This is the list of the Catholic dioceses and archdioceses of the United States which includes both the dioceses of the
Latin Church
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, image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg
, imagewidth = 250px
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, caption = Archbasilica of Saint Jo ...
, which employ the
Roman Rite
The Roman Rite ( la, Ritus Romanus) is the primary liturgical rite of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. It developed in the Latin language in the city of Rome and, while di ...
and other
Latin liturgical rites
Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, are Catholic rites of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church '' sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church, that originated in Europe where the Latin language onc ...
, and various other dioceses, primarily the
eparchies of the
Eastern Catholic Churches
The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous ('' sui iuris'') particular churches of ...
, which employ various
Eastern Christian rites and traditions, and which are in
full communion
Full communion is a communion or relationship of full agreement among different Christian denominations that share certain essential principles of Christian theology. Views vary among denominations on exactly what constitutes full communion, but ...
with the
Pope
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus ( legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
. The
Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA
The Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (formally the Military Ordinariate of Archdiocese for the Military Services of the United States) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese that provides the Catholic Church's pas ...
is not a
metropolitan diocese. The
Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter
The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter is a special Catholic diocese for Anglican and Methodist converts in the United States and Canada. It allows these parishioners to maintain elements of Anglican liturgy and tradition in thei ...
was established on January 1, 2012 for former
Anglicans
Anglicanism is a Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia ...
who join the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
.
The Catholic Church in the United States has a total of 196
particular church
In metaphysics, particulars or individuals are usually contrasted with universals. Universals concern features that can be exemplified by various different particulars. Particulars are often seen as concrete, spatiotemporal entities as opposed to a ...
in the 50
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
s,
Washington D.C., and the
U.S. Virgin Islands: 32 territorial
archdiocese
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...
s, 144 territorial
diocese
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associ ...
s, the
Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA
The Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (formally the Military Ordinariate of Archdiocese for the Military Services of the United States) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese that provides the Catholic Church's pas ...
(serving members of the US Armed Forces and Diplomatic Corps, and those in facilities of the Veterans Administration and their dependents), and the
Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter
The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter is a special Catholic diocese for Anglican and Methodist converts in the United States and Canada. It allows these parishioners to maintain elements of Anglican liturgy and tradition in thei ...
(serving Catholics who were formerly Anglicans) within the Latin Church; and two
archeparchies and 16
eparchies in the
Eastern Catholic Churches
The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous ('' sui iuris'') particular churches of ...
.
There are several other dioceses whose territories cover the Nation's
unincorporated territories.
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
has one ecclesiastical province comprising an archdiocese and five dioceses, which together form the
Puerto Rican Episcopal Conference, which is separate from the
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic Conference (US ...
. The dioceses that encompass
American Samoa
American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the Internatio ...
, the
Northern Mariana Islands
The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI; ch, Sankattan Siha Na Islas Mariånas; cal, Commonwealth Téél Falúw kka Efáng llól Marianas), is an unincorporated territory and commonw ...
, and
Guam
Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
are part of the
Episcopal Conference of the Pacific.
Terminology
The pastor of any particular church other than an ordinariate must be episcopally ordained, but his title conforms to that of his jurisdiction: the pastor of an archdiocese is an archbishop, the pastor of a diocese is a bishop, the pastor of an archeparchy is an archeparch, the pastor of an eparchy is an eparch, and the pastor of an exarchate is an exarch. The pastor of an ordinariate, titled the "ordinary" (which is a term also used generically for the pastor of any particular church), may be either a bishop if celibate, or a presbyter (priest) if married, but he holds the same power of governance of his ordinariate that a bishop has of his diocese in either case;
Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereig ...
deliberately instituted this provision to permit married, former Anglican bishops who come into full communion with the Catholic Church along with many of their congregants to accede to office while respecting sensitivities in ecumenical relations with the
Eastern Orthodox Churches
The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...
, which also maintain a celibate episcopacy. The pastor of each particular church is, ''ex officio'', a full member of the
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Auxiliary and retired bishops are also members of the Conference but have no vote.
In the United States, each archbishop is also the
metropolitan bishop
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan (alternative obsolete form: metropolite), pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis.
Originally, the term referred to the ...
of an
ecclesiastical province
An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of sev ...
that encompasses several adjacent dioceses. Likewise, each archeparch is also the metropolitan of an
ecclesiastical province
An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of sev ...
that encompasses all of the eparchies of the same ''sui iuris'' particular church in the United States. Most provincial and diocesan boundaries conform to
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
,
county
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
,
borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
In the Middle Ag ...
(in Alaska), or
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...
(in Louisiana) political boundaries. The ''sui iuris''
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
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, caption = St. George's ...
in the US has an ecclesiastical province consisting of an archeparchy and three eparchies, and the ''sui iuris''
Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church
The Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church ( rue, Русиньска ґрекокатолицька церьков; la, Ecclesia Graeco-Catholica Ruthenica), also known in the United States simply as the Byzantine Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catho ...
has an ecclesiastical province consisting of an archeparchy and three eparchies; the boundaries of these jurisdictions also generally conform to those of states. Most of the remaining eparchies are national in territory, but two particular churches, namely the
Armenian Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of Nareg and the
Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter
The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter is a special Catholic diocese for Anglican and Methodist converts in the United States and Canada. It allows these parishioners to maintain elements of Anglican liturgy and tradition in thei ...
, are international, encompassing all of the United States and
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
; their pastors also are ''ex officio'' members of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB).
In the
Roman Rite
The Roman Rite ( la, Ritus Romanus) is the primary liturgical rite of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. It developed in the Latin language in the city of Rome and, while di ...
, (arch)dioceses customarily take the name of the city of the (arch)bishop's
cathedra
A ''cathedra'' is the raised throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term ''cathedral'' became synonymous with the "seat", or principal ...
, denominated the "see". A few dioceses bear the names of two cities, variously reflecting a shift in the major center of population, e.g., the
Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
; future plan to divide a diocese, e.g., the former Diocese of Reno-Las Vegas; union of two former dioceses, e.g., the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph; political expedience, e.g., the
Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis; or a perceived need for some episcopal functions to be accessible to residents of another part of the diocesan territory, e.g., the
Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown. Some of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches also follow this custom, while others denominated their jurisdictions after saints or other religious titles.
In the Catholic Church, there are many bishops who do not govern dioceses:
* A "coadjutor" is appointed to assist the bishop of a diocese or eparchy with its daily governance and has the right of automatic succession upon the death or resignation of the bishop. A coadjutor always holds the title "Coadjutor of
ame of see #REDIRECT AME #REDIRECT AME
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. The coadjutor of an archdiocese or archeparchy also has the status of an archbishop or archeparch.
* A retired diocesan bishop holds the title of "Bishop Emeritus of
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