Diocese of Providence

{{Short description|Latin Catholic ecclesiastical jurisdiction in Rhode Island, USA}} {{Use American English|date=March 2026}} {{Infobox diocese | jurisdiction = Diocese | name = Providence | latin = Dioecesis Providentiensis | local =  | border = Catholic | image = Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul - Providence 11.jpg | image_size = 175px | image_alt = | caption = Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul | coat = Coat of arms of the Diocese of Providence.svg | coat_size = 150px | coat_alt = | coat_caption = Coat of arms  | country = {{flag|United States}} | territory = State of Rhode Island | province = Archdiocese of Hartford | metropolitan = | deaneries = | headquarters = | coordinates = {{coord|41.8197|N|71.4168|W|region:US_source:kolossus-plwiki|display=inline,title}}  | area_sqmi =  | area_footnotes = | population = | population_as_of =2018 | catholics = 679,000 | catholics_percent = 67.5 | parishes =  | churches =  | congregations =  | schools =  | members =   | denomination = Catholic | sui_iuris_church = Latin Church | rite = Roman Rite | established = February 16, 1872 | dissolved = | cathedral = Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul | cocathedral = | patron = Our Lady of Providence<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dioceseofprovidence.org/coat-of-arms|title = Coat of Arms}}</ref> | priests = 195  | pope = {{Incumbent pope}}  | bishop = Bruce Lewandowski | bishop_title = Bishop | metro_archbishop = Christopher J. Coyne | coadjutor = | auxiliary_bishops = | apostolic_admin = Albert A. Kenney | vicar_general = | episcopal_vicar = | judicial_vicar = | emeritus_bishops = {{unbulleted list|Robert C. Evans|Thomas J. Tobin}}  | map = Diocese of Providence map.png | map_size = | map_alt = | map_caption =  | website = {{Official website|https://www.dioceseofprovidence.org/|dioceseofprovidence.org}} | footnotes = }} thumb|Diocesan chancery, Providence (2024)|287x287px The '''Diocese of Providence''' ({{langx|la|Dioecesis Providentiensis}}) is a diocese of the Catholic Church in Rhode Island in the United States. Erected in 1872, it is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Hartford. The Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul in Providence is the mother church of the diocese. Bruce Lewandowski is the bishop.

==History==

=== 1643 to 1830 === During the 17th and most of the 18th century, present-day Rhode was a British colony. When the Baptist minister Roger Williams founded the colony of Providence Plantations in 1643, he enacted religious tolerance there for all Christians. This was in contrast to the other American colonies, which restricted Catholic worship and the legal rights of Catholics.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Today in History - February 5 |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/february-05/ |access-date=2023-07-26 |website=Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA}}</ref> However, by 1719, the Rhode Island General Assembly had enacted a law disenfranchising Catholics from voting to discourage any from moving to the colony.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Demarais |first=Norman |title=The First Catholic Mass in Rhode Island—Newport, 1780 |url=http://smallstatebighistory.com/the-first-catholic-mass-in-rhode-island-newport-1780/ |access-date=2023-07-26 |website=smallstatebighistory|date=2 February 2019 }}</ref>

With the start of the American Revolutionary War in 1776, attitudes towards Catholics shifted in the American colonies. The rebel leaders needed to gain the support of Catholics for their cause. In addition, the American alliance with Catholic France fostered a more favorable attitude among Americans towards Catholicism.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Lally |first=Robert Johnson |title=Freedom of Religion Comes to Boston |url=https://www.bostoncatholic.org/freedom-of-religion-comes-to-boston |access-date=October 26, 2023 |website=Archdiocese of Boston}}</ref> During the revolution, a French army camped in Newport and Providence. The first Catholic masses in Providence Plantations were celebrated there for these soldiers. After the revolution, the new State of Rhode Island in 1783 allowed Catholics to vote and removed all other restrictions against them.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Providence, Rhode Island |url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12509a.htm#:~:text=The%20first%20appearance%20of%20Roman,who%20often%20said%20Mass%20publicly. |access-date=2023-07-26 |website=www.newadvent.org}}</ref>

