Archdiocese of Washington
Vashingtonen(sis)
Metropolitan see · Latin Church · Washington, District of Columbia, United States
The Archdiocese of Washington is a Latin Church metropolitan archdiocese covering the District of Columbia and five Maryland counties, established in 1939 and made a metropolitan see in 1965. Cardinal Robert W. McElroy was installed as its eighth archbishop on March 11, 2025.
The see
- Rank
- Metropolitan see
- Tradition
- Latin Church
- Erected
- 1939
- Latin
- Vashingtonen(sis)
- Patron
- Blessed Virgin Mary
- Annuario code
- 001000142
The see in figures
- Catholics
- 655,601
- Population
- 2,980,005
- Catholic share
- 22.0%
- Priests
- 262
- Catholics per priest
- 2,502
- Extent
- 5,449 km²
- Catholics per km²
- 120
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
- Robert W. McElroy
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 St. Matthew the Apostle stands in Washington, 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 Washington
This see is the metropolitan of its province.
The sees of this province:
- Diocese of Saint ThomasSaint Thomas
On how the Church is ordered into provinces, see the diocese.
History
Covering the District of Columbia together with several Maryland counties, the Archdiocese of Washington (Latin: Archidiœcesis Metropolitae Vashingtonensis) is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the United States. Within its bounds stand the Catholic University of America, Georgetown University, and the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
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].