Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester

For other uses, see Diocese of Worcester.

Diocese of Worcester Dioecesis Wigorniensis
Location
Country	United States
Territory	County of Worcester, Massachusetts
Ecclesiastical province	Boston
Metropolitan	Boston
Coordinates
Population - Catholics	350,000 (43.8%)
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	January 14, 1950
Cathedral	St. Paul's Cathedral
Patron saint	St. Paul
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Robert Joseph McManus
Metropolitan Archbishop	Sean Patrick O'Malley Archbishop of Boston
Emeritus Bishops	Daniel Patrick Reilly Bishop Emeritus (1994-2004) George Edward Rueger Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus (1987-2005)
Map
File:Diocese of Worcester map 1.jpg
Website
worcesterdiocese.org

Cathedral of St. Paul

St. Joseph Basilica, Webster

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the New England region of the United States. The geographic boundaries of the diocese are the same as those of Worcester County, Massachusetts, the geographically largest county of the state of Massachusetts. It is led by a prelate bishop who is pastor of the Cathedral of Saint Paul in the city of Worcester.

The diocese was canonically erected on January 14, 1950, by Pope Pius XII. Its territories were taken from the neighboring Diocese of Springfield. The current and fifth bishop is Robert Joseph McManus.

List of Bishops

The list of bishops and their terms of service:

1. John Joseph Wright, DD (1950-1959) appointed Bishop of Pittsburgh, later elevated to Cardinal in 1969 and appointed Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy (1969-1979)
2. Bernard Joseph Flanagan, DD (1959-1983) retired
3. Timothy Joseph Harrington, DD (1983-1994) retired
4. Daniel Patrick Reilly, DD (1994-2004) retired
5. Robert Joseph McManus, DD, STD (2004–present)

The list of Auxiliary Bishops and their terms of service:

• Timothy Joseph Harrington, DD (1968-1983) appointed Bishop
• George Edward Rueger, DD (1988-2005) retired

Bishops who once were priests of the Diocese of Worcester

The following men began their service as priests in Worcester before being appointed bishops elsewhere:

Living

• Archbishop Michael Wallace Banach, Apostolic Nuncio to Papua New Guinea and Apostolic Nuncio to Solomon Islands (ordained a priest of the Diocese of Worcester)

Organization of parishes

In 2004, Bishop Reilly grouped parishes into "clusters". The purpose of this system is to allow communities to come together for a regional event. Also, priests may substitute for one another at a particular parish.