In 1789, the Vatican erected the Diocese of Baltimore to cover the entire territory of the new United States.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Welcome to the Archdiocese of Baltimore |url=https://www.archbalt.org/ |access-date=2023-05-29 |website=Archdiocese of Baltimore |language=en-US}}</ref> The construction of Fort Adams in Newport in 1799 and the establishment of cotton mills in Pawtucket started attracting Irish Catholic immigrants to Rhode Island. After the 1803 uprising by enslaved peoples in the French colony of Guadeloupe, several French families migrated to Bristol and Providence. In 1808, the Vatican erected the Diocese of Boston, covering Rhode Island and the rest of New England. The first Catholic church in Rhode Island was established in 1828 in Newport to minister to Catholics working at Fort Adams.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Holmes |first1=Daniel J. |last2= |first2= |date=2021-01-28 |title=Historian goes in search of the first Catholic Church in Rhode Island |url=https://thericatholic.com/stories/historian-goes-in-search-of-the-first-catholic-church-in-rhode-island,12076 |access-date=2023-07-26 |website=Rhode Island Catholic |language=en}}</ref>

=== 1830 to 1872 === By the early 19th century, resentment was beginning to build in many areas of the United States due to the rising number of Catholic immigrants from Ireland and Europe. In the 1830s, John Corry, a diocesan priest, started looking for a plot of land to build the first Catholic church in Providence. However, many landowners were unwilling to sell him any land. Corry eventually obtained a property and starting building Saints Peter and Paul Church, which was dedicated in 1838.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Polites |first=Taylor M. |title=1838: Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul |url=https://rhodetour.org/items/show/371 |access-date=2023-07-26 |website=Rhode Tour |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 1843, Pope Gregory XVI erected the Diocese of Hartford, which included both Connecticut and Rhode Island. The pope selected Monsignor William Tyler of Boston as the first bishop of Hartford. <ref>{{Cite web |title=Hartford (Archdiocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy] |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dhart.html |access-date=2026-05-27 |website=www.catholic-hierarchy.org}}</ref>At the time, only 600 Catholics lived in Hartford, Connecticut, as opposed to 2,000 in Providence.<ref name="cathedral">{{cite news |title=Brief History of the Cathedral |work=Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul |url=http://www.cathedralprovidence.org/History.html}}</ref> For that reason, Tyler petitioned the Vatican to move the diocesan see from Hartford to Providence.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Snizek |first=Rick |date=2022-06-23 |title=1872: The Birth of the Diocese of Providence |url=https://thericatholic.com/stories/1872-the-birth-of-the-diocese-of-providence,13151 |access-date=2023-07-26 |website=Rhode Island Catholic |language=en}}</ref> The oldest existing Catholic church in Rhode Island, St. Mary's, was founded in West Warwick in 1844.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Holmes |first1=Daniel J. |last2=Correspondent |first2=Rhode Island Catholic |date=2019-05-23 |title=St. Mary's, Crompton, oldest church in diocese, celebrates 175th anniversary |url=https://thericatholic.com/stories/st-marys-crompton-oldest-church-in-diocese-celebrates-175th-anniversary,10834 |access-date=2023-07-26 |website=Rhode Island Catholic |language=en}}</ref>Tyler died in Providence on June 18, 1849, at age 45.<ref name="clarke">{{cite news|work=Lives of the Deceased Bishops of the Catholic Church in the United States|title=Right Rev. William Tyler, D.D.|last=Clarke|first=Richard Henry}}</ref>

The Sisters of Mercy in 1852 opened the St. Xavier Academy, the first orphanage in Providence. Three years later, flyers written by anti-Catholic activists appeared around Providence, promoting an attack on the orphanage. Catholic leaders marshalled a force of 400 to guard the home until the threat passed. <ref>{{Cite web |last=Kilgus |first=Laura |last2= |first2= |date=2022-06-23 |title=Serving from the Start: Diocese has a long history of lovingly helping neighbors in need |url=https://www.thericatholic.com/stories/serving-from-the-start-diocese-has-a-long-history-of-lovingly-helping-neighbors-in-need,13161 |access-date=2026-05-27 |website=Rhode Island Catholic |language=en}}</ref>

