Roman Catholic Diocese of Richmond

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2007)

Diocese of Richmond Dioecesis Richmondiensis
Location
Country	United States of America
Territory	Central and Southern Virginia, as well as the Eastern Shore
Ecclesiastical province	Province of Baltimore
Metropolitan	Richmond, Virginia United States
Population - Catholics	212,189
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Rite	Latin Rite
Established	July 11, 1820
Cathedral	Cathedral of the Sacred Heart
Patron saint	St. Vincent de Paul
Current leadership
Bishop	Francis Xavier DiLorenzo Bishop of Richmond
Metropolitan Archbishop	Vacant Archbishop of Baltimore
Emeritus Bishops	Walter Francis Sullivan
Map
Website
richmonddiocese.org

Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Richmond

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Richmond is an ecclesiastical and episcopal see or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. Prior to the American Revolution there were few Catholics within Virginia. Anti-Catholic laws discouraged the faithful from settling in colonial Virginia. ^[1] It was not until the passing of Thomas Jefferson's Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom in 1786 that Catholics were free to worship openly in the Old Dominion. The Diocese of Richmond was canonically erected by Pope Pius VII on July 11, 1820. Its current territory encompasses all of central and southern Virginia, Hampton Roads, and the eastern shore. It is a ceremonial suffragan of the metropolitan province of Baltimore, from which its territories were taken.

Today there are 235,816 Catholics at 146 parishes in the Diocese of Richmond. The diocese currently has 87 active priests, 59 retired priests, 88 permanent deacons, 180 members of Catholic religious order and 16 seminarians. There are 32 Catholic schools in the diocese with a total enrollment of 12,062 students in 8 High Schools and 24 Elementary Schools. ^[2]

The diocese is currently led by a prelate bishop which pastors the motherchurch in the City of Richmond, at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart. The current bishop is Most Reverend Francis Xavier DiLorenzo, previously the Bishop of Honolulu. He was appointed by Pope John Paul II on March 31, 2004 and installed on May 24, 2004.

Bishops

• Most Rev. Patrick Kelly (Aug 24, 1820 - Feb 9, 1822)
• Most Rev. Richard Vincent Whelan (Dec 19, 1840 - Jul 23, 1850)
• Most Rev. John McGill (Jul 23, 1850 - Jan 14, 1872)
• Most Rev. James Gibbons (Jul 30, 1872 - May 20, 1877)
• Most Rev. John Joseph Keane (Mar 28, 1878 - Aug 12, 1888)
• Most Rev. Augustine Van de Vyver (Jul 16, 1889 - Oct 16, 1911)
• Most Rev. Denis Joseph O'Connell (Jan 19, 1912 - Jan 15, 1926)
• Most Rev. Andrew James Louis Brennan (May 28, 1926 - Apr 14, 1945)
• Most Rev. Peter Leo Ireton (Apr 14, 1945 - Apr 27, 1958)
• Most Rev. John Joyce Russell (Jul 3, 1958 - Apr 28, 1973)
• Most Rev. Walter Francis Sullivan (Jun 4, 1974 - Sep 16, 2003)
• Most Rev. Francis Xavier DiLorenzo (Mar. 31, 2004 - current)

Knights of Columbus

The Knights of Columbus has several councils in the Richmond Diocese. The Knights serve parish and communities throughout both dioceses in the Commowealth. One of the best known services is the KOVAR drive that raises money for assisting Virginians with intellectual disabilities.^[3]

High schools

• Benedictine High School, Richmond
• Bishop Sullivan Catholic High School, Virginia Beach
• Blessed Sacrament Huguenot, Powhatan
• Holy Cross Regional Catholic School, Lynchburg
• Peninsula Catholic High School, Newport News
• Roanoke Catholic School, Roanoke
• Saint Gertrude High School, Richmond
• Walsingham Academy, Williamsburg

References

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Richmond
• Cathedral of the Sacred Heart
• Diocese of Richmond entry at the Catholic Encyclopedia

v t e Catholic Church Organizations, papacy, teachings and liturgical traditions History Jesus Twelve Apostles Early Christianity History of the Papacy Ecumenical Councils Missions Great Schism of East Crusades Great Schism of West Protestant Reformation Counter-Reformation Catholic Church by country Hierarchy Pope Cardinals Patriarchs Major Archbishops Primates Metropolitans Archbishops Diocesan Bishops Theology Body and Soul Divine Grace Dogma One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church Original sin Salvation Sermon on the Mount The Ten Commandments Trinity Worship Sacraments Anointing of the Sick Baptism Confirmation Eucharist Holy Orders Matrimony Penance Mariology Roman Catholic Mariology Assumption History of Mariology Immaculate Conception Mariology of the popes Mariology of the saints Mother of God Perpetual Virginity Veneration Doctors of the Church Albertus Magnus Ambrose Anselm of Canterbury Anthony of Padua Thomas Aquinas Athanasius of Alexandria Augustine of Hippo Basil of Caesarea Bede Robert Bellarmine Bernard of Clairvaux Bonaventure Petrus Canisius Catherine of Siena Peter Chrysologus John Chrysostom Cyril of Alexandria Cyril of Jerusalem Peter Damian Ephrem the Syrian Francis de Sales Gregory of Nazianzus Gregory the Great Hilary of Poitiers Isidore of Seville Jerome John of Damascus John of the Cross Lawrence of Brindisi Leo the Great Alphonsus Maria de Liguori Teresa of Ávila Thérèse of Lisieux Pope Benedict XVI Conclave Theology Works Dominus Iesus Sacramentum Caritatis Deus Caritas Est Summorum Pontificum Spe Salvi Caritas in Veritate Preceding popes Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul I Pope Paul VI Pope John XXIII Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XI Pope Benedict XV Pope Pius X Pope Leo XIII Pope Pius IX Religious institutes and similar Assumptionists Augustinians Benedictines Capuchin Order Carmelites Carthusians Congregations of Holy Cross Dominican Order Franciscan orders Jesuits Oratory of Saint Philip Neri Vatican II Definition of the Church Dei Verbum Gaudium et Spes Lumen Gentium Nostra Aetate Sacrosanctum Concilium Particular Churches and liturgical rites Alexandrian Coptic Ethiopic Antiochian Maronite Syriac Syro-Malankara Armenian Armenian Byzantine Albanian Belarusian Bulgarian Croatian Greek Hungarian Italo-Albanian Macedonian Melkite Romanian Russian Ruthenian Slovak Ukrainian East Syrian Chaldean Syro-Malabar Latin Roman Anglican Use Sarum Ambrosian Mozarabic Catholicism portal Pope portal