Diocese of Portland

{{Short description|Latin Catholic ecclesiastical jurisdiction in Maine, United States}} {{About|the diocese of Portland, Maine|the archdiocese of Portland, Oregon|Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon}} {{Use American English|date=March 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2026}} {{Infobox diocese | jurisdiction = Diocese | name = Portland | latin = Dioecesis Portlandensis | local =  | border = Catholic | image = Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception Portland ME 2012.jpg | image_size = | image_alt = | caption = Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception | coat = Coat of arms of the Diocese of Portland.svg | coat_size = 150px | coat_alt = | coat_caption = Coat of arms  | country = {{flagu|United States}} | territory = Maine | episcopal conference = United States Conference of Catholic Bishops | ecclesiastical region = Region I | province = Province of Boston | metropolitan = Archdiocese of Boston | deaneries = | headquarters = | coordinates = {{coord|43|41|05|N|70|16|13|W|region:US-ME_type:landmark_source:kolossus-plwiki|display=inline,title}}  | area_sqmi = 33,040 | area_footnotes = <ref name="ch.dpome"/> | population = {{up}} 1,362,357<ref name="ch.dpome"/> | population_as_of = 2023 | catholics = {{up}} 286,095<ref name="ch.dpome"/> | catholics_percent = {{same}} 21.0 | parishes = {{down}} 48 (2023)<ref name="ch.dpome"/> | churches =  | congregations =  | schools =  | members =   | denomination = Catholic | sui_iuris_church = Latin Church | rite = Roman Rite | established = {{start date and age|July 29, 1853|br=y|p=y}} | dissolved = | cathedral = Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception | cocathedral = | patron = | priests = {{ubil | {{down}} 101 (diocesan) (2023)<ref name="ch.dpome"/> | {{up}} 35 (religious) | {{down}} 46 (permanent deacons) }}  | pope = {{Incumbent pope}} | bishop = James T. Ruggieri | bishop_title = | metro_archbishop = Richard Henning | coadjutor = | auxiliary_bishops = | apostolic_admin = | vicar_general =  | judicial_vicar =  |  | map = Diocese of Portland map.png | map_size = | map_alt = | map_caption =  | website = {{Official URL}} | footnotes = ''Sources: ''<ref name="ch.dpome">{{Cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Catholic-Hierarchy.org |publisher=David M. Cheney |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dpome.html |title=Diocese of Portland Statistics |date=September 8, 2025}}</ref><ref name="gc.port2.stat">{{Cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=GCatholic.org |publisher=Gabriel Chow |url=https://gcatholic.org/dioceses/diocese/port2?tab=stat |title=Diocese of Portland in Maine |date=March 30, 2026}}</ref> }} The '''Diocese of Portland''' ({{langx|la|Dioecesis Portlandensis}}) is a diocese of the Catholic Church for the entire state of Maine in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Boston. The mother church of the Diocese of Portland is the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland. James T. Ruggieri is the bishop.

==History==

=== 1600 to 1783 === The first Catholics in present-day Maine were French Jesuit priests who established missions among the Native American tribes. Saint Sauveur mission was founded on Mount Desert Island in 1613. Assumption Mission was established in Augusta in 1646.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=History |url=https://portlanddiocese.org/history |accessdate=April 13, 2023 |website=Diocese of Portland |language=en}}</ref> The Catholic mission to the Penobscot Native Americans was established in 1688 by Louis-Pierre Thury.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Maine area was contested territory among the British, the French and later the Americans. In 1724, militiamen from the British colonies raided the Abenaki village at Norridgewock, killing scores of inhabitants along with their Jesuit priest, Sébastien Rale.<ref name=":0" />

=== 1783 to 1853 === After the American Revolution ended in 1783, Pope Pius VI erected in 1784 the Prefecture Apostolic of the United States, encompassing the entire territory of the new nation. At this point, Maine had become part of the new State of Massachusetts. Pius VI created the Diocese of Baltimore, the first diocese in the United States, to replace the prefecture apostolic in 1789.<ref name="history6">{{Cite web |title=Our History |url=http://www.archbalt.org/our-history/index.cfm |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724200915/http://archbalt.org/our-history/index.cfm |archivedate=July 24, 2008 |accessdate=March 30, 2009 |publisher=Archdiocese of Baltimore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Freedom of Religion Comes to Boston {{!}} Archdiocese of Boston |url=https://www.bostoncatholic.org/historical-sketch-archdiocese-boston/freedom-religion-comes-boston |accessdate=February 25, 2023 |website=www.bostoncatholic.org}}</ref> Jean-Louis Lefebvre de Cheverus, the future first bishop of the Diocese of Boston, performed missionary work with the Penobscot and Passamaquoddy in Maine in 1798.

