Roman Catholic Diocese of Fall River

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Template:Short description Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". The Diocese of Fall River (Template:Langx) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in southeastern Massachusetts in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Boston.

The mother church of the diocese is St. Mary's Cathedral in Fall River. The patron saint of the diocese is Mary, mother of Jesus. The current bishop as of 2025 is Edgar Moreira da Cunha.

Diocesan statistics

The Diocese of Fall River spans Barnstable, Bristol, Dukes, and Nantucket Counties. It also includes the towns of Marion, Mattapoisett, and Wareham along the coast of Plymouth County. The diocese covers Cape Cod and the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.

The diocese in 2013 included 147 parish priests, 90 permanent deacons, 16 religious brothers and 295 religious sisters. It had 96 parishes, 11 missions, a health care center, and five nursing homes. The total Catholic population of the diocese was approximately 313,115.[1]

History

1700 to 1808

Before the American Revolution, the British Province of Massachusetts Bay, which included southern Massachusetts and Cape Cod, had enacted laws prohibiting the practice of Catholicism in the colony. It was even illegal for a priest to reside there. To gain the support of Massachusetts Catholics to fight against the British, revolutionary leaders were forced to enact religious freedom for Catholics in 1780.[2]

After the Revolution ended in 1783, Pope Pius VI erected in 1784 the Prefecture Apostolic of the United States, encompassing the entire territory of the new nation. Pius VI created the Diocese of Baltimore, the first diocese in the United States, to replace the prefecture apostolic in 1789.[3]

1808 to 1900

Pope Pius VII erected the Diocese of Boston on April 8, 1808, including all of New England in its jurisdiction.[4] Bishop Jean-Louis de Cheverus of Boston established St Lawrence's Church, the first Catholic church in New Bedford and in 1821 with the assistance of Portuguese sailors and Irish laborers.[5] The first Catholic church on Cape Cod was St. Peter's, constructed in Sandwich in 1830. Fall River received it first Catholic church in 1837 when St. John the Baptist was completed.[5] In 1869, the first Portuguese language parish in the country was started in Fall River.

The Diocese of Providence was erected by Pope Pius IX on February 17, 1872. The pope removed the counties of Bristol, Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket in Massachusetts from the Archdiocese of Boston. The present day Diocese of Fall River area would remain part of the Diocese of Providence for the next 32 years.

1900 to 1950

Pope Pius X erected the Diocese of Fall River on March 12, 1904. He took all of the Massachusetts counties from Diocese of Providence for the new diocese, making it a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Boston. He appointed William Stang of Providence as the first bishop of Fall River. At the time of his appointment, the new diocese had 44 parishes serving 130,000 Catholics.[5]

On May 8, 1904, St. Mary's Cathedral was packed with worshipers for Stang's first mass, with police detachments controlling the crowd, estimated at 25,000 people, on the street outside the building.[6][7] During his tenure, Stang established eleven parishes and founded Saint Anne's Hospital in Fall River. One of the new parishes was St. Boniface, a German parish in New Bedford.[8]

After Stang's death in 1907, Pius X appointed Daniel Feehan from the Diocese of Springfield as the second bishop of Fall River that same year. During his 27-year tenure, Feehan became known as the "Benevolent Bishop", establishing 36 parishes. To assist Feehan, Pope Pius IX named Auxiliary Bishop James Cassidy as coadjutor bishop of the diocese in 1934. Feehan died in office later that year and Cassidy automatically succeeded him as bishop. Bishop Feehan High School in Attleboro was named in his honor.