Parish	City/Town	Pastor/Administrator	Associate Pastor/Vicar
Annunciation Parish	Gardner	Rev. Joseph J. Jurgelonis	Rev. Guillermo J. Ochoa
St. John Paul II	Southbridge	Rev. Peter J. Joyce	Rev. Juan G. Herrera
Blessed Sacrament	Worcester	Rev. Chester J. Misiewicz
Christ the King	Worcester	Rev. Msgr. Thomas J. Sullivan
Good Shepherd	Linwood	Rev. Lawrence J. Esposito	Rev. John F. Hamm
Holy Cross	Templeton (East Templeton)	Rev. Marcin W. Nowicki
Holy Family	Worcester	Rev. Steven M. LaBaire
Holy Family of Nazareth	Leominster	Rev. Jose A. Rodriguez
Holy Spirit	Gardner	Rev. Thomas M. Tokarz
Holy Trinity	Harvard/Bolton	Rev. Terence T. Kilcoyne
Immaculate Conception	Lancaster	Rev. Thomas H. Hultquist
Immaculate Conception	Worcester	Rev. Walter J. Riley
Immaculate Heart of Mary	Winchendon	Rev. Leo-Paul Leblanc
Mary, Queen of the Rosary	Spencer	Rev. James F. Hoey
North American Martyrs	Auburn	Rev. John F. Gee
Our Lady Immaculate	Athol	Rev. Edwin Montana
Our Lady of Częstochowa	Worcester	Rev. Ryszard Polek	Rev. Edward Michalski
Our Lady of Good Counsel	West Boylston	Rev. Thirburse F. Millott
Our Lady of Loreto	Worcester	Rev. Charles R. Armey
Our Lady of Lourdes	Worcester	Rev. James B. O'Shea
Our Lady of Mercy	Worcester	Rev. Paul Mooradd
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel-St. Ann	Worcester	Rev. Msgr. F. Stephen Pedone	Rev. Jesus E. Martinez
Our Lady of Perpetual Help	Worcester	Rt. Rev. Paul G. Frechette
Our Lady of the Angels	Worcester	Rev. Charles F. Monroe
Our Lady of the Assumption	Millbury	Rev. Daniel R. Mulcahy
Our Lady of the Holy Rosary	Gardner	Rev. Brian P. O'Toole	Rev. Guillermo J. Ochoa
Our Lady of the Lake	Leominster	Rev. Dennis J. O'Brien
Our Lady of the Rosary	Worcester	Rev. Patrick J. Hawthorne
Our Lady of Vilna (historically Lithuanian, currently Vietnamese)	Worcester	Rev. Peter Tam M. Bui
Prince of Peace	Princeton	Rev. James J. Caldarella
Sacred Heart of Jesus	Gardner	Rev. Brian P. O'Toole	Rev. Guillermo J. Ochoa
Sacred Heart of Jesus	Hopedale	Rev. William C. Konicki
Sacred Heart of Jesus	Milford	Rev. Richard A. Scioli, CSS	Rev. Gregory J. Hoppough, CSS (weekends)
Sacred Heart of Jesus	Webster	Rev. Adam Reid
Sacred Heart-St. Catherine of Sweden	Worcester	Rev. George J. Ridick
St. Aloysius	Gilbertville	Rev. Richard A. Lembo
St. Aloysius-St. Jude	Leicester	Rev. John M. Lizewiski
St. Andrew Bobola (Polish)	Dudley	Rev. Krzysztof Korcz
St. Andrew the Apostle	Worcester	Rev. Msgr. Francis J. Scollen	Rev. Richard A. Jakubauskas
St. Ann	Oxford (North Oxford)	Rev. Michael N. Lavallee
St. Anna	Leominster	Rev. Frederick D. Fraini, III
St. Anne	Ashburnham (South Ashburnham)	Rev. John E. Horgan
St. Anne	Shrewsbury	Rev. John J. Foley	Rev. Paul T. O'Connell (Senior Priest)
St. Anne	Southborough	Rev. Conrad S. Pesevich
St. Anne & St. Patrick (run by Assumptionists)	Sturbridge (Fiskedale)	Rev. Peter R. Precourt, AA
St. Anthony of Padua	Fitchburg	Rev. Michael J. Clements
St. Anthony of Padua	Dudley	Rev. Joseph A. Marcotte
St. Augustine Mission	Hardwick (Wheelwright)	Rev. Richard A. Lembo
St. Augustine	Millville	Rev. Lawrence J. Esposito (Admin.)	Rev. John F. Hamm
St. Bernadette	Northborough	Rev. Ronald G. Falco
St. Bernard @ St. Camillus de Lellis Church	Fitchburg	Rev. Joseph M. Dolan
St. Boniface	Lunenburg	Rev. Dennis J. O'Brien (Admin.)	Rev. Anthony Mpagi
St. Brigid	Millbury	Rev. Daniel R. Mulcahy, Jr.
St. Cecilia	Leominster	Rev. Robert D. Bruso	Rev. Richard G. Roger and Rev. Thomas Landry (Weekend Assts.)
St. Christopher	Worcester	Rev. Stanley F. Krutcik
St. Columba	Paxton	Rev. David E. Doiron
St. Denis	Ashburnham	Rev. John E. Horgan
St. Denis	Douglas	Rev. Ernest P. Allega
St. Edward the Confessor	Westminster	Rev. William E. Champlin
St. Francis of Assisi	Athol	Rev. Edwin Montana
St. Francis of Assisi (Hispanic)	Fitchburg	Rev. Emerito Ortiz
St. Francis of Assisi	South Barre	Rev. James B. Callahan
St. Gabriel the Archangel	Upton	Rev. Laurence V. Brault
St. George	Worcester	Rev. Edward D. Niccolls	Rev. Patrick Ssekyole (In residence)
St. James	Grafton (South Grafton)	Rev. Edward J. Hanlon
St. Joan of Arc (Hispanic)	Worcester	Rev. Nelson J. Rivera	Rev. Eric K. Asante (African Ministry - In Residence)
St. John	Worcester	Rev. John F. Madden	Rev. Msgr. Edmond T. Tinsley (Senior Priest)
St. John the Baptist	East Brookfield	Rev. Richard A. Jakubauskas (Admin.)	Rec. Donald C. Ouellette
St. John, Guardian of Our Lady	Clinton	Rev. Joseph M. Nally	Rev. Hugo A. Cano
St. Joseph	Auburn	Rev. Paul M. Bomba
St. Joseph	Charlton	Rev. Robert A. Grattaroti	Rev. Jonathan J. Slavinskas
St. Joseph	Fitchburg	Rev. Richard F. Trainor
St. Joseph	Gardner	Rev. Thomas M. Tokarz
St. Joseph & St. Pius X	Leicester	Rev. John M. Lizewski
St. Joseph	North Brookfield	Rev. Richard A. Jakubauskas (Admin.)	Rev. Donald C. Ouellette
St. Joseph Basilica	Webster	Very Rev. Msgr. Anthony S. Czarnecki
St. Joseph the Good Provider	Berlin	Rev. Robert M. Spellman
St. Leo	Leominster	Rev. Msgr. John E. Doran	Rev. Mark A. Rainville
St. Louis	Webster	Rev. William F. Sanders	Rev. Miguel A. Pagan (Spanish Ministry)
St. Luke the Evangelist	Westborough	Rev. Msgr. Michael G. Foley	Rev. James Boland
St. Mark	Sutton	Rev. Michael A. Digeronimo
St. Martin Mission	Templeton (Otter River)	Rev. Marcin W. Nowicki
St. Mary	Grafton (North Grafton)	Rev. Kenneth R. Cardinale
St. Mary	Holden (Jefferson)	Rev. Timothy M. Brewer
St. Mary	Shrewsbury	Rev. Msgr. Michael F. Rose	Rev. Marcin W. Nowicki
St. Mary	Uxbridge	Rev. Nicholas Desimone
St. Mary of the Hills	Boylston	Rev. Manuel A. Clavijo
St. Mary the Assumption	Milford	Rev. Raymond M. Goodwin	Rev. Dario Acevedo
St. Matthew	Southborough	Rev. James B. Flynn
St. Patrick	Rutland	Rev. C. Michael Broderick
St. Patrick	Whitinsville	Rev. Tomasz J. Borkowski	Rev. Juan D. Echavarria
St. Paul	Blackstone	Rev. D. Timothy O'Mara
St. Paul	Warren	Rev. Daniel J. Becker
St. Paul Cathedral	Worcester	Very Rev. Msgr. Robert K. Johnson (Rector)	Rev. Angel R. Matos
St. Peter	Northbridge	Rev. James F. Carmody
St. Peter	Petersham	Rev. Edwin Montana
St. Peter (Hispanic and African-American)	Worcester	Rev. Msgr. Francis J. Scollen	Rev. Charles Omolo
St. Philip	Grafton	Rev. Kenneth R. Cardinale
St. Richard of Chichester	Sterling	Rev. James M. Steuterman
St. Roch	Oxford	Rev. Michael J. Roy
St. Rose of Lima	Northborough	Rev. James A. Houston
St. Stanislaus	Warren (West Warren)	Rev. Daniel J. Becker
St. Stephen	Worcester	Rev. H. Edward Chalmers	Rev. Joseph P. Mahoney (Senior Priest)
St. Theresa	Blackstone	Rev. D. Timothy O'Mara (Admin.)	Rev. Thien X. Nguyen
St. Vincent de Paul	Templeton (Baldwinville)	Rev. Francis A. Roberge
Our Lady of Providence @ St Bernard's Church	Worcester	Rev. Edward Ryan	Rev. William Reiser SJ

