The Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts ( la, Diœcesis Campifontis) is a

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ecclesiastical territory or

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 associa ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in the

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

region of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

comprising the counties of Berkshire, Franklin,

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

, and Hampden in the Commonwealth of

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. The Diocese of Springfield of Massachusetts is a suffragan diocese in the

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 seve ...

of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Boston.

History

On 14 June 1870, Pope Pius XI erected the Diocese of Springfield, taking Berkshire, Franklin County, Hampden County, Hampshire County, and Worcester County from the Diocese of Boston and making it a suffragan of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of New York. On 12 February 1875, Pope Pius IX elevated the Diocese of Boston to a metropolitan archdiocese, designating the Diocese of Burlington, the Diocese of Hartford, the Diocese of Portland, the Diocese of Providence, and the Diocese of Springfield as the initial suffragans of the new metropolitan see. The title of the Diocese of Springfield formally became Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts when Pope Pius XI moved the see of the Diocese of Alton to Springfield, Illinois, thus changing the title of the latter to Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, on 26 October 1923. On 14 January 1950, Pope Pius XII erected the Diocese of Worcester, taking Worcester County from the Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts and making it a suffragan of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Boston. This action established the present territory of the Diocese of Springfield.

Suppression and closure of parishes

Following a decline in parish membership and attendance at weekly Mass, many churches in the diocese have been merged or closed. As of 2010, 65 churches had been closed, with 13 of those buildings housing new congregations created by mergers. Bishop Timothy McDonnell was responsible for the majority of these parish closures.

Sexual abuse

On September 24, 2004, former Springfield Bishop Thomas Dupré was

indicted An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of ...

by a Hampden County grand jury on two counts of child molestation. He became the first Catholic bishop ever to be indicted for sexual abuse. However, the Springfield district attorney was forced to drop the charges because the

statute of limitations A statute of limitations, known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal proceedings may be initiated. ("Time for commencing proceedings") In ...

had expired. In February 2019, a news report stated that the Diocese of Springfield had received 15 complaints of sexual abuse in 2018. On May 27, 2020, the Diocese of Springfield formed an independent task force to advise the Diocesan Bishop on allegations of sexual abuse. In June 2020, an independent investigation found allegations against the late Bishop Christopher J. Weldon to be credible. Both Bishops Weldon and Dupré were later alleged to have perpetrated sexual abuse of a minor or minors and to have covered up the murder of Danny Croteau by a priest in their charge, Richard R. Lavigne, who had sexually abused and then murdered the 13-year-old altar boy in 1972. After waiting over two decades, a woman who identified as a clergy abuse victim from the Diocese of Springfield saw the name of her abuser, the late Rev. Daniel Gill, added to the inventory of "credibly accused" priests; Rev. Gill had served at five churches in Hampden and Berkshire counties. A civil lawsuit brought by a Chicopee former altar boy names in a cover-up as defendants the Roman Catholic Bishop of Springfield, a Corporation Sole, John J. Egan, former Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski, Patricia McManamy, Monsignor Christopher Connelly, Jeffrey Trant, John Hale, Kevin Murphy and Mark Dupont. In July 2022, the Supreme Judicial Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts rejected the Diocese of Springfield's claim that the church was protected by charitable immunity, and the Diocese's motion for the charges of sexual abuse and subsequent cover-up be dismissed. The Court based this decision on the argument that sexual assault against children does not "involve conduct related to a charitable mission." The Diocese faces another lawsuit in Hampden Superior Court from an 84 year old Chicopee woman over allegations her parish priest grabbed her buttocks during a Mass in 2019. The lawsuit states that she made a report to the Franciscan order and to the Springfield diocese, speaking with Jeffrey Trant, director of the Office of Safe Environment and Victim Assistance, and no charges were brought forward. The lawsuit claims assault and battery, infliction of emotional distress, negligent supervision and negligent hiring from the Diocese.

Bishops

Bishops of Springfield (in Massachusetts)

Patrick Thomas O'Reilly Patrick Thomas O'Reilly (December 24, 1833 – May 28, 1892) was an Irish-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first bishop of the Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts from 1870 to 1892. Biography Early life P ...

(1870-1892) # Thomas Daniel Beaven (1892-1920) # Thomas Michael O'Leary (1921-1949) # Christopher Joseph Weldon (1950-1977) #

Joseph Francis Maguire Joseph Francis Maguire (September 4, 1919 – November 23, 2014) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts from 1977 to 1991. He previously serve as an auxili ...

(1977-1992; coadjutor bishop 1976-1977) # John Aloysius Marshall (1992-1994) #

Thomas Ludger Dupré Thomas Ludger Dupré (November 10, 1933 – December 30, 2016) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Springfield in Massachusetts from 1995 to 2004. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the same di ...

(1995-2004) # Timothy Anthony McDonnell (2004–2014) # Mitchell Thomas Rozanski (2014–2020) # William Draper Byrne (2020–present)

Auxiliary bishops

* Leo Edward O'Neil (1980-1989), appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Manchester and subsequently succeeded to that see *Thomas Ludger Dupré (1990-1995), appointed Bishop of Springfield in Massachusetts (see above)

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

* Daniel Francis Feehan, appointed Bishop of Fall River in 1907 * Joseph John Rice, appointed Bishop of Burlington in 1910 * Joseph Francis McGrath, appointed Bishop of Baker City in 1918 * William Augustine Hickey, appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Providence in 1919 and subsequently succeeded to that see *

Timothy Joseph Harrington Timothy Joseph Harrington (December 19, 1918 – March 23, 1997) was an American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Worcester in Massachusetts from 1983 to 1994. He previously served as an auxili ...

, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Worcester in 1968

Office of Safe Environment & Victim Assistance

* Jeffrey Trant, appointed Director in 2019

Significant church buildings

The Basilica of St. Stanislaus in

Chicopee, Massachusetts Chicopee ( ) is a city located on the Connecticut River in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 55,560, making it the second-largest city in Western Massachusetts after Springfield. ...

, is located within the Diocese of Springfield.

Education

High Schools

* Pope Francis Preparatory School, Springfield (9-12) * Saint Mary High School, Westfield (9-12) Closed: * Cathedral High School, Springfield (merged into Pope Francis Preparatory School) * Holyoke Catholic High School, Chicopee (merged into Pope Francis Preparatory School) * St. Joseph Central High School, Pittsfield (closed 2017)

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts Official Site

* {{authority control Catholic Church in Massachusetts Culture of Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield, Springfield in Massachusetts Springfield in Massachusetts Springfield in Massachusetts 1870 establishments in Massachusetts