Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester

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Diocese of Worcester
Dioecesis Wigorniensis
Basic information
Location	Worcester, Massachusetts, United States
Territory	County of Worcester, Massachusetts
Population	350,000 Catholics
Rite	Roman Rite
Patron	St. Paul
Ecclesiastical province	Archdiocese of Boston
Established	January 14, 1950
Cathedral	St. Paul's Cathedral
Bishop	Bishop of Worcester
Website	http://www.worcesterdiocese.org
Current leadership
Pope	Benedict XVI
Metropolitan	Sean Patrick O'Malley Archbishop of Boston
Diocesan Bishop	Robert J. McManus Bishop of Worcester

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the New England region of the United States. The geographic boundaries of the diocese are the same as those of Worcester County, Massachusetts, the geographically largest county of the state of Massachusetts. It is led by a prelate bishop which is pastor of the mother church, Cathedral of Saint Paul in the City of Worcester.

The diocese was canonically erected on January 14, 1950 by Pope Pius XII. Its territories were taken from the neighboring Diocese of Springfield. The current and fifth bishop is Robert Joseph McManus.

Contents 1 List of Bishops 2 Organization of Parishes 3 High schools 4 Administators 5 Resources 6 References

[edit] List of Bishops

1. John Joseph Wright, DD (1950-1959) appointed Bishop of Pittsburgh, later elevated to Cardinal in 1969 and appointed Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy (1969-1979)
2. Bernard Joseph Flanagan, DD (1959-1983) retired
3. Timothy Joseph Harrington, DD (1983-1994) retired
4. Daniel Patrick Reilly, DD (1994-2004) retired
5. Robert Joseph McManus, STD (2004-present)

Auxiliary Bishops:

1. Timothy Joseph Harrington, DD (1968-1983) appointed Bishop
2. George Edward Rueger, DD (1988-2005) retired

[edit] Organization of Parishes

In 2004, Bishop Reilly grouped parishes into "clusters" ^{[1] [2]}. The purpose of this system is to allow communities to come together for a regional event. Also, priests may substitute for one another at a particular parish.

