Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint Thomas

Coordinates: 18°20′28″N 64°56′12″W / 18.34111°N 64.93667°W / 18.34111; -64.93667
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with Saint Thomas Christians.
Diocese of Saint Thomas in the Virgin Islands

Diœcesis Sancti Thomae in Insulis Virgineis
Herbert A. Bevard
Map
The U.S. Virgin Islands of Saint Thomas, Saint Croix and Saint John
The U.S. Virgin Islands of Saint Thomas, Saint Croix and Saint John
Website
catholicvi.com

The Diocese of Saint Thomas in the Virgin Islands (

U.S. Virgin Islands. It is the only suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Washington
.

The mother church of the diocese is Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Thomas. The bishop of St. Thomas belongs to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and is an observer with the Antilles Episcopal Conference. As of 2023 – the bishop of St. Thomas is Jerome Feudjio

History

1700 to 1960

By 1733, the present day US and British Virgin Islands were a colony of Denmark, but were under the Catholic jurisdiction of the Diocese of San Juan in Puerto Rico, a Spanish colony. The first catholic church in the Virgin Islands was Holy Cross Catholic Church in Christiansted on the island of St. Croix, opening in 1755.[1] On the island of St. Thomas, the first Catholic building opened in 1802 in Charlotte Amalie.

The Vatican in 1804 asked Bishop

Diocese of Baltimore in the United States to send priests to the Virgin Islands. These priests tended to Spanish merchants and French planters living there.[2] The current Saints Peter and Paul church in Charlotte Amalie was constructed in 1848. In 1917, during World War I
, the Government of Denmark sold the islands of St. Croix, St. John and St. Thomas to the United States.

1960 to 1993

Pope Paul VI erected the

Territorial Prelature of the Virgin Islands in 1960, taking the Virgin Islands from the Diocese of San Juan de Puerto Rico.[3] He named Edward John Harper of the Diocese of Brooklyn as the apostolic prefect. In 1977, Paul VI elevated the prefecture to the Diocese of Saint Thomas in the Virgin Islands, naming Harper as its first bishop.[4]

HIV/AIDS
. In 1992, O'Malley became bishop of the Diocese of Fall River.

1993 to present

The next bishop of St. Thomas was

Diocese of Youngstown.[7]

To replace Murry, Benedict XVI named Herbert Bevard from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in 2008.[8] A health emergency forced Bevard to retire as bishop in 2020. Pope Francis then named Jerome Feudjio in 2021 as the new bishop.[9][10]

As of 2023, Feudjio is the current bishop of the Diocese of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands.

Bishops

Apostolic Prefect of the Virgin Islands

Edward John Harper (1960–1977)

Bishops of Saint Thomas

  1. Edward John Harper (1977–1985)
  2. Archbishop of Boston, and President of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (elevated to Cardinal
    in 2006)
  3. Elliot Griffin Thomas (1993–1999)
  4. George Murry (1999–2007), appointed Bishop of Youngstown
  5. Herbert Bevard (2008–2020)
  6. Jerome Feudjio (2021–present)

Coadjutor Bishops

  • Seán Patrick O'Malley (1984–1985)
  • George Murry (1998–1999)

Other diocesan priest who became bishop

Adalberto Martínez Flores (priest here, 1985–1993), appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Asunción, Paraguay in 1997

High schools

See also

  • Catholic Church by country
  • Catholic Church in the United States
  • Ecclesiastical Province of Washington
  • 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

References

  1. ^ "Historic Churches". St. Croix Landmarks Society. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  2. ^ "Caribbean, Catholic Church in the | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  3. ^ "San Juan de Puerto Rico (Archdiocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  4. ^ "Bishop Edward John Harper, C.SS.R." Catholic-Hierarchy.org.
  5. ^ Cheney, David M. "Sean Patrick Cardinal O'Malley [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2017-05-07.
  6. ^ Sheehan, Pete (June 5, 2020). "Retired Bishop George Murry dies after two-year battle with leukemia". Crux. Catholic News Service. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  7. ^ "Bishop George Vance Murry". Kansas City: Catholic-Hierarchy.org. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  8. ^ "Bishop Herbert Armstrong Bevard [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2022-01-17.
  9. ^ "Diocese of Saint Thomas". Catholic-Hierarchy. Retrieved 2014-04-14.
  10. ^ "Diocese of Saint Thomas". Gcatholic. Retrieved 2014-04-14.

External links

18°20′28″N 64°56′12″W / 18.34111°N 64.93667°W / 18.34111; -64.93667

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