Church by country
• Catholic Church in the United States
• Ecclesiastical Province of Boston
• Global organisation of the Catholic Church
• List of Roman Catholic archdioceses (by country and continent)
• List of Roman Catholic dioceses (alphabetical) (including archdioceses)
• List of Roman Catholic dioceses (structured view) (including archdioceses)
• List of the Catholic dioceses of the United States

External links

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland Official Site
• Catholic Hierarchy Profile of the Diocese of Portland
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