The Archdiocese of Montreal (Latin: Archdioecesis Marianopolitana) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Canada. A metropolitan see, its arch episcopal see is the Montreal, Quebec. It includes Montreal and surrounding areas within Quebec.
Contents
Cathedrals
The cathedral of the Archdiocese of Montreal is the Cathedral Basilica of Mary, Queen of the World and St. James the Greater (Basilique cathédrale de Marie-Reine-du-Monde et de Saint-Jacques-le-Majeur), built in 1894.
Previously, the diocese had five cathedrals. From 1821 to 1836, they were the seat of the auxiliary bishop of Quebec in Montreal.
Notre-Dame Church (ancestor of today's Notre-Dame Basilica), 1821–1822
Chapel of the Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal, 1822–1825
Cathédrale Saint-Jacques, 1825–1852 (destroyed by fire, now part of the Judith-Jasmin pavilion of UQAM)
the chapel of the Asile de la Providence (corner of Sainte-Catherine and Saint-Hubert, site of the present Esplanade Émilie-Gamelin), 1852–1855
a small chapel at the site of the present archdiocese building, 1855–1894
History
May 13, 1836: Established as Diocese of Montreal / Marianopolitan(us) (Latin), on territory split off from Archdiocese of Québec
June 8, 1852: Lost territory to establish Diocese of Saint-Hyacinthe
June 8, 1886: Promoted as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Montreal / Marianopolitan(us) (Latin)
April 5, 1892: Lost territory to establish suffragan Diocese of Valleyfield
January 27, 1904: Lost territory to establish suffragan Diocese of Joliette
June 9, 1933: Lost territory to establish suffragan Diocese of Saint-Jean-de-Québec
June 23, 1951: Lost territory to establish suffragan Diocese of Saint-Jérôme
November 25, 2020: Former Quebec Superior Court Justice Pepita Capriolo released a report which found that some former officials in the Archdiocese of Montreal, including Marc Cardinal Ouellet, Jean-Claude Cardinal Turcotte and Bishop Anthony Mancini took no action against pedophile priest Brian Boucher after receiving reports he sexually abused boys, stating, among other things, that "The primary culprit is the lack of accountability of the people involved in Boucher's education, training and career. Complaints were 'passed on' and no one took responsibility for acting on them." The Catholic church assigned Capriolo to investigate the Archdiocese of Montreal after Boucher pled guilty to sex abuse charges in January 2019 and received an eight year prison sentence.
Statistics
As per 2014, it pastorally served 1,724,357 Catholics (72.3% of 2,386,038 total) on 947 km² in 170 parishes and 35 missions with 901 priests (377 diocesan, 524 religious), 87 deacons, 3,817 lay religious (741 brothers, 3,076 sisters) and 16 seminarians.
Ecclesiastical province
The Metropolitan Archbishop of Montreal's province has as suffragan sees:
Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliette, daughter
Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint-Jean-Longueuil, daughter
Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint-Jérôme, daughter
Roman Catholic Diocese of Valleyfield, daughter.
Leadership
Ordinaries
Below is a list of individuals who have led the Archdiocese of Montreal and its antecedent jurisdictions since its founding.
Jean-Jacques Lartigue (1836–1840), previously auxiliary Bishop of Quebec in Montreal (1821–1836)
Ignace Bourget (1840–1876)
Édouard-Charles Fabre (1876–1886)
Édouard-Charles Fabre (1886–1896)
Paul Bruchési (1897–1939)
Georges Gauthier (1939–1940)
Joseph Charbonneau (1940–1950)
Cardinal Paul-Émile Léger (1950–1968)
Cardinal Paul Grégoire (1968–1990)
Cardinal Jean-Claude Turcotte (1990–2012)
Christian Lépine (2012–present)
Coadjutor archbishops
Under the Code of Canon Law, the coadjutor bishop has the right of succession (cum jure successionis) upon the death, retirement or resignation of the diocesan bishop he is assisting. All coadjutor ordinaries except for John Charles Prince and Joseph La Rocque eventually succeeded to become head of the Archdiocese of Montreal or its antecedent jurisdictions.
Ignace Bourget (1837–1840), as coadjutor bishop
John Charles Prince (1844–1852), as coadjutor bishop; did not succeed, appointed Bishop of Saint-Hyacinthe
Joseph La Rocque (1852-1860), as coadjutor bishop: did not succeed, appointed Bishop of Saint-Hyacinthe
Édouard-Charles Fabre (1873–1876), as coadjutor bishop
Georges Gauthier (1923–1939)
Joseph Charbonneau (1940)
Auxiliary episcopate
Auxiliary Bishop Frank Leo (later Archbishop of Toronto) (2022.09.12 – 2023.02.11)
Auxiliary Bishop Alain Faubert (2016.04.19 – 2024.09.12), Titular Bishop of Vicus Pacati, appointed Bishop of Valleyfield
Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Dowd (later Bishop of Sault Ste. Marie) (2011.07.11 –2020.10.22)
Auxiliary Bishop: Christian Lépine (later Archbishop) (2011.07.11 – 2012.03.20)
Auxiliary Bishop: André Gazaille (2006.02.11 – 2011.07.11)
Auxiliary Bishop: Lionel Gendron, P.S.S. (2006.02.11 – 2010.10.28)
Auxiliary Bishop: Anthony Mancini (later Archbishop of Halifax-Yarmouth) (1999.02.18 – 2007.10.18)
Auxiliary Bishop: Louis Dicaire (1999.02.18 – 2004.06.19)
Auxiliary Bishop: André Rivest (1995.06.27 – 2004.06.19)
Auxiliary Bishop: Neil E. Willard (1995.06.27 – 1998.03.25)
Auxiliary Bishop: Jean-Claude Turcotte (later Archbishop and Cardinal) (1982.04.14 – 1990.03.17)
Auxiliary Bishop: Jude Saint-Antoine (1981.03.20 – 2006.02.11)
Auxiliary Bishop: Gérard Tremblay, P.S.S. (1981.03.20 – 1991.08.27)
Auxiliary Bishop: Jean-Marie Lafontaine (1979.04.18 – 1981.06.03)
Other priests of this diocese who became bishops
Charles-François-Calixte Morisson, appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Vancouver Island, British Columbia in 1862 (resigned from episcopate)
Louis-Zéphirin Moreau, appointed Bishop of Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec, in 1875; beatified in 1987
Narcisse Zéphirin Lorrain, appointed Vicar Apostolic of Pontiac, Ontario in 1882
Richard Alphonsus O’Connor, appointed Bishop of Peteborough, Ontario in 1889
Joseph-Médard Émard, appointed Bishop of Valleyfield, Québec in 1892
Joseph-Guillaume-Laurent Forbes, appointed Bishop of Joliette, Québec in 1913
Peter Joseph Monahan, appointed Bishop of Calgary, Alberta in 1932
Émilien Frenette, appointed Bishop of Saint-Jérôme, Québec in 1951
Alexander Carter, appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario in 1956
William Edward Power, appointed Bishop of Antigonish, Nova Scotia in 1960
Gerald Emmett Carter, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of London, Ontario in 1961; future Cardinal
Charles-Omer Valois, appointed Bishop of Saint-Jérôme, Québec in 1977
Robert Harris, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario in 2002