Pope Pius VII erected the Diocese of Boston in 1808, including all of New England in its jurisdiction.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dbalt.html |title=Archdiocese of Baltimore |encyclopedia=Catholic-Hierarchy.org |publisher=David M. Cheney |date=March 23, 2026}}</ref> In later years, Cheverus made an agreement with Archbishop Joseph-Octave Plessis that allowed the Archdiocese of Quebec to send priests to St. John's Valley and other areas in Maine that were close to British Lower Canada and had large French-Canadian communities.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Catholic Church - Acadian Culture in Maine |url=https://acim.umfk.edu/catholic_church.html |accessdate=January 23, 2026 |website=acim.umfk.edu}}</ref> In 1820, Maine became its own state.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Woodard |first1=Colin |title=Parallel 44: Origins of the Mass Effect |newspaper=The Working Waterfront |date=August 31, 2010 |url=http://www.workingwaterfrontarchives.org/2010/08/31/parallel-44-origins-of-the-mass-effect/ |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20260331151045/http://www.workingwaterfrontarchives.org/2010/08/31/parallel-44-origins-of-the-mass-effect/ |archivedate=March 31, 2026 |url-status=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Woodard |first1=Colin |title=The Lobster Coast: Rebels, Rusticators and the Forgotten Frontier |year=2004 |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=0-670-03324-3}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Maine History (Statehood) |url=http://www.maine.gov/legis/senate/statehouse/history/hstry5.htm |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080504060335/http://www.maine.gov/legis/senate/statehouse/history/hstry5.htm |archivedate=May 4, 2008 |accessdate=April 13, 2008 |publisher=www.maine.gov}}</ref> The early 19th century saw an influx of Irish Catholic immigrants to Maine. In 1833, St. Dominic's became the first Catholic church in Portland.<ref>{{Cite web |title=St. Dominic's Church, Portland, ca. 1913 |url=https://www.mainememory.net/artifact/21040 |website=Maine Memory Network |publisher=Maine Historical Society |language=en}}</ref> Bangor built its first Catholic Church, St. Michael's, in 1834.<ref>{{Cite web |title=St. John's Church: A History and Appreciation: Produced on the Occasion of the Jubilee 2000 |url=https://digicom.bpl.lib.me.us/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1343&context=books_pubs |accessdate=April 13, 2023 |website=Bangor Public Library}}</ref>

=== 1853 to 1875 === On July 29, 1853, Pope Pius IX erected the Diocese of Portland. He took New Hampshire and Maine from the Diocese of Boston to create the new diocese, making it a suffragan of the Archdiocese of New York. The pope appointed David Bacon of the Archdiocese of New York as the first bishop of Portland. At the beginning of Bacon's tenure, the diocese held only six priests and eight churches. When he died in 1874, it contained 63 churches, 52 priests, 23 parish schools, and a Catholic population of about 80,000.

Catholics faced bias and violence in some areas of the state. Mobs burned churches in Bath and Lewiston and tarred and feathered the priest in Ellsworth.<ref name=":0" />

=== 1875 to 1900 === On February 12, 1875, Pope Pius IX elevated the Diocese of Boston to the Archdiocese of Boston.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Archdiocese of Boston |encyclopedia=Catholic-Hierarchy.org |publisher=David M. Cheney |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dbost.html |accessdate=February 13, 2023 |date=March 29, 2026}}</ref> He moved the Diocese of Portland from the Archdiocese of New York to the new archdiocese.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts |encyclopedia=Catholic-Hierarchy.org |publisher=David M. Cheney |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dspma.html |accessdate=February 13, 2023 |date=March 6, 2026}}</ref> That same month, the pope appointed James Healy from Boston as the new bishop. Healy was the first African-American Catholic bishop in the United States, although he kept his racial identity a secret. Healy supervised the setup of the new Diocese of Manchester.