=== 1872 to 1887 === On February 16, 1872, Pope Pius IX erected the Diocese of Providence, taking all of Rhode Island from the Diocese of Hartford. The pope also included several parts of Massachusetts, including the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, Cape Cod, and the Fall River area in the new diocese.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Providence (Diocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy] |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dprov.html |access-date=2023-07-26 |website=www.catholic-hierarchy.org}}</ref> The pope named Thomas Hendricken of Hartford as the first bishop of Providence.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |title=Bishop Thomas Francis Hendricken [Catholic-Hierarchy] |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bhent.html |access-date=2023-01-03 |website=www.catholic-hierarchy.org}}</ref> The new diocese had 125,000 parishioners, 43 churches, nine parish schools and one orphanage.<ref name="archp">[https://dioceseofprovidence.org/rt-rev-thomas-f-hendricken-dd "Rt. Rev. Thomas F. Hendricken, D.D.", Roman Catholic diocese of Providence]</ref>

During Hendricken's tenure, French-Canadian Catholics started migrating into the diocese to work in the textile mills in Woonsocket and Fall River, Massachusetts.<ref name="Dowling">{{Cite web |title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Providence, Rhode Island |url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12509a.htm |access-date=2023-07-22 |website=www.newadvent.org}}</ref> Hendricken created 13 English-speaking parishes and two French-speaking parishes during this time. By 1873, the immigration into the diocese slowed and the post-war boom ended with many of his flock unemployed or on reduced wages. Hendricken oversaw the design and construction of the Cathedral of SS Peter and Paul.

Four religious sisters from the Little Sisters of the Poor arrived in Pawtucket in 1881. With $160,000 in funding from the Irish industrialist Joseph Banigan, they were able to open the Holy Trinity Home, a residence for the elderly.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Welcome - Little Sisters of the Poor - Pawtucket |url=https://littlesistersofthepoorpawtucket.org/welcome/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260123012749/https://littlesistersofthepoorpawtucket.org/welcome/ |archive-date=2026-01-23 |access-date=2026-05-27 |work=Little Sisters of the Poor - Pawtucket |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== 1887 to 1900 === After Hendricken died in 1886, Pope Leo XIII in 1887 named Matthew Harkins of Boston as the next bishop of Providence.<ref name="hierarchy">{{cite news |title=Bishop Matthew A. Harkins |work=Catholic-Hierarchy.org |url=http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bharkins.html}}</ref>The Rhode Island branch of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVDP) in 1890 opened the St. Vincent de Paul Infant Asylum in Providence.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=The Society in Rhode Island |url=https://svdpri.org/history/ |access-date=May 26, 2026 |website=SDVP Rhode Island}}</ref>

St. Joseph's Hospital in Providence was dedicated in 1892.<ref>{{Cite web |title=One moment, please... |url=https://ppsri.org/the-future-of-the-st-josephs-hospital-building-is-unclear-heres-a-look-into-its-past/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251213123752/https://ppsri.org/the-future-of-the-st-josephs-hospital-building-is-unclear-heres-a-look-into-its-past/ |archive-date=2025-12-13 |access-date=2026-05-27 |website=ppsri.org |language=en}}</ref> In 1894, the Banigan family financed the construction of St. Maria Working Girls' Home in Providence, a residence for female domestic servants.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McKenna |first=Ray |date=January 2023 |title=For the Love of a Sibling & All Those Left Behind: An OSB Tale |url=https://federalhillirish.com/f/rubbing-shoulders-with-greatness |access-date=May 26, 2026 |website=Federal Hill Irish}}</ref>The Home for Working Boys was started in Providence in 1897.<ref name="Dowling" /> In 1905, the diocese opened the House of the Good Shepard, a work house for unwed pregnant girls or ones who caused trouble for their parents.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mulvaney |first=Katie |title=Labor Day observance commemorates women and girls who worked without pay at Providence home |url=https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/courts/2021/09/06/women-toiled-without-pay-providence-house-good-shepherd/5747153001/ |access-date=2026-05-27 |website=The Providence Journal |language=en-US}}</ref> Nazareth Home in Providence opened in 1906.<ref name="Dowling" />

During Harkins's tenure, the diocese grew to be among the largest in the country and to have one of the highest percentage of Catholics. The diocese had twenty French-Canadian parishes, two Italian parishes, four Polish parishes, one Portuguese parish and one Syrian parish.<ref name="Dowling" />

