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Roman Catholic Diocese of London, Ontario

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Diocese of London, Ontario

Diœcesis Londonensis
Coat of arms
Location
Country Canada
Ecclesiastical provinceArchdiocese of Toronto
MetropolitanArchdiocese of Toronto
Deaneries7
Statistics
Area21,349 km2 (8,243 sq mi)
The territory comprises the following counties of Ontario: Middlesex, Elgin, Norfolk, Perth, Huron, Lambton, Kent, & Essex.
Population
- Total
- Catholics
1,944,182
444,310 (22.8%)
Parishes131
Information
DenominationCatholic Church
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
EstablishedFebruary 21, 1856; 168 years ago (1856-02-21)
CathedralSt. Peter's Cathedral Basilica
Patron saintThe Immaculate Conception
& St. Patrick
Secular priests169
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
BishopRonald Peter Fabbro
Metropolitan ArchbishopFrank Leo
Website
dol.ca

The Diocese of London (Latin: Diœcesis Londonensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in Canada. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Toronto.

The present episcopal see of the diocese, St. Peter's Cathedral in London, Ontario, was built in a French Gothic Revival style from 1880 to 1885. It was raised to the status of a minor basilica by Pope John XXIII in December, 1961.

Statistics and Extent

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The Diocese covers the counties of Middlesex, Elgin, Norfolk, Oxford, Perth, Huron, Lambton, Kent and Essex.

As of 2020, it pastorally served 444,310 Catholics (22.8% of 1,944,182 total) on 21,349 km2 in 130 parishes and 1 mission with 136 priests (101 diocesan, 35 religious), 73 deacons, 474 lay religious (1 brother, 473 sisters) and 11 seminarians.[1]

The diocese also runs St. Peter's Seminary, which is now affiliated with the University of Western Ontario.

In 2019, the Survivor's Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) confirmed that 36 priests were credibly accused of sexually abusing minors.[2] Following media coverage of the list, the Diocese waived confidentiality of their previous settlements.[3] When interviewed about the list compiled by SNAP, Bishop Ronald Fabbro of the Diocese of London indicated that four other priests whose names were not on the list were accused of sexual abuse of minors. Bishop Fabbro refused to disclose the names of the priests. His decision faced considerable backlash from survivors and advocates.[4]

History

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  • The Diocese of London was created on February 21, 1856, by Pope Pius IX, on territory carved out of the then Roman Catholic Diocese of Toronto (now a Metropolitan Archdiocese), along with the Diocese of Hamilton, Ontario. Pierre-Adolphe Pinsonnault was named the first Bishop of London on May 18 of that year.
  • On 1859.02.02 it was renamed as Diocese of Sandwich / Sandvicen(sis) (Latin), as its first Bishop Pinsoneault moved the seat of the diocese to Sandwich, on the Detroit River
  • On 1869.11.15 it was renamed back as Diocese of London / Londonen(sis) (Latin), the diocesan see having been returned under second Bishop John Walsh.
  • On 2020.05.21 an Ontario appeals court dismissed a bid by the Diocese of London to drop a lawsuit filed by Irene Deschenes, who claimed that notorious predator priest Charles Henry Sylvestre sexually abused her when she was a minor between 1970 and 1973.[5] Deschenes first began legal action against the Diocese of London in 1996.[5] Sylvestre pled guilty in August 2006 to sexually abusing 47 females, whose ages ranged between 9 and 14, between 1952 and 1989[6] Local newspapers documented the lives of many of the women who refused the publication ban and spoke out about their abuse.[7] He was given a three-year sentence in October 2006 and died January 22, 2007, of natural causes after only three months in prison.[8] The case was documented by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation news programme The Fifth Estate.[8]

Bishops

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Episcopal Ordinaries

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Suffragan Bishops of London, Ontario
Suffragan Bishops of Sandwich
Suffragan Bishops of London, Ontario

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

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Education

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Churches

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Main article: List of churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of London, Ontario

Cemeteries

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  • Heavenly Rest Catholic Cemetery (Windsor)
  • Resurrection Catholic Cemetery (Sarnia)
  • St. Peter's Catholic Cemetery (London)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Statistics". Diocese of London. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
  2. ^ Staff, Catholic Register. "Survivors group releases list of 'credibly accused' priests in Diocese of London". www.catholicregister.org. Retrieved 2021-09-17.
  3. ^ Clementson, Laura (December 5, 2019). "'It's overwhelming': Survivors create public list of Catholic clerics accused of sexual abuse". CBC News. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  4. ^ "Lawyer doesn't buy why London Diocese kept names of 4 priests secret". CBC News. December 7, 2019. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  5. ^ a b "London Catholic Diocese loses appeal in child sexual abuse case | CBC News".
  6. ^ Sims, Jane (August 4, 2006). "'Guilty' 47 times: Rev. Charles Sylvestre admits to decades of sexual abuse involving 47 girls – many still suffering". The London Free Press.
  7. ^ Wilhem, Trevor. "To hell ...and back". The Windsor Star. Archived from the original on November 10, 2012. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  8. ^ a b The Fifth Estate, CBC. "The Good Father". Archived from the original on September 19, 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
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Bibliography
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