The
Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen is a Roman Catholic
dioceseIn some forms of Christianity, a diocese is an administrative territorial unit administered by a bishop. It is also referred to as a bishopric or Episcopal Area or episcopal see, though strictly the term episcopal see refers to the domain of ecclesiastical authority officially held by the bishop,...
in
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, and to the east by the Hudson River, Upper New York Bay, the Kill Van Kull, Newark Bay, the Arthur Kill, Raritan Bay, Sandy Hook Bay, Westchester County, New York City, Long Island, and...
, centered in the
boroughA borough is an administrative division of various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
of
MetuchenMetuchen is a Borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 12,840.Metuchen was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 20, 1900, from portions of Raritan Township .The Borough of Metuchen...
. It was erected on November 19, 1981, from the territory of the
Diocese of TrentonPope Leo XIII created the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton in 1881, carving it out of the Diocese of Newark, which then covered all of New Jersey....
.
The Bishop of Metuchen presides from the Saint Francis of Assisi Cathedral in Metuchen.
The diocese encompasses the New Jersey counties of
MiddlesexMiddlesex County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the United States 2000 Census, the population was 750,162. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area and its county seat is New Brunswick. The center of population for New Jersey is located in Middlesex County, in the...
,
SomersetSomerset County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of 2000, the population was 297,490. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Somerville....
,
Hunterdon Hunterdon County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2000 Census, the population was 121,989. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Flemington....
and
WarrenWarren County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2000 Census, the population was 102,437. Its county seat is Belvidere....
.
Its
coat of armsA coat of arms, more properly called an armorial achievement, armorial bearings or often just arms for short, in European tradition, is a design belonging to a particular person and used by them in a wide variety of ways. Historically, they were used by knights to identify them apart from enemy...
is
blazonIn heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of, most often, a coat of arms or flag, which enables a person to construct or reconstruct the appropriate image...
ed
Quarterly, Or and Argent, in dexter chief a tongue of fire Gules; in sinister base the letter "M" Azure, crowned Argent; overall a cross Moline Azure.
The
Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen is a Roman Catholic
dioceseIn some forms of Christianity, a diocese is an administrative territorial unit administered by a bishop. It is also referred to as a bishopric or Episcopal Area or episcopal see, though strictly the term episcopal see refers to the domain of ecclesiastical authority officially held by the bishop,...
in
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, and to the east by the Hudson River, Upper New York Bay, the Kill Van Kull, Newark Bay, the Arthur Kill, Raritan Bay, Sandy Hook Bay, Westchester County, New York City, Long Island, and...
, centered in the
boroughA borough is an administrative division of various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
of
MetuchenMetuchen is a Borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 12,840.Metuchen was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 20, 1900, from portions of Raritan Township .The Borough of Metuchen...
. It was erected on November 19, 1981, from the territory of the
Diocese of TrentonPope Leo XIII created the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton in 1881, carving it out of the Diocese of Newark, which then covered all of New Jersey....
.
The Bishop of Metuchen presides from the Saint Francis of Assisi Cathedral in Metuchen.
The diocese encompasses the New Jersey counties of
MiddlesexMiddlesex County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the United States 2000 Census, the population was 750,162. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area and its county seat is New Brunswick. The center of population for New Jersey is located in Middlesex County, in the...
,
SomersetSomerset County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of 2000, the population was 297,490. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Somerville....
,
Hunterdon Hunterdon County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2000 Census, the population was 121,989. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Flemington....
and
WarrenWarren County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2000 Census, the population was 102,437. Its county seat is Belvidere....
.
Its
coat of armsA coat of arms, more properly called an armorial achievement, armorial bearings or often just arms for short, in European tradition, is a design belonging to a particular person and used by them in a wide variety of ways. Historically, they were used by knights to identify them apart from enemy...
is
blazonIn heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of, most often, a coat of arms or flag, which enables a person to construct or reconstruct the appropriate image...
ed
Quarterly, Or and Argent, in dexter chief a tongue of fire Gules; in sinister base the letter "M" Azure, crowned Argent; overall a cross Moline Azure. The cross is taken from the arms of the See of Trenton from which the diocese was formed; the tongue of fire refers both to "
metachen," Lenni Lenape for firewood, and the
descentPentecost is one of the prominent feasts in the Christian liturgical year. The feast is also called Whitsun, Whitsunday, Whit Sunday, and Whitsuntide, especially in the United Kingdom. Pentecost is celebrated seven weeks after Easter Sunday, hence its name...
of the
Holy SpiritIn Christianity, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. In mainstream Christian beliefs he is the third person of the Trinity. As part of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit is equal with God the Father and with God the Son....
