Diocese of Portland

Diocese of Portland
Jurisdiction	Diocese
Name	Portland
Latin	Dioecesis Portlandensis
Country	United States
Territory	State of Maine
Province	Ecclesiastical Province of Boston
Metropolitan	Archdiocese of Boston
Churches	141
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	July 29, 1853
Cathedral	Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Patron	Immaculate Conception
Bishop	Robert P. Deeley
Metropolitan archbishop	Seán Patrick O'Malley
Website	portlanddiocese.org

Diocese of Portland. The Diocese of Portland is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory of the Catholic Church encompassing the entire U.S. state of Maine. Erected in 1853 from territory of the Diocese of Boston, it is a suffragan diocese in the Ecclesiastical Province of Boston. The diocese's mother church and seat of its bishop is the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland, Maine.

History

The diocese was canonically established on July 29, 1853, by Pope Pius IX, separating the District of Maine from the Diocese of Boston. Its first bishop was David W. Bacon, who faced the challenge of serving a widespread, largely rural Catholic population composed heavily of Irish and French-Canadian immigrants. The Great Fire of 1866 destroyed the original cathedral, leading to the construction of the current Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, consecrated in 1869. Throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the diocese grew with waves of immigration, establishing many national parishes for communities like Italian, Polish, and Lithuanian Catholics. In 2004, the diocese finalized a $6.2 million settlement related to claims of clergy sexual abuse.

Bishops

The ordinary of the diocese is the Bishop of Portland, with Robert P. Deeley serving as the twelfth bishop since his installation in 2014. Previous ordinaries include the founding bishop David W. Bacon, James Augustine Healy, the first African-American bishop in the United States, and Joseph John Gerry, who later served as Bishop of Portland before becoming Bishop of Portland. Other notable bishops include Louis Sebastian Walsh, Daniel Joseph Feeney, and Michael Richard Cote. The diocese has also been served by several auxiliary bishops, including Amedee W. Proulx and Marc B. Caron.

Parishes and institutions

The diocese comprises 141 parishes and missions organized into three geographic deaneries. Significant churches include the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Lewiston and the St. John's Church in Bangor. The diocese operates Catholic Charities Maine, one of the state's largest non-profit social service agencies. Other institutions include St. Mary's Health System in Lewiston and multiple Catholic cemeteries across the state, such as Mount Hope Cemetery.

Demographics and geography

The diocese serves an estimated Catholic population of over 200,000 within the state's total population of approximately 1.3 million. Its territory covers all 16 counties of Maine, spanning from Kittery on the New Hampshire border to Fort Kent near the Canada–United States border. The diocese includes diverse regions such as the urban centers of Portland and Lewiston, the coastal communities, and the vast North Maine Woods. The Catholic population is historically concentrated in southern and central Maine, with significant Franco-American communities in the Androscoggin and Aroostook regions.

Catholic education

The diocese oversees a network of Catholic schools, including Cheverus High School in Portland and John Bapst Memorial High School in Bangor. The system comprises several elementary schools, such as St. Brigid School and St. Dominic Academy in Auburn. Saint Joseph's College of Maine, a liberal arts college in Standish, was founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1912 and was historically affiliated with the diocese until its transition to independent governance. The diocese also provides religious education programs through its Office of Lifelong Faith Formation.

Ecclesiastical province

The Diocese of Portland is a suffragan see of the Ecclesiastical Province of Boston, under the metropolitan authority of the Archbishop of Boston, Seán Patrick O'Malley. The province comprises the Archdiocese of Boston and its suffragan dioceses in New England, including the Diocese of Burlington, the Diocese of Manchester, the Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts, the Diocese of Worcester, and the Diocese of Fall River. The province falls within the territory of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and is part of the Latin Church's global communion under the Holy See.

Category:Roman Catholic dioceses in the United States Category:Religious organizations established in 1853 Category:Maine culture