Early into his tenure as bishop, Healy became involved in a conflict with one of his priests, Jean Ponsardin of Biddeford, Maine. Healy suspected that Ponsardin had been stealing money that the diocese had given him to build a new church. After four years of construction, the building only had a basement and unfinished exterior walls.<ref name="hurst">{{Cite news |last1=Hurst |first1=Violet |date=November 19, 2021 |title=Bishop Healy Writes To Archbishop Williams From Rome |work=The Boston Pilot |url=https://thebostonpilot.com/Opinion/article.asp?ID=191105#}}</ref> Healy refused to give Ponsardin any more money and suspended him from ministry in October 1877.<ref name="hurst" /> Ponsardin then appealed his suspension to the Vatican, which created gossip among officials there.<ref name="foley">{{Cite book |last1=Foley |first1=Albert S. |url=https://archive.org/details/bishophealybelov0000fole_r8w0/ |title=Bishop Healy: Beloved Outcaste |date=1969 |publisher=Arno Press |isbn=9780405019258 |location=New York}}</ref> Healy finally agreed to pay Ponsardin's debts on the condition that he leave the diocese.<ref name="hurst" />

The Ponsardin matter caused such embarrassment for Healy that he submitted his resignation to Leo XIII in 1878, but the pope rejected it.<ref name="foley" /> In 1884, Pope Leo XIII erected the Diocese of Manchester and removed New Hampshire from the Diocese of Portland.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Diocese of Manchester |encyclopedia=Catholic-Hierarchy.org |publisher=David M. Cheney |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dmanc.html |date=February 24, 2025}}</ref> This action reduced the diocese to its current territory, the State of Maine. By the time Healy died in 1900, the diocese had 92 priests, 86 churches, and 96,400 Catholics.

=== 1900 to 1925 === thumb|Cardinal O'Connell (1913) Leo XIII appointed William O'Connell in 1901 as the new bishop of Portland. After five years as bishop there, he was appointed coadjutor archbishop of Boston. To replace O'Connell, Pope Pius X in 1906 appointed Louis Walsh from Boston. During his tenure as bishop, Walsh established several new parishes and schools, and renovated the cathedral.<ref name="diocese">{{Cite news |title=Most Rev. Louis S. Walsh, D.D. |work=Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland |url=http://www.portlanddiocese.net/info.php?info_id=134 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071203040506/http://www.portlanddiocese.net/info.php?info_id=134 |archivedate=December 3, 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> His tenure was also marked by a wave of immigrants from Poland, Italy, Slovakia, and Lithuania.<ref name="history5">{{Cite news |title=History of the Portland Diocese |work=Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland |url=http://www.portlanddiocese.net/info.php?info_id=43 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071126214213/http://www.portlanddiocese.net//info.php?info_id=43 |archivedate=November 26, 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> He met vocal opposition from groups of French-Canadian parishioners over the ownership of parish property, leading Walsh to place six of their leaders under interdict.<ref name="history5" />

Walsh's last years as bishop of Portland saw the rise of the Ku Klux Klan as a political force in Maine, particularly in Portland. The diocese's expanding parochial school system became a Klan rallying point. Walsh personally led the fight against the Barwise Bill, a Klan-supported measure in the Maine Legislature that would have prevented the state government from providing the Catholic Church with funds for any purpose. The Barwise Bill and two similar bills by State Senators Owen Brewster and Benedict Maher were defeated, the last in a statewide referendum.<ref>'"Bishop Walsh Warns of Danger from Enkindling Religious Hatred Fires", ''Lewiston Daily Sun'', February 8, 1923, p. 1</ref> Walsh died in 1924.

=== 1925 to 1950 === thumb|St. Joseph College of Maine, Standish (1970) Auxiliary Bishop John Murray of the Archdiocese of Hartford was appointed by Pope Pius XI in 1925 as bishop of Portland. In 1928, the pope renamed the Diocese of Portland as the Diocese of Portland in Maine.{{Citation needed|date=March 2026}} This action was to avoid confusion with the newly erected Archdiocese of Portland in Portland, Oregon.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon |encyclopedia=Catholic-Hierarchy.org |publisher=David M. Cheney |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dport.html |accessdate=February 13, 2023 |date=July 10, 2025}}</ref>

During his five-year tenure in Portland, Murray established thirty new parishes and a diocesan weekly newspaper, ''Church World'', in 1930. During the Great Depression, Murray organized relief committees to raise money for the homeless and unemployed families. He was forced to mortgage church property to continue funding hospitals, orphanages, and other institutions. Consequently, the diocese accumulated millions of dollars in debt.<ref name="portland">{{Cite news |title=Most Rev. John G. Murray, D.D. |work=Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland |url=http://www.portlanddiocese.net/info.php?info_id=135 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071126214527/http://www.portlanddiocese.net/info.php?info_id=135 |archivedate=November 26, 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Murray was appointed archbishop of the Archdiocese of St. Paul in 1932.