=== 1900 to 1933 === {{Multiple image | header = | align = right | direction = | total_width = 200 | perrow = 1/1 | image1= Matthew Harkins.jpg| | caption1 = Bishop Harkins (1903) | image2= 20220125-110923-Hickey, Bishop William A. - Carroll V. IV.jpg | caption2 = Bishop Hickey (1919) }} In 1904, the Vatican split the Diocese of Fall River out of the Diocese of Providence, removing all of the Massachusetts counties and islands. This left 190,000 Catholics in the Diocese of Providence. During his tenure as bishop, Harkins increased the number of parishes in the diocese from 39 to 95; most of these new parishes were erected in the cities and growing suburbs, and were designated for different ethnic groups.<ref name="diocese3">{{cite news |title=History |work=Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence |url=http://www.dioceseofprovidence.org/?id=19 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080328134937/http://dioceseofprovidence.org/?id=19 |archivedate=2008-03-28}}</ref> The SVDP opened an orphanage in 1915 in Woonsocket. <ref name=":1" />Harkins in 1917 donated land for the establishment of a Catholic college in the diocese. Most of the donations for the construction fund came from poor working families. Run by the Dominican Order, Providence College was dedicated in 1919.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-03-15 |title=A Brief History of Providence College |url=https://about.providence.edu/centennial/a-brief-history-of-providence-college/ |access-date=2026-05-27 |website=About Providence College |language=en-US}}</ref>

Due to Harkins's advancing age and declining health, the Vatican appointed two auxiliary bishops to the diocese between 1914 and 1917. In 1919, the pope named William Hickey from the Diocese of Worcester as coadjutor bishop in 1919.<ref name="diocese3"/>

When Harkins died in 1921, Hickey automatically succeeded him as bishop of Providence. In 1923, Hickey started an initiative to upgrade and build new high schools in the diocese. The diocese soon unveiled plans to upgrade Mount Saint Charles Academy, a secondary school in Woonsocket. The academy had been teaching classes in French to accommodate the French-Canadian Catholic population in the town. However, it soon became clear that Hickey intended for the classes in the renovated school to be taught in English only. The parishioners became angry that they were being forced to pay for their children to be taught in English. Elphege Daignault, a Woonsocket lawyer, labeled the Irish-American clergy “national assassins."<ref name=":03">{{Cite web |date=2021-04-30 |title=The Sentinelle Affair: Keeping The French in Franco American |url=https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/the-sentinelle-affair-keeping-the-french-in-franco-american/ |access-date=2022-05-09 |website=New England Historical Society |language=en-US}}</ref> In 1924, the dissidents founded the newspaper {{lang|fr|La Sentinelle}} to express their opposition to Hickey's plan. The dissidents became known as Sentinellists.<ref name="quebec">{{cite news |date=2000-08-23 |title=Franco-Americans, the Sentinelle Affair and Quebec Nationalism |work=Marianopolis College |url=http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/QuebecHistory/events/sentinel.htm}}</ref><ref name=":03" />

Daignault and the Sentinellists first appealed Hickey's plans to Archbishop Pietro Fumasoni-Biondi, the apostolic delegate, or Vatican representative, to the United States. When that appeal failed, Daignault sued the diocese in state court in Rhode Island. The Rhode Island Supreme Court eventually ruled that it had no jurisdiction in church affairs. By this point, the controversy had gained publicity in French Canadian communities throughout the United States and Canada. The Sentinellists finally sent a delegation to Vatican City to appeal directly to Pope Pius XI, but he refused to see them.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Abulof |first=Uriel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ejIZCgAAQBAJ&dq=Bishop+William+Hickey&pg=PA100 |title=The Mortality and Morality of Nations: Jews, Afrikaners, and French-Canadians |date=2015-07-24 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-09707-0 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="time">{{cite magazine |date=1929-02-25 |title=Penitent Daignault |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,880497,00.html |url-status=dead |magazine=TIME |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101027215643/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,880497,00.html |archive-date=October 27, 2010}}</ref>

In 1927, Hickey excommunicated Daignault and other Sentinellists and placed {{lang|fr|La Sentinelle}} on the {{lang|la|Index Librorum Prohibitorum}}. Eventually, Daignault and the others recanted their opposition to Hickey and he lifted their excommunications.<ref name="time" /> Hickey died in 1933.

