Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts

Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts Dioecesis Campifontis
Location
Country	United States
Territory	Western Massachusetts
Ecclesiastical province	Archdiocese of Boston
Metropolitan	Springfield, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42°06′19″N 72°35′07″W
Population - Catholics	235,000 (28.9%)
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	June 14, 1870
Cathedral	St. Michael's Cathedral
Patron saint	St. Michael
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Timothy A. McDonnell
Metropolitan Archbishop	Seán Patrick O'Malley
Website
diospringfield.org

St Michael's Cathedral

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts (Latin: Dioecesis Campifontis) is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the New England region of the United States comprising the counties of Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden in the state of Massachusetts. It is led by Bishop Timothy A. McDonnell.

The Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts was canonically erected on June 14, 1870, by Pope Pius IX. Its territories were taken from the present-day Archdiocese of Boston.

The Basilica of St. Stanislaus in Chicopee is under the circumscription of the diocese.

Suppression and closure of parishes

In an online news brief by the Catholic News Service (CNS) that was posted on Wednesday, November 16, 2011:

"The Springfield Diocese has been informed that the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, the Vatican's highest tribunal, has upheld the diocese's decision to suppress and close three parishes.

According to a Nov. 10 press release issued by the diocese, the upholding of the parish closings "is a definitive finding which supports the actions of the diocese, thus removing any possibility for their restoration as parishes."

The three parishes in the western Massachusetts diocese involved in the final ruling were St. Stanislaus Kostka in Adams and St. George and St. Patrick in Chicopee. The decision affirmed merging St. Stanislaus Kostka with Pope John Paul the Great Parish, and St. George and St. Patrick with Holy Name of Jesus.

In the same action, the press release said, the Vatican court indicated the diocese had not yet provided sufficient cause to use the former churches for nonreligious uses, a similar point made by the Vatican Congregation for Clergy in its decision.

But the diocese said the court's secondary finding does not require that these church buildings be reopened, and does not mandate that they be restored as regular worship sites, since the parishes they were assigned to no longer exist. "This action simply means they cannot be actively used for any nonreligious purpose. It allows for no use, or a wide range on other nonworship religious uses," the diocesan news release said.

Future actions by the diocese may include using the clarification now provided by the Apostolic Signatura to issue a decree stating "the need to reduce the status of the church buildings or alternative uses as permitted."..."

Bishops

• Patrick Thomas O'Reilly (1870-1892, Died)
• Thomas Daniel Beaven (1892-1920, Died)
• Thomas Michael O'Leary (1921-1949, Died)
• Christopher Joseph Weldon (1950-1977, Retired)
• Joseph Francis Maguire (1977-1992, Retired)
• John Aloysius Marshall (1992-1994, Died)
• Thomas Ludger Dupré (1995-2004, Resigned)
• Timothy Anthony McDonnell (2004–present)

High schools

• Cathedral High School, Springfield
• Holyoke Catholic High School, Chicopee
• Saint Mary High School, Westfield
• St. Joseph Central High School, Pittsfield

External links

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts
• Catholic Hierarchy Profile of the Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts
• Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Springfield" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.