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| Archdiocese of Washington Archidioecesis Vashingtonensis |
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Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C. |
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| Basic information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Washington, D.C., United States |
| Territory | District of Columbia plus counties of Montgomery, Prince George's, St. Mary's, Calvert, and Charles in Maryland[1] |
| Population | 567,266 Catholics[2] |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Patron | St. Matthew |
| Ecclesiastical province | Archdiocese of Washington |
| Established | November 15, 1947 |
| Cathedral | Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle |
| Bishop | Most Rev. Donald Wuerl |
| Website | www.adw.org |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Benedict XVI |
| Metropolitan | Most Rev. Donald Wuerl Archbishop of Washington |
| Diocesan Bishop | Most Rev. Donald Wuerl Archbishop of Washington |
| Auxiliary bishops | Most Rev. Francisco González, S.F. Most Rev. Martin D. Holley |
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington is a "particular church" of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. It comprises the District of Columbia and Calvert, Charles, Montgomery, Prince George's and Saint Mary's counties in the state of Maryland.
The Archdiocese of Washington is home to the The Catholic University of America, the national Catholic university operated by the United States bishops. It is also home to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, a prominent minor basilica dedicated to the nation's patron saint.
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The ordinary of the Archdiocese of Washington is an archbishop whose episcopal see is located at St. Matthew's Cathedral in the City of Washington. The Archbishop of Washington concurrently serves as metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical Province of Washington. Its sole suffragan bishop is the Diocese of Saint Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands.
The first Archbishop of Washington was Michael Joseph Curley in 1939. The current Archbishop is the Most Reverend Donald Wuerl, who was previously the Bishop of Pittsburgh. His predecessor was Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, whose resignation upon reaching the age limit was accepted on May 16, 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI.
The Archdiocese of Washington often prides itself in sharing the fact that the Society of Jesus celebrated the first Mass in the United States on its shores in 1634. During the colonial era however, Catholics would remain a persecuted people suffering the wrath of oppression allowed by local penal laws.
Upon the establishment of the United States by its founding fathers, the Holy See appointed a Jesuit, John Carroll, to be the first bishop of the newly created diocese which would later become the Archdiocese of Baltimore. The Prefecture Apostolic of the United States, as the entity was known then, had jurisdiction over all American Catholics including present-day City of Washington.
In 1939, Pope Pius XII separated the City of Washington from the Archdiocese of Baltimore and created the joint Archdiocese of Baltimore-Washington. The process of separation was officially concluded on November 15, 1947. The independent Archdiocese of Washington was established on October 12, 1965, becoming a metropolitan see of its own.
Given its young age, the Archdiocese has enjoyed a large number of Auxiliary Bishops:
The following men began their service as priests in the Archdiocese before being appointed bishops elsewhere (years in parentheses refers to their years in Washington):
District of Columbia Parishes
Montgomery County (Maryland) Parishes
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Prince George's County (Maryland) Parishes
Calvert County (Maryland) Parishes
St. Mary's County (Maryland) Parishes
Charles County (Maryland) Parishes
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