1950 to 1970

File:Ames Estate aka Stonehill College.jpg
Stonehill College, Taunton, Massachusetts (2006)

As bishop, Cassidy founded several homes for senior citizens.[9] In 1945, Pope Pius XII appointed James Connolly from the Diocese of Providence to serve as coadjutor bishop to assist Cassidy. In 1948, the Congregation of Holy Cross founded Stonehill College in Easton. In early 1951, Cassidy published a pastoral letter forbidding girls cheerleading at Catholic high schools in the diocese, citing what he termed the indecency of their outfits. He also banned football games at night.[10]

Following Cassidy's death in 1951, Connolly automatically became the new bishop. Bishop Cassidy High School in Taunton, later renamed Coyle and Cassidy High School following its merger with the all-male Monsignor Coyle High School, was named in Cassidy's honor. As bishop, one of Connolly's special concerns was with providing secondary education in the four urban areas of the diocese. He constructed four Catholic high schools during his tenure. Bishop Connolly High School[11] was dedicated to him in 1967. He also founded the diocesan newspaper, The Anchor.[12]

1970 to 2002

File:CardinalSeanOMalley2009.jpg
Cardinal O'Malley (2009)

After Connolly retired in 1970, Pope Paul VI appointed Auxiliary Bishop Daniel Cronin of the Archdiocese of Boston as the fifth bishop of Fall River. Cronin continued the work of implementing the decrees of the Second Vatican Council and supported liturgical renewal, continuing education of the clergy and the restoration of the permanent diaconate. He expanded Catholic Counseling and Social Services as well as the Family Life Ministry.[13] Late in 1991, Pope John Paul II appointed Cronin as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Hartford.

To replace Cronin, John Paul II appointed Bishop Seán O'Malley of the Diocese of St. Thomas in 1992 as the new bishop of Fall River. His main challenge was to settle the sexual abuse scandal in the Diocese of Fall River. He established an office for AIDS Ministry and two new residences for women, fostered vocations to the priesthood and reorganized the diocesan curia or administration. O’Malley created the Office of Pastoral Planning to assist him on merging parishes and assigning priests.[5]

2002 to present

In 2002, John Paul II named O'Malley as bishop of the Diocese of Palm Beach and appointed George Coleman as his successor. In 2007, Coleman opened Pope John Paul II High School in Hyannis, the first Catholic high school on Cape Cod. He also created a directorship of Faith Formation, a youth ministry and a Marriage and Family Ministry.[5] Coleman retired in 2014.

On July 3, 2014, Pope Francis appointed Auxiliary Bishop Edgar Moreira da Cunha from the Archdiocese of Newark as the eighth bishop of Fall River.[14][15][16] Da Cunha is the current bishop of Fall River.

Sexual abuse

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In the early 1990s, revelations surfaced about how the Diocese of Fall River protected Reverend James Porter from charges of sexual abuse between 1960 and 1964. In 1960, Porter was assigned to St. Mary's grammar school, where he was charged with managing the school's altar boys. Parents soon started filing complaints against Porter with the diocese. However, the diocese took no action against him until 1963; by that time, at least four parents had complained about Porter's inappropriate behavior with their children. The diocese then moved Porter to a parish in Fall River without notifying police or the new parish about the allegations. More complaints were made against Porter.[17] In 1964, Porter was arrested on sex abuse charges.[18] However, he was only sent out for inpatient hospital treatment. He left the priesthood in 1974 and started a family. In 1987, he served four months in jail in Minnesota for molesting his children's sitter.[19]

Porter was arrested in Massachusetts in 1993. He was accused of abusing over 60 children in North Attleboro and nearly 100 children elsewhere in the diocese.[20] Porter pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 18 to 20 years in prison, with the possibility of parole after six years. In December 1993, Bishop O'Malley acknowledged the diocese's protection of Porter and apologized to his victims.[21] Denied parole throughout his sentence, Porter completed his prison sentence in 2004. However, he was not released pending a civil commitment hearing. Porter died in prison in 2005.[17]

A lawsuit was filed in 2014 against Archbishop Cronin of Hartford by two men who claimed they were sexually abused as young boys by Reverend Maurice Souza, a priest in East Falmouth. The plaintiffs claimed that Cronin, then bishop of Fall River, failed to properly supervise Souza, who allegedly molested the boys during the 1980's in East Falmouth and on athletic trips out of town.[22] In January 2019, Cronin and the two men reached a settlement, with each man to receive $200,000.[23]