=== 1933 to 1960 === thumb|Salve Regina University, Newport, (2016) To replace Hickey, Pius XI named Francis Keough of Hartford as the next bishop of Providence.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Archbishop Francis Patrick Keough [Catholic-Hierarchy] |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bkeough.html |access-date=2026-05-28 |website=www.catholic-hierarchy.org}}</ref> During the Great Depression, Keough assigned chaplains to Civilian Conservation Corps work crews in Rhode Island. In 1939, he purchased the Nelson W. Aldrich estate at Warwick Neck; it had suffered damage in the 1938 New England hurricane. Keough erected the Our Lady of Providence Seminary on the Aldrich estate in 1941.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History |url=https://olpseminary.com/history |access-date=2026-05-28 |website=Our Lady of Providence Seminary |language=en}}</ref>In 1947, real estate developer Robert Wilson Goelet donated his family estate, Ochre Court in Newport, to the Sisters of Mercy. They founded Salve Regina University there.<ref>[https://d2wldr9tsuuj1b.cloudfront.net/5523/documents/2015/10/History%20of%20the%20Diocese%20of%20Providence.pdf Hayman, Peter. "History of the Diocese of Providence"]{{Dead link|date=December 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

During Keough's tenure as bishop, the Catholic population of the diocese increased from 325,000 to 425,000, and the number of clergy grew by fifty percent.<ref name="cathedral2">{{cite news |title=Archbishop Francis P. Keough: Builder of a New Cathedral (1947-1961) |work=Cathedral of Mary Our Queen |url=http://www.cathedralofmary.org/history/archbishops4.htm |url-status=dead |access-date=December 7, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061015050010/http://cathedralofmary.org/history/archbishops4.htm |archive-date=October 15, 2006}}</ref> He also founded a minor seminary, eased tensions between the French- and English-speaking parishioners, and reduced the heavy debt load of the diocese.<ref name="archdiocese">{{cite news |title=Most Rev. Francis Patrick Keough |work=Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore |url=http://www.archbalt.org/our-history/ordinaries-detail.cfm?customel_datapageid_999=2207 |url-status=dead |access-date=December 21, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091020142816/http://www.archbalt.org/our-history/ordinaries-detail.cfm?customel_datapageid_999=2207 |archive-date=October 20, 2009}}</ref> Keough was named archbishop of Baltimore in 1947.<ref name=":2" />

Russell J. McVinney of Providence was its next bishop, named by Pius XII in 1948.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Bishop Russell Joseph McVinney [Catholic-Hierarchy] |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bmcvinney.html |access-date=2026-05-28 |website=www.catholic-hierarchy.org}}</ref> During his tenure in Providence, McVinney established 28 new parishes, and in 1950 opened Our Lady of Fatima Hospital in North Providence. In 1952, McVinney issued regulations that forbade Catholics from participating in divorce proceedings or attending weddings performed by non-Catholic clergy.<ref name="marriage">{{cite magazine |date=1952-11-03 |title=Marriage Bans |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,806542,00.html |url-status=dead |magazine=TIME Magazine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081107215411/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,806542,00.html |archive-date=November 7, 2008}}</ref><ref name="divorce">{{cite news |date=1952-10-31 |title=DIVORCE CASE SNARL TIED TO CHURCH BAN |work=The New York Times}}</ref>

=== 1960 to 1990 === Following the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council of the early 1960s, McVinney created one of the first diocesan ecumenical commissions in 1965.<ref name="diocese">{{cite news |title=History |work=Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence |url=http://www.dioceseofprovidence.org/index.php?id=19}}</ref> He also established the Catholic Inner City Apostolate in 1966 and the diocesan human relations commission in 1967.<ref name="diocese" />

