Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Halifax–Yarmouth

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Halifax–Yarmouth (Latin: Archidioecesis Halifaxiensis–Yarmuthensis) is a Latin Church archdiocese that includes part of the civil province of Nova Scotia.

The Archdiocese of Halifax–Yarmouth has both a cathedral, St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica, in Halifax, and a co-cathedral St. Ambrose Co-Cathedral, in Yarmouth. Since 2020, the diocesan ordinary has been Archbishop Brian Dunn.

In 1784, catholics in the town of Halifax decided to build a church after the penal statutes against popery were repealed. A small chapel, St. Peter's, was erected on a site at the south end of the town of Halifax in July of that year. The wardens of St. Peter's also petitioned Bishop John Butler of Cork, Ireland to send Father James Jones, who knew many Irish settlers in Halifax and had expressed interest in coming to serve the church in North America.^[1]

In 1801, Bishop Pierre Denaut of Quebec, somewhat alarmed at the radical developments at St. Peter's parish in Halifax after Father James Jones' departure, had asked Father Edmund Burke, the Vicar General of Upper Canada, to move to Halifax to tackle the situation.

On territory originally a part of the Diocese of Quebec, including the whole of Nova Scotia, the future Diocese of Halifax was established on 4 September 1817 as the Apostolic Vicariate of Nova Scotia, a pre-diocesan jurisdiction entitled to a titular bishop and exempt (i.e., directly subject to the Holy See and not part of any ecclesiastical province), with Edmund Burke as the Vicar Apostolic of Nova Scotia. He was consecrated on July 5th 1818 as Titular Bishop of Sion by Bishop Joseph-Octave Plessis.

It was elevated to a bishopric on 15 February 1842 and on 22 September 1844 lost territory to establish the Roman Catholic Diocese of Arichat, now (as the Diocese of Antigonish) one of its suffragans.

In 1852, the Diocese of Halifax was elevated to an archdiocese^[2] and an ecclesiastical province was also created from dioceses of Arichat, Charlottetown and Fredericton, along with the Archdiocese of Halifax. Bishop William Walsh became the first Archbishop of Halifax.^[1]

It lost territory twice more: on 19 February 1953 to establish the Apostolic Prefecture of Bermuda Islands and on 6 July 1953 to establish the Roman Catholic Diocese of Yarmouth.^[3]

The Archdiocese of Halifax enjoyed a papal visit from Pope John Paul II in September 1984; that year was the 200th anniversary of the precedent set by the laity of Halifax of forcing the repeal of the anti-Catholic legislation in Nova Scotia, and the British Empire.^[1]

In December 2011, the Diocese of Yarmouth was merged back into the Archdiocese of Halifax, creating the Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth,^[4] which was renamed by absorbing its title. The former cathedral became the St. Ambrose Co-Cathedral, in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

The Archdiocese of Halifax–Yarmouth covers 34,055 square kilometers. As of 2021, the archdiocese had 58 active diocesan priests, 7 religious priests, and 215,880 Catholics. It also had 87 women religious, 7 religious brothers, and 41 permanent deacons.^[5]

The metropolitan archbishop heads an ecclesiastical province which includes the suffragan dioceses of Antigonish and Charlottetown.

(all Roman Rite)

Apostolic Vicars of Nova Scotia

• Edmund Burke (1817年07月04日 – 1820年11月29日), Titular Bishop of Sion (1817年07月04日 – 1820年11月29日)
• Denis Lyons (1824年08月24日 – 1824年10月19日 not possessed), Titular Bishop of Tanis (1824年08月24日 – 1824年10月19日 not possessed)
• William Fraser (1825年06月03日 – 1842年02月15日 see below), Titular Bishop of Tanis (1825年06月03日 – 1842年02月15日)

Suffragan Bishops of Halifax

• William Fraser (1842年02月15日 – 1844年09月27日), later Bishop of Arichat (Canada) (1844年09月27日 – 1851年10月04日)
• William Walsh (1844年09月21日 – 1852年05月04日), previously Titular Bishop of Maximianopolis (1842年02月15日 – 1844年09月21日) & Coadjutor Bishop of Halifax (Canada) (1842年02月15日 – 1844年09月21日 see below); promoted the first Metropolitan Archbishop of Halifax (Canada) (1852年05月04日 – 1858年08月10日)