In December 2020, a grand jury at Barnstable Superior Court indicted Reverend Mark R. Hession, also known as "Father Mark", on two counts of rape, one count of indecent assault and battery on a child under age 14, and one count of intimidation of a witness.[24] Hession was known to many locals because of his past work at Our Lady of Victory Parish in Centerville. Hession also worked closely with the Kennedy family and even delivered the homily at Senator Ted Kennedy's funeral in 2009.[24]

The diocese in May 2023 settled a lawsuit brought by Jason Medeiros. Three years early, Medeiros had alleged that Reverend Richard DeGagne had sexually assaulted him when he was 12 and 13 years old in the 1980's at St Anthony of Padua Parish in New Bedford. The diocese suspended DeGagne from his priestly duties in 2019[25]

Bishops

Bishops of Fall River

  1. William Stang (1904–1907)
  2. Daniel Francis Feehan (1907–1934)
  3. James Edwin Cassidy (1934–1951; coadjutor bishop 1934)
  4. James Louis Connolly (1951–1970; coadjutor bishop 1945–1951)
  5. Daniel Anthony Cronin (1970–1992), appointed Archbishop of Hartford
  6. Seán Patrick O'Malley (1992–2002), appointed Bishop of Palm Beach and later Archbishop of Boston (created Cardinal in 2006)
  7. George William Coleman (2003–2014)
  8. Edgar Moreira da Cunha (2014–present)

Auxiliary Bishops of Fall River

  • James Edwin Cassidy (1930–1934), appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Fall River (see above)
  • James Joseph Gerrard (1959–1976)

Other diocesan priests who became bishops

Education

Schools

Closed

Colleges

Stonehill College – Easton

Superintendents

The current Superintendent of Schools is Daniel S. Roy.[26] The following is a list of superintendents:

  • George A. Milot, PhD (2001–2011)[27]
  • Michael S. Griffin (2011–2016)
  • Stephen Perla (2016–2020)[28]
  • Daniel S. Roy (2020–present)[26]

Landmarks

In addition to St. Mary's Cathedral, two other major churches in the diocese are St. Anthony of Padua in New Bedford, Santo Christo Church and Shrine, and St. Anne's both in Fall River.

The Diocese of Fall River is also home to the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette, owned and operated by the Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette.