During the 1970 U.S. Senate election, McVinney chastised John McLaughlin, then a Jesuit priest working in Providence, for running for the United States Senate. McVinney said the candidacy caused confusion and misunderstanding<ref name="candidate">{{cite news |date=1970-08-23 |title=Bishop Chastises Jesuit Candidate; Priest Said to Be Running Without Diocese Consent |work=The New York Times}}</ref> McLaughlin responded that he did not need McVinney's permission to run for office. McLaughlin also noted that the bishop was "lifelong friends" with McLaughlin's political opponent, Senator John O. Pastore. McLaughlin lost the race. <ref name="candidate" />

After McVinney died in 1971, Louis Gelineau of the Diocese of Burlington, named by Pope Paul VI, succeeded him as the sixth bishop of Providence.<ref name="hierarchy2">{{cite news |title=Bishop Louis Edward Gelineau |work=Catholic-Hierarchy.org |url=http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bgelineau.html}}{{Self-published source|date=August 2015}}</ref><ref name=":4" /> In 1985, Gélineau registered opposition to an ordinance for the City of Providence to protect LGBTQ+ people from discrimination in employment, housing, credit and access to public accommodations, explaining that "homosexual acts are contrary to God's command and contrary to his purpose in creating sex."<ref name="doubt">{{cite news |date=1985-09-01 |title=Providence Bill To Aid Homosexuals In Doubt |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/09/01/us/providence-bill-to-aid-homosexuals-in-doubt.html?n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Subjects/L/Labor}}</ref> === 1990 to present === Pope John Paul II appointed Bishop Robert Mulvee from the Diocese of Wilmington as coadjutor bishop of Providence in 1995 to assist Gélineau. After Gélineau retired as bishop of Providence in 1997, Mulvee automatically succeeded him.<ref name="hierarchy3">{{cite news |title=Bishop Robert Edward Mulvee |work=Catholic-Hierarchy.org |url=http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bmulvee.html}}{{Self-published source|date=August 2015}}</ref> Mulvee retired as bishop of Providence in 2005.

The next bishop of Providence was Bishop Thomas Tobin from the Diocese of Youngstown, named by John Paul II in 2005.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bishop Thomas Joseph Tobin [Catholic-Hierarchy] |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/btobin.html |access-date=2026-05-28 |website=www.catholic-hierarchy.org}}</ref> In 2022, Pope Francis appointed Bishop Richard Henning from the Diocese of Rockville Centre as coadjutor bishop of Providence. <ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=Archbishop Richard Garth Henning [Catholic-Hierarchy] |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bhenning.html |access-date=2026-05-28 |website=www.catholic-hierarchy.org}}</ref>When Tobin retired as bishop of Providence in 2023, Henning automatically succeeded him.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rinunce e nomine |url=https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2022/11/23/0872/01829.html |access-date=2022-11-23 |website=press.vatican.va}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=POPE FRANCIS NAMES MOST REVEREND RICHARD G. HENNING COADJUTOR BISHOP OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND |url=https://www.drvc.org/wp-content/uploads/Final_media_release_Henning_11_23_22.pdf |accessdate=November 23, 2022}}</ref> On August 5, 2024, Henning was appointed the next archbishop of Boston.<ref name=":5" /> On April 8, 2025, Auxiliary Bishop Bruce Lewandowski from Baltimore was appointed bishop of Providence by Francis. Lewandowski installed on May 20, 2025.<ref>{{cite news |title=Resignations and Appointments, 08.04.2025 |url=https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2025/04/08/250408a.html |accessdate=April 8, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title='It brings the tears': RI will soon have a new bishop. Here are his plans and priorities |url=https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2025/04/08/providence-bishop-most-rev-bruce-alan-lewandowski-prepares-to-lead-ris-catholics/82990367007/ |accessdate=April 8, 2025}}</ref>

In May 2026, the diocese announced the mergers and closures of several parishes due to the shortage of priests, declining memberships in the parishes and the deterioration of older churches.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island, announces parish closures and mergers |url=https://www.ewtnnews.com/world/us/diocese-of-providence-rhode-island-announces-parish-closures-and-mergers |access-date=2026-05-28 |website=Catholic News Agency |language=en}}</ref>