Murray's replacement as bishop was Joseph McCarthy of Hartford, named by Pius XI in 1932. McCarthy used his power as a corporation sole to alleviate the debt accumulated by Murray by offering the diocesan property holdings as security for a successful bond issue.<ref name="diocese3">{{Cite news |title=Most Rev. Joseph E. McCarthy |work=Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland |url=http://www.portlanddiocese.net/info.php?info_id=136 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071126214527/http://www.portlanddiocese.net/info.php?info_id=136 |archivedate=November 26, 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> By 1936, he had stabilized the diocesan financial situation.<ref name="history5"/>

In 1938, McCarthy purchased the former Portland home of railroad executive Morris McDonald as his official residence.<ref name="diocese3"/> He opened numerous elementary schools, high schools, and colleges during his tenure.<ref name="history5"/> Pope Pius XII named Daniel Feeney as an auxiliary bishop in 1946; McCarthy delegated most administrative tasks to Feeney due to his own declining health.<ref name="history5"/>

=== 1950 to 2000 === thumb|Archbishop Emeritus Gerety (2009) In 1952, Pius XII appointed Feeney as coadjutor bishop of the diocese. When McCarthy died in 1955, Feeney automatically became the new bishop of Portland.

Feeney opened new rectories, convents, schools, social centers, parish halls, and the diocesan chancery. In what he described as his greatest accomplishment, Feeney eliminated the diocesan debt burden dating back to the 1930s. In 1967, Peter Gerety from the Archdiocese of Hartford was appointed by Pope Paul VI as coadjutor bishop of Portland to assist Feeney. When Feeney died in 1969, Gerety automatically succeeded him as bishop of Portland.

As bishop, Gerety implemented the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council by modernizing the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, through the removal of the high altar, cathedra, pulpit, and communion rail.<ref name="portland2">{{Cite news |title=Most Rev. Peter L. Gerety, D.D. |work=Diocese of Portland |url=http://www.portlanddiocese.net/info.php?info_id=138 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071203040752/http://www.portlanddiocese.net/info.php?info_id=138 |archivedate=December 3, 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> He also helped provide housing for the elderly and expanded the diocesan Bureau of Human Relations.<ref name="portland2" /> In 1970, Paul VI appointed Edward O'Leary as auxiliary bishop in Portland. When Gerety left Portland in 1974 to become archbishop of the Archdiocese of Newark, the pope appointed O'Leary as Gerety's replacement. Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Gerry from the Diocese of Manchester succeeded O'Leary in 1988.

=== 2000 to present === thumb|Bishop Malone (2017) Gerry consolidated Maine parishes in Old Town, Lisbon, and Waterville and opened St. Dominic Regional High School in Auburn in 2002.<ref name="history5" />

After Gerry's retirement in 2004, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Auxiliary Bishop Richard. J. Malone from Boston as the new bishop. In 2012 Benedict XVI named Malone as bishop of the Diocese of Buffalo. In 2013, Pope Francis named Auxiliary Bishop Robert Deeley of Boston as Malone's successor in Portland.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Pope picks Bishop Robert Deeley to lead diocese in Maine |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/12/18/pope-francis-picks-bishop-robert-deeley-lead-portland-maine-diocese/jCjuV6AoBDywkpXfXouO0K/story.html |date=December 18, 2013 |work=The Boston Globe |accessdate=March 3, 2016}}</ref>

On February 13, 2024, Pope Francis announced the appointment of James T. Ruggieri from the Diocese of Providence as Deeley's successor.<ref>{{Cite press release |url=https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2024/02/13/0143/00280.html |title=Rinunce e nomine, 13.02.2024 |trans-title=Renunciations and appointments, 13.02.2024 |date=February 13, 2024 |publisher=Holy See Press Office |language=it |accessdate=February 13, 2024}}</ref>

