Roman Catholic Diocese of Antigonish

Diocese of Antigonish Dioecesis Antigonicensis
File:Coat of Arms of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antigonish.svg Coat of Arms of the Diocese of Antigonish
Location
Country	Canada
Ecclesiastical province	Halifax
Population - Catholics	129,905 (56.4%)
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	August 23, 1886
Cathedral	St. Ninian's Cathedral
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Brian Joseph Dunn
Metropolitan Archbishop	Archbishop of Halifax
Emeritus Bishops	Colin Campbell
Website
[2]

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Antigonish (Latin: Dioecesis Antigonicensis) is a Latin Rite diocese in Nova Scotia, Canada.

History

It had been established on 22 September 1844, on territory split off from the Diocese of Halifax, under the name of Roman Catholic Diocese of Arichat, having its first cathedral (now Église Notre Dame de l’Assomption) in that natural port town, Arichat.

On 23 August 1886, it was renamed as Diocese of Antigonish, where it got its present episcopal see, St. Ninian’s Cathedral.

2009-2010 Apostolic Administration

On September 26, 2009 Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of Bishop Raymond John Lahey, one day after a warrant was issued for his arrest by the Ottawa Police Service relating to child pornography charges (cf. sexual abuse scandal in Antigonish diocese). The bishop plead guilty to child pornography charges and was jailed.

Archbishop Anthony Mancini of the Archdiocese of Halifax was named the Apostolic Administrator effective September 26, 2009 and remained in that position until the installation of Bishop Brian Dunn on January 25, 2010.

Extent

The Diocese of Antigonish covers 18,800 square kilometers, comprising the counties of Pictou, Antigonish, Guysborough, Inverness, Victoria, Richmond and Cape Breton.

As of 2006, the diocese contained 123 parishes, 119 active diocesan priests, 8 religious priests, and 129,905 Catholics. It also has 290 women religious, 12 religious brothers and 1 permanent deacon.

The Bishop of Antigonish serves ex officio as Chancellor of St. Francis Xavier University.

Diocesan suffragan bishops

The following is a list of the bishops, all Roman Rite, and their terms of service:

suffragan bishops of Arichat

• William Fraser [Frazer] (1844-1851), previously Titular Bishop of Tanis (1825.06.03 – 1842.02.15), Apostolic Vicar of Nova Scotia (Canada) (1825.06.03 – 1842.02.15), Bishop of Diocese of Halifax (Canada) (1842.02.15 – 1844.09.27)
• Colin Francis MacKinnon (1851-1877), later Titular Archbishop of Amida (1877.08.30 – 1879.09.26)
• John Cameron (1877.07.17 – 1886.08.23 see below), previously Titular Bishop of Titopolis (1870.03.11 – 1877.07.17) and Coadjutor Bishop of Arichat (Canada) (1870.03.11 – 1877.07.17)

suffragan bishops of Antigonish

• John Cameron (see above (1886.08.23 – 1910.04.06)
• James Morrison (1912-1950), created Archbishop ad personam (1944.02.26 – 1950.04.13)
• John Roderick MacDonald (1950-1959), previously Bishop of Peterborough (Canada) (1943.06.05 – 1945.04.14), Titular Bishop of Ancusa (1945.04.14 – 1950.04.13), Coadjutor Bishop of Antigonish (Canada) (1945.04.14 – 1950.04.13)
• William Edward Power (1960-1986), also President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (1971 – 1973)
• Colin Campbell (1986-2002)
• Raymond John Lahey (2003-2009), previously Bishop of Saint George's (Canada) (1986.07.05 – 2003.04.05); later Lay state (May 2012)
• Apostolic Administrator Anthony Mancini - (2009 - 2010), while Metropolitan Archbishop of Halifax(-Yarmouth) (Canada) (2007.10.18 – 2009.10.22)
• Brian Joseph Dunn - (2010–present), previously Titular Bishop of Munatiana (2008.07.16 – 2009.11.21), Auxiliary Bishop of Sault Sainte Marie (Canada) (2008.07.16 – 2009.11.21)

References

• Diocese of Antigonish page at catholichierarchy.org retrieved July 17, 2006

Sources and External links

• Diocese of Antigonish
• GigaCatholic, with incumbent biography links
• St. Francis Xavier University
• Virtual Tour of the Architectural Heritage of Antigonish, Nova Scotia