==Bishops==

===Bishops of Providence=== # Thomas Francis Hendricken (1872–1886) # Matthew Harkins (1887–1921) # William A. Hickey (1921–1933) # Francis Patrick Keough (1934–1947), appointed Archbishop of Baltimore # Russell Joseph McVinney (1948–1971) # Louis Edward Gelineau (1972–1997) # Robert Edward Mulvee (1997–2005; coadjutor bishop 1995–1997) # Thomas Joseph Tobin (2005–2023) # Richard Garth Henning (2023–2024), appointed Archbishop of Boston # Bruce Lewandowski (2025-present)

===Auxiliary bishops=== *Thomas Francis Doran (1915–1916) *Denis Matthew Lowney (1917–1918) *Thomas Francis Maloney (1960–1962) *Bernard Matthew Kelly (1964–1971) *Kenneth Anthony Angell (1974–1992), appointed Bishop of Burlington *Robert Joseph McManus (1999–2004), appointed Bishop of Worcester *Robert C. Evans (2009–2022)

===Other diocesan priests who became bishops=== *Lawrence Stephen McMahon, appointed Bishop of Hartford in 1879 *Austin Dowling, appointed Bishop of Des Moines in 1912 *Ernest Bertrand Boland, appointed Bishop of Multan in Pakistan in 1966 *Daniel Patrick Reilly, appointed Bishop of Norwich, Connecticut, in 1975 and Bishop of Worcester in 1994 * Francis Xavier Roque, appointed Auxiliary Bishop for the Military Services, USA in 1983 *Salvatore Ronald Matano, appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Burlington in 2005 and subsequently succeeded to that diocese; later appointed Bishop of Rochester *James T. Ruggieri, appointed Bishop of Portland in 2024

==Education== {{main|List of schools in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence}}

=== High schools ===

* Bishop Hendricken High School – Warwick<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bishop Hendricken High School - Catholic Boys School |url=https://hendricken.com/ |access-date=2026-05-28 |website=Bishop Hendricken High School |language=en}}</ref> * La Salle Academy – Providence<ref>{{Cite web |title=La Salle Academy |url=https://www.lasalle-academy.org/ |access-date=2026-05-28 |website=www.lasalle-academy.org |language=en}}</ref> * Mount Saint Charles Academy – Woonsocket<ref>{{Cite web |title=Catholic Middle and High School in Woonsocket, RI |url=https://mountsaintcharles.org/ |access-date=2026-05-28 |website=Mount Saint Charles Academy |language=en}}</ref> * The Prout School – South Kingstown<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Prout School {{!}} Catholic College-Preparatory High School in Rhode… |url=https://www.theproutschool.org/ |access-date=2026-05-28 |website=The Prout School |language=en}}</ref> * St. Mary Academy – Bay View – East Providence<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home - St. Mary Academy - Bay View |url=https://www.bayviewacademy.org/ |access-date=2026-05-28 |website=www.bayviewacademy.org |language=en-US}}</ref> * St. Patrick Academy – Providence<ref>{{Cite web |title=St Patrick Academy {{!}} Providence, RI |url=https://www.stpatsri.org/ |access-date=2026-05-28 |website=www.stpatsri.org}}</ref> * St. Raphael Academy – Pawtucket<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=School Directory |url=https://catholicschools.org/school-directory |access-date=2023-07-22 |website=Catholic School Office, Diocese of Providence |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Loved, Instructed & Guided |url=https://www.saintrays.org/ |access-date=2026-05-28 |website=Saint Raphael Academy |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Independent ===

* Portsmouth Abbey School – Portsmouth<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Home {{!}} Portsmouth Abbey School, Rhode Island |url=https://www.portsmouthabbey.org/ |access-date=2026-05-28 |website=www.portsmouthabbey.org |language=en}}</ref>

==Parishes== {{Main|List of churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence}}

==Publications== Established in 1875, the ''Rhode Island Catholic'' is the official newspaper of the Diocese of Providence. It is published weekly.<ref name=ricatholic>{{cite web|url=http://thericatholic.com/ |title=Rhode Island Catholic|publisher=Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence|access-date=January 2, 2015}}</ref>

==Reports of sex abuse== The Diocese of Providence reached a $13.2 million settlement in 2002 with 36 victims of sexual abuse by its clergy.<ref>{{Cite news |agency=Associated Press |date=2002-09-10 |title=Providence Diocese Settles 36 Abuse Suits |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/10/us/providence-diocese-settles-36-abuse-suits.html |access-date=2023-07-22 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