; the crowned M refers to the Queenship of the
Blessed Virgin MaryThe Blessed Virgin Mary, sometimes shortened to the Blessed Virgin or the Virgin Mary, is a traditional title used by most Christians and most specifically used by liturgical Christians such as Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholics, and some others to...
, the diocesan patron, founding bishop Theodore McCarrick's arms, and
Pope John Paul IIPope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła served as Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death almost 27 years later. His was the second-longest pontificate; only Pope Pius IX served longer...
's arms. Its four quarters represent the four counties comprising the diocese.
The diocese counts 600,000 Catholics within its purview, distributed across more than one hundred parishes, serviced by 160 priests residing in the diocese, with 100 non-resident priests and 150 deacons assisting. Six hundred religious serve the schools and various organizations throughout the diocese.
In 2006, the twenty-fifth anniversary of the diocese's founding, it began preparations for a
synodA synod is a council of a church, usually a Christian church, convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application...
, the First Synod of the Diocese of Metuchen.
Bishops of the Diocese of Metuchen (terms of service)
The past
bishopA bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
s of the diocese are:
- Theodore Edgar McCarrick
Theodore Edgar McCarrick is an American Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Washington from 2001 to 2006, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 2001.-Early life and education:...
(1981–1986) (appointed Archbishop of NewarkThe Archdiocese of Newark is an archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in northern New Jersey, United States. Its ecclesiastic territory includes all of the Catholic parishes and schools in the New Jersey counties of Bergen, Union, Hudson and Essex...
; later Archbishop of Washington; created CardinalA cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually a bishop, of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and making themselves available...
; retired))
- Edward Thomas Hughes (1986–1997)
- Vincent DePaul Breen
Bishop Vincent DePaul Breen was the third bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen in central New Jersey from 1997 until his resignation in 2002. Bishop Breen was born in 1936 in Brooklyn, New York. He died of pneumonia in 2003, aged 66, following a long illness.Bishop Breen was a...
(1997–2002)
- Paul Gregory Bootkoski
Paul Gregory Bootkoski is the current bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen. He was appointed to the post in 2002....
(2002– )
High schools
- Bishop George Ahr High School
Bishop George Ahr High School, also known as Bishop Ahr, Ahr or BGA, is a four-year, private, coeducational Roman Catholic high school located on a thirty-six acre campus in the northern section in Edison, New Jersey. It is a member of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen, which is headed by...
, Edison
- Cardinal McCarrick High School
Cardinal McCarrick High School is a Catholic secondary school located in South Amboy, New Jersey.As of the 2005-06 school year, the school had an enrollment of 441 students and 32.7 classroom teachers , for a student-teacher ratio of 13.9....
, South Amboy
- Immaculata High School, Somerville
- Mount St. Mary Academy
Mount Saint Mary Academy is a four-year private high school for girls located in Watchung, New Jersey. Located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen, the school was founded in 1908 by the Sisters of Mercy of New Jersey and opened with 77 students. It operates financially independent of the...
, Watchung
- St. Joseph High School, Metuchen
- St. Peter the Apostle High School, New Brunswick (closed 2007)
- St. Pius X High School, Piscataway (closed 1990)
Ecclesiastical province
See also
- List of the Catholic cathedrals of the United States
- List of the Catholic dioceses of the United States
- Plenary Councils of Baltimore
The Plenary Councils of Baltimore were three national meetings of Roman Catholic bishops in the 19th century in Baltimore, Maryland.During the early history of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States all of the dioceses were part of one ecclesiastical province under the Archbishop of Baltimore...
- Roman Catholicism in the United States
Roman and Eastern Catholicism in the United States is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, the Christian Church in full communion with the Pope, currently Benedict XVI. Catholicism arrived in what is now Continental United States during the earliest days of the European colonization of the Americas...
- Catholicism and American politics
There are 67,117,016 Catholics in the United States by 2008. Catholics represent the largest Christian denomination in America with over 67 million professing the faith in 2008. 85% of these Catholics found their faith to be "somewhat" to "very important" to them...
- History of Roman Catholicism in the United States
-Colonial era:In 1634, Maryland recorded a little less than 3,000 Catholics out of a population of 34,000 . In 1757, Pennsylvania recorded fewer than 1,400 Catholics out of a population of about 200,000...
External links