Archdiocese of Boston
Bostonien(sis)
Metropolitan see · Latin Church · Boston, Massachusetts, United States
The Archdiocese of Boston was erected in 1808 and elevated to an archdiocese in 1875. It is the metropolitan see of the Ecclesiastical Province of Boston and is led by Archbishop Richard G. Henning, who was installed in October 2024.
The see
- Rank
- Metropolitan see
- Tradition
- Latin Church
- Erected
- 8 April 1808
- Latin
- Bostonien(sis)
- Patron
- Saint Patrick
- Annuario code
- 001000935
The see in figures
- Catholics
- 1,989,396
- Population
- 4,420,879
- Catholic share
- 45.0%
- Priests
- 952
- Catholics per priest
- 2,090
- Extent
- 6,386 km²
- Catholics per km²
- 312
of the people living within its bounds
Figures as recorded in the register, from the Annuario Pontificio and the see's own published statements. Shares and ratios are computed from the two figures shown beside them.
The bishop
- Archbishop
- Richard G. Henning
- Born
- 17 October 1964
- Birthplace
- Rockville Centre
A see whose chair stands empty is recorded as vacant rather than filled with a guess. On what a bishop is, see the bishop.
The cathedral
Cathedral of the Holy Cross stands in Boston, the church that holds the cathedra from which this see takes its name.
On what a cathedral is, see the cathedral; every see church on earth is gathered at the cathedrals.
The province of Boston
This see is the metropolitan of its province.
The sees of this province:
- Diocese of BurlingtonBurlington
- Diocese of Fall RiverFall River
- Diocese of ManchesterManchester
- Diocese of PortlandPortland
- Diocese of Springfield in MassachusettsSpringfield
- Diocese of WorcesterWorcester
On how the Church is ordered into provinces, see the diocese.
History
Boston's archdiocese (Latin: Archidiœcesis Bostoniensis) serves eastern Massachusetts in the United States, with the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston as its mother church. Erected in 1808 as the Diocese of Boston, branching off from the Diocese of Baltimore, it grew rapidly through the 19th century and today ranks as the fourth largest archdiocese in the country. Beginning in 2002 it faced a sexual abuse scandal that touched off investigations of Catholic Church sexual abuse cases across the United States. Richard G. Henning is the archbishop.
What is kept by invitation
The record above is published because it is public: what this see is, when it was erected, who holds its chair, and where it stands among its neighbours.
The working record is not. The chancery's address, telephone and email, the clergy of the see, and the hours of Mass, confession and adoration in the parishes within it are kept for members, and a person reads every request.
Sources
The see's own website · Wikipedia
This record is compiled from the published statements of the see and the references of the Holy See, among them the Annuario Pontificio. On the method, see the keeping of the record. Whoever finds an error is asked, in charity, to write: [email protected].