Parish	City/Town	Cluster
Ascension	Worcester	42
Blessed Sacrament	Worcester	44
Christ the King	Worcester	32
Good Shepherd	Linwood	22
Holy Angels	Upton	23
Holy Cross	Templeton (East Templeton)	2
Holy Family of Nazareth	Leominster	8
Holy Name of Jesus (French)	Worcester	43
Holy Spirit (Hispanic)	Gardner	3
Immaculate Conception	Fitchburg	6
Immaculate Conception	Lancaster	11
Immaculate Conception	Worcester	44
Immaculate Heart of Mary	Winchendon	2
Madonna of the Holy Rosary	Fitchburg	5
Mary, Queen of the Rosary	Spencer	33
North American Martyrs	Auburn	18
Notre Dame	Southbridge	29
Notre Dame & St. Joseph (French Canadian)	Worcester	39
Our Lady Immaculate	Athol	1
Our Lady of Częstochowa (Polish)	Worcester	42
Our Lady of Fatima	Worcester	44
Our Lady of Good Counsel	West Boylston	14
Our Lady of Jasna Gora	Clinton	11
Our Lady of Loreto	Worcester	40
Our Lady of Lourdes	Worcester	40
Our Lady of Mercy	Worcester	Maronite
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel & St. Ann (Italian)	Worcester	39
Our Lady of Perpetual Help	Worcester	Melkite
Our Lady of the Angels	Worcester	37
Our Lady of the Assumption	Millbury	19
Our Lady of the Holy Rosary	Gardner	3
Our Lady of the Lake	Leominster	9
Our Lady of the Rosary	Clinton	11
Our Lady of the Rosary	Worcester	38
Our Lady of Vilna (historically Lithuanian, currently Vietnamese)	Worcester	42
Our Lady, Queen of Heaven Mission	Royalston (South Royalston)	1
Prince of Peace	Princeton	10
Sacred Heart of Jesus	Fitchburg	5
Sacred Heart of Jesus	Gardner	3
Sacred Heart of Jesus	Hopedale	24
Sacred Heart of Jesus	Milford	24
Sacred Heart of Jesus (French)	Southbridge	29
Sacred Heart of Jesus	Webster	28
Sacred Heart of Jesus	West Brookfield	34
Sacred Heart of Jesus	Worcester	41
St. Aloysius	Hardwick (Gilbertville)	36
St. Aloysius & St. Jude	Leicester	31
St. Andrew Bobola (Polish)	Dudley	27
St. Andrew the Apostle	Worcester	37
St. Ann	Oxford (North Oxford)	26
St. Anna	Leominster	8
St. Anne	Ashburnham (South Ashburnham)	4
St. Anne	Shrewsbury	15
St. Anne	Southborough	17
St. Anne & St. Patrick (run by Assumptionists)	Sturbridge (Fiskedale)	30
St. Anne	Worcester (Manchaug)	21
St. Anthony di Padua	Fitchburg	6
St. Anthony of Padua	Dudley	28
St. Augustine Mission	Hardwick (Wheelwright)	36
St. Augustine	Millville	25
St. Bernadette	Northborough	16
St. Bernard	Fitchburg	7
St. Bernard	Worcester	38
St. Boniface	Lunenburg	9
St. Brigid	Millbury	19
St. Camillus de Lellis (historically French)	Fitchburg	7
St. Casimir (Lithuanian)	Worcester	42
St. Catherine of Sweden	Worcester	41
St. Cecilia	Leominster	8
St. Charles Borromeo	Worcester	37
St. Christopher	Worcester	14
St. Columba	Paxton	32
St. Denis	Ashburnham	4
St. Denis	Douglas	21
St. Edward the Confessor	Westminster	4
St. Francis of Assisi	Athol	1
St. Francis of Assisi (Hispanic)	Fitchburg	6
St. Francis Xavier	Bolton	12
St. Gabriel the Archangel (established 2006) Merging of St. Michael the Archangel (Mendon) and Holy Angels (Upton) New Church due to be completed by 2008.	Upton	23
St. George	Worcester	13
St. Hedwig (Polish)	Southbridge	29
St. James	Grafton (South Grafton)	20
St. Joan of Arc (Hispanic)	Worcester	38
St. John	Worcester	42
St. John the Baptist	East Brookfield	33
St. John the Evangelist	Clinton	11
St. Joseph	Auburn	18
St. Joseph	Barre	36
St. Joseph	Charlton	30
St. Joseph (Hispanic)	Fitchburg	5
St. Joseph	Gardner	3
St. Joseph & St. Pius X	Leicester	31
St. Joseph	North Brookfield	34
St. Joseph Basilica	Webster	27
St. Joseph the Good Provider	Berlin	11
St. Leo (Hispanic)	Leominster	8
St. Louis	Webster	28
St. Luke the Evangelist	Westborough	17
St. Margaret Mary	Worcester	39
St. Mark	Sutton	19
St. Martin Mission	Templeton (Otter River)	2
St. Mary	Brookfield	34
St. Mary	Grafton (North Grafton)	20
St. Mary	Holden (Jefferson)	13
St. Mary	Shrewsbury	15
St. Mary (Hispanic)	Southbridge	29
St. Mary	Uxbridge	22
St. Mary of the Hills	Boylston	15
St. Mary the Assumption	Milford	24
St. Matthew	Southborough	17
St. Michael the Archangel	Mendon	23
St. Patrick	Northbridge (Whitinsville)	22
St. Patrick	Rutland	10
St. Paul	Blackstone	25
St. Paul	Warren	35
St. Paul Cathedral	Worcester	44
St. Peter	Northbridge	22
St. Peter	Petersham	1
St. Peter (Hispanic and African-American)	Worcester	43
St. Philip	Grafton	20
St. Richard of Chichester	Sterling	10
St. Roch	Oxford	26
St. Rose of Lima	Northborough	16
St. Stanislaus	Warren (West Warren)	35
St. Stephen	Worcester	39
St. Theresa	Blackstone	25
St. Theresa, the Little Flower	Harvard	12
St. Thomas à Becket	Barre (South Barre)	36
St. Thomas Aquinas	Warren (West Warren)	35
St. Vincent de Paul	Templeton (Baldwinville)	2

[edit] High schools

• Holy Name Central Catholic High School, Worcester
• Magnificat Academy, Warren
• Notre Dame Academy, Worcester
• Notre Dame Preparatory School, Fitchburg
• St. Bernard's High School, Fitchburg
• St. John's High School, Shrewsbury
• St. Mary's Central Catholic High School, Worcester
• Saint Peter-Marian High School, Worcester

[edit] Administators

• Most Rev. Robert Joseph McManus, STD, Bishop
• Most Rev. Daniel P. Reilly, DD, Bishop Emertus
• Most Rev. George E. Rueger, DD, Auxiliary Emertus
• Rev. Msgr. F. Stephen Pedone, JCL, Judicial Vicar
• Rev. Paul T. O'Connell, JCD, Associate Judicial Vicar
• Rev. Msgr. Thomas J. Sullivan, Chancellor
• Rev. Msgr. Edmond T. Tinsley, PA, Director of Fiscal Affairs
• Rev. Rocco Piccolomini, Director of Priest Personal
• Sister Paula Kelleher, SSJ, Vicar for Religious

[edit] Resources

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

[edit] References

v • d • e Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Boston Archdiocese of Boston · Diocese of Burlington · Diocese of Fall River · Diocese of Manchester · Diocese of Portland · Diocese of Providence · Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts · Diocese of Worcester