===Sexual abuse=== In 1998, nine male former students at the Jesuit-run Cheverus High School in Portland sued the Diocese of Portland, stating that they had been molested by James Talbot, a teacher, and Charles Malia, a coach.<ref name=2002ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.boston.com/globe/spotlight/abuse/stories/031702_maine.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030214214326/http://www.boston.com/globe/spotlight/abuse/stories/031702_maine.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 14, 2003 |work=The Boston Globe |title=Maine school struggles to deal with sex abuse issue |first1=Sacha |last1=Pfeiffer |date=March 17, 2002}}</ref> The plaintiffs accused both Cheverus and the diocese of hiding information about the abusers, and said that both parties knew about previous accusations against Talbot in Massachusetts. Prior to working in Portland, Talbot had been employed at the Boston College High School in Boston. After receiving accusations of sexual abuse against him in Boston, the Jesuit Order had transferred Talbot to Cheverus.<ref name="vigilance">{{Cite news |last1=Bodnar |first1=Marissa |date=November 29, 2017 |title=Cheverus: Accusations against priest led to increased vigilance |url=https://wgme.com/news/local/cheverus-accusations-against-priest-led-to-increased-vigilance |accessdate=October 3, 2018}}</ref><ref name="2002ref" /> By 2002, the Diocese of Portland had paid approximately $700,000 in settlement compensation to the Cheverus victims.<ref name="2002ref" />

* Talbot admitted his guilt and was fired. In September 2018, Talbot pled guilty to the sex abuse charges in Maine and immediately began serving two concurrent three-year prison sentences.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.patriotledger.com/news/20180924/ex-priest-with-boston-ties-sent-to-prison-again-for-child-sexual-abuse |title=Ex-priest with Boston ties sent to prison again for child sexual abuse |first1=Marina |last1=Villaneuve |agency=Associated Press |date=September 24, 2018 |newspaper=The Patriot Ledger |location=Quincy, MA |language=en |accessdate=April 24, 2020 |archivedate=August 26, 2019 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190826164447/https://www.patriotledger.com/news/20180924/ex-priest-with-boston-ties-sent-to-prison-again-for-child-sexual-abuse|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.pressherald.com/2018/09/24/former-priest-and-cheverus-teacher-pleads-guilty-to-sexual-abuse/ |title=Ex-priest, Cheverus teacher goes to prison for sexually assaulting Freeport boy |first1=Megan |last1=Gray |date=September 24, 2018 |newspaper=Portland Press Herald |accessdate=April 24, 2020}}</ref> * Malia retired in 1998, but did not admit his guilt until 2000.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ex-Coach Admits Abuse: Cheverus legend Charles Malia says he molested boys, by Peter Pochna, Portland Press Herald, March 4, 2000 |url=https://www.bishop-accountability.org/news5/2000_03_04_Pochna_ExCoachAdmits.htm |accessdate=February 13, 2023 |website=www.bishop-accountability.org}}</ref> Due to the statute of limitations in Maine, Malia could not be prosecuted for any of his crimes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=No Recent Sex Abuse Found in Malia Case, by Peter Pochna, Portland Press Herald, March 24, 2000 |url=https://www.bishop-accountability.org/news5/2000_03_24_Pochna_NoRecent.htm |accessdate=February 13, 2023 |website=www.bishop-accountability.org}}</ref>

In 2016, the Diocese of Portland settled six lawsuits for sexual abuse for an estimated $1.2 million.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.pressherald.com/2016/08/15/portland-catholic-diocese-settles-with-six-sexual-abuse-victims-for-1-2-million/ |title=Portland Catholic Diocese settles with 6 sexual abuse victims for $1.2 million |date=August 15, 2016 |newspaper=Portland Press Herald |accessdate=April 24, 2020}}</ref> The male plaintiffs accused Bangor priest James Vallely of sexually abusing them between 1958 and 1977. In 2005, a former priest wrote to the diocese about Vallely, saying that Bishop Feeney had received sexual abuse allegations from five boys about Vallely during the 1950's. Feeney simply transferred Valley out of Bangor to another parish in a different town.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 15, 2016 |title=Portland Catholic Diocese settles with 6 sexual abuse victims for $1.2 million |url=https://www.pressherald.com/2016/08/15/portland-catholic-diocese-settles-with-six-sexual-abuse-victims-for-1-2-million/ |accessdate=July 4, 2023 |newspaper=Portland Press Herald}}</ref> In 1993, after several men reported abuse by Vallely to the diocese, he was suspended and sent to Florida for treatment.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rev. James P. Vallely |url=https://www.bishop-accountability.org/Vallely_James_P.html |accessdate=July 4, 2023 |website=www.bishop-accountability.org}}</ref>