In 2003, Christopher Young sued the diocese, claiming that he had been sexually abused as a minor by John Petrocelli, former assistant pastor at Holy Family Parish in Woonsocket. Petrocelli was removed from ministry in 2002. The diocese won the case in lower court, citing the free exercise and establishment clauses of the First Amendment, which prohibited judges from interfering with the practise of religion. The lower court ruling was overturned on appeal, with the judge ruling that the diocese's failure to supervise a pedophile priest was not a matter of religion.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1st Amendment Won't Bar Priest Molestation Lawsuit, by Eric T. Berkman, Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly, October 1, 2007 |url=https://www.bishop-accountability.org/news5/2007_10_01_Berkman_1stAmendment.htm |access-date=2023-07-22 |website=www.bishop-accountability.org}}</ref>

In July 2019, the diocese released a list of 50 clerics, religious order priests and deacons with credible accusations of sexual abuse.<ref name="courantreports">{{Cite web |date=2019-07-01 |title=Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence releases list of 'credibly accused' clergy |url=https://www.courant.com/2019/07/01/roman-catholic-diocese-of-providence-releases-list-of-credibly-accused-clergy/ |access-date=2025-08-08 |website=Hartford Courant |language=en-US}}</ref> Many individuals on the list had been removed from ministry between 1971 and 2016; some were removed after they left the diocese.<ref>{{Cite web |title=List of Credibly Accused Clergy |url=https://dioceseofprovidence.org/list-of-credibly-accused-clergy |access-date=2025-08-08 |website=Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island |language=en}}</ref>

James Jackson, pastor at St. Mary’s Church in Providence and a member of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, was arrested in October 2021 on child pornography charges.<ref>{{Cite web |title=FSSP priest arrested in Kansas |url=https://www.ewtnnews.com/world/us/father-james-jackson-arrested-in-kansas |access-date=2026-05-28 |website=Catholic News Agency |language=en}}</ref> Over 12,000 images and 1,500 videos were found on his devices. After accepting a plea agreement, Jackson was sentenced to six years in federal prison.<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 13, 2023 |title= Catholic Priest Sentenced to Federal Prison on Child Pornography Charge |url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-ri/pr/catholic-priest-sentenced-federal-prison-child-pornography-charge |access-date=2026-05-28 |website=Department of Justice}}</ref>

In March 2026, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha released a report on sexual abuse offenses commited by priests in the diocese. It accused diocesan leaders of covering up sexual abuse for years and failing to remove offenders from access to children. The report uncovered 75 diocesan and religious order priests with credible allegations of sexual abuse of children.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Attorney General Neronha publishes comprehensive report on child sexual abuse in the Diocese of Providence {{!}} Rhode Island Attorney General's Office |url=https://riag.ri.gov/press-releases/attorney-general-neronha-publishes-comprehensive-report-child-sexual-abuse-diocese |access-date=2026-05-28 |website=riag.ri.gov}}</ref>

==Arms== {{Infobox COA wide |image = Coat of arms of the Diocese of Providence.svg |bannerimage = |badgeimage = |notes = Arms was designed and adopted when the diocese was erected |year_adopted = 1872 |crest = |torse = |helm = |escutcheon = The arms of the diocese are composed of three silver (white) moline crosses on a blue field. |supporters = |compartment = |motto = |orders = |other_elements = |banner = |badge = |symbolism = The three moline crosses put together represent an anchor, the symbol of the State of Rhode Island. The Diocese of Providence serves the entire state. Having three crosses represents the Holy Trinity. The blue and white colors in the coat of arms symbolize two things; the importance of water to Rhode Island and Mary, mother of Jesus, who as Our Lady of Providence, is Patroness of the diocese. |previous_versions = }}

==References== {{reflist}} {{catholic|wstitle=Diocese of Providence}}

==External links== *[https://www.dioceseofprovidence.org/ Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence Official Site] *[https://www.providencecathedral.org/ Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul] *[https://thericatholic.com/ ''Rhode Island Catholic''] – diocesan newspaper

Category:Diocese of Providence Category:Catholic Church in Rhode Island Providence Providence Providence Category:1872 establishments in Rhode Island