High schools

• Holy Name Central Catholic High School, Worcester
• Immaculate Heart of Mary*, Harvard
• Magnificat Academy, Warren (closed)
• Notre Dame Academy, Worcester
• Notre Dame Preparatory School, Fitchburg
• St. Bernard's High School, Fitchburg
• St. John's High School, Shrewsbury
• St. Mary's Central Catholic High School, Worcester
• Saint Peter-Marian High School, Worcester
• Trivium School*, Lancaster

* Operates independent of the Diocese

Administrators

• Most Rev. Robert Joseph McManus, STD, Bishop
• Most Rev. Daniel P. Reilly, DD, Bishop Emeritus
• Most Rev. George E. Rueger, DD, Retired Auxiliary Bishop
• Rev. Richard F. Reidy, Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia
• Rev. Msgr. F. Stephen Pedone, JCL, Judicial Vicar
• Rev. Paul T. O'Connell, JCD, Associate Judicial Vicar
• Raymond L. Delisle, Chancellor of Operations
• Rev. Walter J. Riley, Director of Priest Personnel
• Sister Paula Kelleher, SSJ, Vicar for Religious
• Rev. Msgr. Robert K. Johnson, Diocesan Master of Ceremonies
• Rev. James S. Mazzone, Director of Vocations

See also

• Catholic Church by country
• Catholic Church in the United States
• Ecclesiastical Province of Boston
• Global organisation of the Catholic Church
• List of Roman Catholic archdioceses (by country and continent)
• List of Roman Catholic dioceses (alphabetical) (including archdioceses)
• List of Roman Catholic dioceses (structured view) (including archdioceses)
• List of the Catholic dioceses of the United States

External links

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester Official Site
• Catholic Hierarchy Profile of the Diocese of Worcester
• 2012-2013 Worcester Diocesan Directory