By January 2019, the Society of Jesus' Northeast Province in the United States had acknowledged seven accused Jesuit clergy had taught at Cheverus.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://bangordailynews.com/2019/01/15/news/state/newly-released-list-of-priests-accused-of-sex-abuse-includes-9-with-maine-ties/ |title=Newly released list of priests accused of sex abuse includes 9 with Maine ties |website=Bangor Daily News |date=January 15, 2019 |language=en-US |accessdate=April 24, 2020}}</ref> In August 2019, Bishop Deeley launched an abuse reporting system for the diocese.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/diocese-of-portland-launches-abuse-reporting-system/97-3858073c-44d9-4125-866e-f8fc487bfd3d |title=Diocese of Portland launches abuse reporting system |website=WCSH |date=August 15, 2019 |accessdate=April 24, 2020}}</ref>

In 2002, Gerry removed two priests, Michael Doucette and John Audibert, from ministry in parishes in northern Maine. The two men had admitted to sexually abusing different boys during the 1980s. Gerry said that the men would not be transferred to other parishes.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 25, 2015 |title=Portland, Maine, Diocese Removes Two Priests Who Admitted Sex Abuse of Minors |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/portland-maine-diocese-removes-two-priests-who-admitted-sex-abuse-of-minors |accessdate=October 27, 2021 |website=Associated Press |language=en-US}}</ref> Audibert was permanently from priesthood functions in 2006 and told to live a live of prayer and penance.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last1=McKiernan |first1=Terry |date=February 26, 2021 |title=Diocese of Portland ME - BishopAccountability.org |url=https://www.bishop-accountability.org/dioceses/usa-me-portland/ |accessdate=July 4, 2023 |language=en-US}}</ref> Doucette was removed permanently from ministry in 2009.<ref name=":1" />

Ronald Paquin, a priest with the Archdiocese of Boston, was convicted in Maine in November 2018 of eleven counts of sexual abuse. During the 1980's, he sexually abused a Massachusetts altar boy during trips they took to Maine. Paquin was sentenced to 16 years in prison in May 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.pressherald.com/2019/05/24/former-priest-sentenced-to-16-years-for-sexual-abuse/ |title=Defrocked priest, 76, sentenced to spend 16 years in prison for sexually abusing boy in Maine |last1=Gray |first1=Megan |date=May 24, 2019 |newspaper=Portland Press Herald |accessdate=April 24, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bostonherald.com/2018/11/29/defrocked-priest-ronald-paquin-convicted-of-abusing-another-boy/ |title=Defrocked priest Ronald Paquin convicted of abusing another boy |date=November 30, 2018 |website=Boston Herald |language=en-US |accessdate=April 24, 2020}}</ref> In April 2020, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court upheld ten of Paquin's eleven convictions and vacated one of them.<ref name="paquinupheld">{{Cite web |url=https://bangordailynews.com/2020/04/24/news/york/maines-top-court-upholds-defrocked-priests-sex-abuse-convictions/ |title=Maine's top court upholds defrocked priest's sex abuse convictions |website=Bangor Daily News |language=en-US |date=April 24, 2020 |accessdate=April 24, 2020}}</ref><ref name="stillpaquinupheld">{{Cite web |url=https://www.pressherald.com/2020/04/23/maine-justices-uphold-sex-crime-convictions-of-defrocked-priest/ |title=Maine high court upholds sex crime convictions of defrocked priest |last1=Byrne |first1=Matt |newspaper=Portland Press Herald |date=April 24, 2020 |accessdate=April 24, 2020}}</ref> Paquin was laicized in 2004.<ref>{{Cite web |agency=Associated Press |title=Defrocked priest Ronald Paquin ordered to serve 16 years in Maine |url=https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2019/05/24/defrocked-priest-ronald-paquin-ordered-to-serve-16-years-in-maine/ |accessdate=July 4, 2023 |website=www.boston.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Bishops== ===Bishops of Portland (in Maine)=== # David William Bacon (1853–1874) # James Augustine Healy (1875–1900) # William Henry O'Connell (1901–1906), appointed Coadjutor Archbishop and later Archbishop of Boston (elevated to Cardinal in 1911) # Louis Sebastian Walsh (1906–1924) # John Gregory Murray (1925–1932), appointed Archbishop of Saint Paul # Joseph Edward McCarthy (1932–1955) # Daniel Joseph Feeney (1955–1969; coadjutor bishop 1952–1955) # Peter Leo Gerety (1969–1974; coadjutor bishop 1966–1969), appointed Archbishop of Newark # Edward Cornelius O'Leary (1974–1989) # Joseph John Gerry (1989–2004) # Richard Joseph Malone (2004–2012), appointed Bishop of Buffalo # Robert Deeley (2014–2024) # James T. Ruggieri (2024-)