Metropolitan Archbishops of Halifax

• William Walsh ( see above 1852年05月04日 – death 1858年08月10日)
• Thomas Louis Connolly, Friars Minor (O.F.M.) (1859年04月08日 – death 1876年07月27日), previously Bishop of Saint John in America (Canada) (1852年05月04日 – 1859年04月08日)
• Michael Hannan (1877年02月16日 – death 1882年04月17日)
• Cornelius O'Brien (1882年12月01日 – death 1906年03月09日)
• Edward Joseph McCarthy (1906年06月27日 – death 1931年01月26日)
• Thomas O'Donnell (1931年01月26日 – death 1936年01月13日), previously Bishop of Victoria (Canada) (1923年12月23日 – 1929年05月27日), Titular Archbishop of Methymna (1929年05月27日 – 1931年01月26日), Coadjutor Archbishop of Halifax (Canada) (1929年05月27日 – 1931年01月26日)
• John Thomas McNally (1937年02月17日 – death 1952年11月18日), previously Bishop of Calgary (Canada) (1913年04月04日 – 1924年08月12日), Bishop of Hamilton (Canada) (1924年08月12日 – 1937年02月17日)
• Joseph Gerald Berry (1953年11月28日 – 1967年05月12日), President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (1960 – 1964); previously Bishop of Peterborough (Canada) (1945年04月07日 – 1953年11月28日)
• James Hayes (1967年06月22日 – 1990年11月06日), President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (1987 – 1989); previously Titular Bishop of Reperi (1965年02月05日 – 1967年06月22日) & Auxiliary Bishop of Halifax (1965年02月05日 – 1967年06月22日)
• Austin-Emile Burke (1991年07月08日 – 1998年01月13日), previously Bishop of Yarmouth (Canada) (1968年02月01日 – 1991年07月08日)
• Terrence Prendergast, Jesuits (S.J.) (1998年06月30日 – 2007年05月14日), previously Titular Bishop of Sléibhte (1995年02月22日 – 1998年06月30日) & Auxiliary Bishop of Toronto (Canada) (1995年02月22日 – 1998年06月30日); also Apostolic Administrator of Yarmouth (Canada) (2002年01月24日 – 2007年05月14日); later Metropolitan Archbishop of Ottawa (Canada) (2007年05月14日 – ...)
• Apostolic Administrator Claude Champagne, Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (O.M.I.) (2007年07月13日 – 2007年10月18日)
• Anthony Mancini (2007年10月18日 – 2009年10月22日 see below), also Apostolic Administrator of Yarmouth (Canada) (2007年10月18日 – 2009年10月22日), Apostolic Administrator of Antigonish (Canada) (2009年09月26日 – 2009年11月21日); previously Titular Bishop of Natchitoches (1999年02月18日 – 2007年10月18日) & Auxiliary Bishop of Montréal (Canada) (1999年02月18日 – 2007年10月18日)

Metropolitan Archbishops of Halifax-Yarmouth

• Anthony Mancini (see above 2009年10月22日 – 2020年11月27日)
• Brian Joseph Dunn (2020年11月27日 – present)^[6]

Coadjutor bishops

• Thomas Maguire (1819), as Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic: did not take effect
• William Walsh (1842 – 1844)
• Thomas O'Donnell (1929 – 1931)
• Brian Joseph Dunn (2019 – 2020)

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

• Colin Campbell, appointed Bishop of Antigonish, Nova Scotia in 1986
• Martin William Currie, Bishop of Grand Falls, Newfoundland (2001 – 2011) and Archbishop of St. John's, Newfoundland (2007 – 2018)
• Richard William Smith, appointed Bishop of Pembroke, Ontario in 2002

• Official website Edit this at Wikidata
• GigaCatholic, with incumbent biography links
• Chisholm, Joseph Andrew (1910). "Archdiocese of Halifax"  . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia . Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

44°38′40′′N 63°34′24′′W / 44.6444°N 63.5733°W / 44.6444; -63.5733

• Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Halifax
• Catholic Church in Nova Scotia
• Colchester County
• Cumberland County, Nova Scotia
• Halifax County, Nova Scotia
• Hants County, Nova Scotia
• Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia
• Queens County, Nova Scotia

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