Suppressed parishes

Year Parish City/Town Notes Template:Refh
1966 Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Parish New Bedford [29][30]
1977 St. Hyacinth Parish New Bedford [31]
1982 St. Roch's Parish Fall River [32]
1987 St. Boniface Parish New Bedford [33]
1987 Sacred Hearts Parish Fairhaven [34]
1989 St. Mathieu's Parish Fall River [35]
1997 Holy Cross Parish Fall River Merged with SS. Peter & Paul Parish in 1997 to become SS. Peter & Paul Parish at Holy Cross Church; the parish merged again with St. Mary's Cathedral in 2013. [36]
1999 Holy Name Parish New Bedford
1999 Sacred Heart Parish New Bedford
1999 St. Joseph Parish New Bedford
1999 St. Therese Parish New Bedford [37]
2000 St. Casimir Parish New Bedford [38]
2000 St. Elizabeth's Parish Fall River Merged with St. Jean Baptiste Parish and St. William's Parish to form Parish of the Holy Trinity. [39]
2000 St. Jean Baptiste Parish Fall River Merged with St. Elizabeth's Parish and St. William's Parish to form Parish of the Holy Trinity. [40]
2000 St. Louis Parish Fall River Merged with St. Mary's Cathedral effective August 1, 2000. [41]
2000 St. William's Parish Fall River Merged with St. Jean Baptiste Parish and St. Elizabeth's Parish to form Parish of the Holy Trinity. [42]
2000 Sacred Heart Parish Taunton Merged with Our Lady of Lourdes Parish to form Annunciation of the Lord Parish at the former Sacred Heart Church.
2000 Our Lady of Lourdes Parish Taunton Merged with Sacred Heart Parish to form Annunciation of the Lord Parish at the former Sacred Heart Church. [43]
2001 Our Lady of Fatima Parish Swansea
2002 Blessed Sacrament Parish Fall River
2002 Our Lady of Angels Parish Fall River
2002 St. Patrick's Parish Fall River
2004 St. Joseph Parish Edgartown
2004 Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe New Bedford
2004 St. Anne Parish New Bedford [44]
2004 St. Hedwig Parish New Bedford [45]
2004 St. James Parish New Bedford
2004 Sacred Heart Parish Oak Bluffs
2004 St. Augustine's Parish Vineyard Haven
2006 Our Lady of Health Parish Fall River
2007 Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Parish Taunton [46]
2007 St. Jacques Parish Taunton [47]
2008 Holy Rosary Parish Fall River
2008 St. Joseph Parish Taunton
2008 St. Paul Parish Taunton
2008 St. Peter Parish Dighton Merged with St. Joseph Parish (Dighton) to form St. Nicholas of Myra Parish. [48]
2008 St. Joseph Parish Dighton Merged with St. Peter Parish to form St. Nicholas of Myra Parish. [48]
2010 St. Stephen's Parish Attleboro Merged with St. Mary's Parish in Seekonk to form Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Parish. [49]
2010 St. Mary's Parish Seekonk
2012 St. John the Baptist Parish New Bedford [50]
2012 Notre Dame de Lourdes Parish Fall River Merged with Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Parish to form St. Bernadette's Parish. [51]
2012 Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Parish Fall River Merged with Notre Dame de Lourdes Parish to form St. Bernadette's Parish. Immaculate Conception church building demolished in February 2019. [51][52]
2013 Holy Ghost Parish Attleboro [53]
2013 St. Joseph's Parish Attleboro [53]
2013 Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Parish Taunton
2013 St. Joseph Parish Woods Hole
2014 Sacred Heart Parish Fall River
2014 Saints Peter and Paul Parish Fall River
2015 St. Killian Parish New Bedford Merged into St. Anthony of Padua Parish [54]
2018 St. Bernadette's Parish Fall River
2018 St. Anne's Parish Fall River Church building reopened under laity-led St. Anne Shrine Preservation Society as a shrine in 2019 [55]
2020 St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Parish North Attleborough Merged with Sacred Heart Parish in North Attleborough and St. Mark Parish in Attleborough Falls to form Transfiguration of the Lord Parish. [56]
2020 Sacred Heart Parish North Attleborough Merged with St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Parish in North Attleborough and St. Mark's Parish in Attleborough Falls to form Transfiguration of the Lord Parish. [56]
2020 St. Mark's Parish Attleborough Falls Merged with St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Parish and Sacred Heart Parish, both in North Attleborough, to form Transfiguration of the Lord Parish. [56]
2021 St. Mary Parish New Bedford Merged with Our Lady of Fatima Parish and St. Joseph-St. Therese Parish to form St. Gabriel the Archangel Parish at the former St. Mary's Church. [57]
2021 Our Lady of Fatima New Bedford Merged with St. Mary Parish and St. Joseph-St. Therese Parish to form St. Gabriel the Archangel Parish at the former St. Mary's Church. [57]
2021 St. Joseph-St. Therese Parish New Bedford Merged with St. Mary Parish and Our Lady of Fatima Parish to form St. Gabriel the Archangel Parish at the former St. Mary's Church. [57]
2022 St. Vincent de Paul Parish Attleboro Merged into St. John the Evangelist Parish. [49]
2022 Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish New Bedford Merged into St. Anthony of Padua Parish. [58]
2022 St. Patrick Parish Somerset
2022 St. Thomas More Parish Somerset
2022 St. Louis de France Parish Swansea

Province of Boston

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See also

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Notes

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References

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External links

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Template:Roman Catholic Diocese of Fall River Template:Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Boston Template:FallRiverMA

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  1. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named look
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  4. ↑ Page on Archdiocese of Baltimore on Catholic Hierarchy web site.
  5. ↑ a b c d e Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  23. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  24. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  25. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  26. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  27. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  28. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  29. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  30. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  32. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  33. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  34. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  35. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  36. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  37. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  38. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  39. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  40. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  41. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  42. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  43. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  44. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  45. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  46. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  47. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  48. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  49. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  50. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  51. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  52. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  53. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  54. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  55. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  56. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  57. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  58. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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