===Auxiliary bishops=== * Daniel Joseph Feeney (1946–1952), appointed coadjutor bishop of Portland * Edward Cornelius O'Leary (1971–1974), appointed Bishop of Portland * Amédée Wilfrid Proulx (1975–1993) * Michael Richard Cote (1995–2003), appointed Bishop of Norwich

===Other diocesan priest who became bishop=== * Denis Mary Bradley, appointed Bishop of Manchester in 1884

==Parishes== {{main|List of parishes in the Diocese of Portland}}

The Diocese of Portland is divided into 30 clusters/parishes.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://portlanddiocese.org/current-cluster-configuration |title=Current Cluster Configurations |publisher=Diocese of Portland |accessdate=March 31, 2026 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20260331153811/https://portlanddiocese.org/current-cluster-configuration |archivedate=March 31, 2026 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Notable churches== thumb|250px|Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, Lewiston

=== Cathedral === {{Main|Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of Portland in Maine}}

===Basilica=== {{Main|Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul (Lewiston, Maine)}}

The Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul is located in Lewiston. The parish traces its roots to 1872 and grew due to a wave of late 19th century immigration by French Canadians. Construction of the current church began in 1906 and continued until 1936, by which time it was the second largest church in New England.

===Historic places=== St. John The Evangelist Catholic Church is located in Bangor. John Bapst oversaw construction of the church beginning in 1855, and in 1973 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

==Education==

===High schools=== * Cheverus High School – Portland * Saint Dominic Academy – Auburn

==Public affairs== thumb|Diocesan Pastoral Center On January 6, 2000, the Associated Press reported that the Diocese of Portland had negotiated with and supported a Maine lawmakers' bill that barred discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation; this bill aimed to overcome the results of the Maine election in February 1998 that repealed the gay marriage law that Maine Governor Angus King signed into law. The diocese did not have a position on the February 1998 vote, citing ambiguities in the law while acknowledging discrimination as unjust.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/nz.soc.religion/650tUAYz7uQ |title=Catholic Diocese Supports Rights Proposal |agency=Associated Press |date=January 6, 2000}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Failure looms for gay rights |last1=Meara |first1=Emmet |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2457&dat=20001107&id=RaFJAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Pg0NAAAAIBAJ&pg=1448,2130305 |pages=1–2 |newspaper=Bangor Daily News |date=November 8, 2000 |accessdate=March 3, 2016}}</ref>

In November 2009 it was reported that the Diocese of Portland had contributed $550,000, or 20% of the total cash contributed to Stand For Marriage Maine, a successful campaign to prevent then-impending legalization of same-sex marriage in Maine.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Portland bishop says Catholic Church won't actively campaign against gay marriage |url=http://bangordailynews.com/2012/03/02/news/state/portland-bishop-says-catholic-church-wont-actively-campaign-against-gay-marriage/ |newspaper=Bangor Daily News |last1=Harrison |first1=Judy |date=March 2, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://mainecampaignfinance.com/#/exploreCommitteeDetail/2828 |title=Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland |publisher=Maine Ethics Commission |accessdate=March 27, 2026 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20260331142014/https://mainecampaignfinance.com/#/exploreCommitteeDetail/2828 |archivedate=March 31, 2026 |url-status=live}}</ref> Roughly 55% of the funds donated by the Diocese came from other out-of-state dioceses who donated money to the Diocese of Portland's PAC.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Analysis reveals Roman Catholic dioceses poured money into anti-marriage campaign in Maine |url=http://lasvegas.edgemedianetwork.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=98801 |last1=Cassels |first1=Peter |date=November 10, 2009 |journal=Edge Media Network}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{Official website}} * [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dpome.html Diocese of Portland profile] at Catholic-Hierarchy.org * {{CathEncy|wstitle=Portland}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diocese Of Portland}} Category:Diocese of Portland Portland Portland Category:1853 establishments in Maine Category:Catholic Church in Maine Portland