Diocèse
Alexandria-Cornwall
Diocese
Monday, May 15th at 7 pm - English
St. Anthony’s Church
(3737 Old Orchard Street, Apple Hill)
Mardi, 16 mai à 19h - Français
Église St-Félix-de-Valois
(620, boulevard Glengarry, Cornwall)
History of the Diocese
The Catholic Church essentially spread into Ontario in the late 1700s via the County of Glengarry. The original diocese for Upper Canada was Kingston. In 1890, Rome made the decision to create a diocese in Eastern Ontario to be made up of the counties of Stormont and Glengarry and the town of Cornwall. The Diocese of Alexandria would be a suffragan* diocese of Kingston, a situation which continues to this day. The Diocese covers 839 square miles.
Population of Stormont and Glengarry
In 1890, the population of Stormont and Glengarry was 56,408 (6,805 of whom lived in Cornwall.) The total Catholic population was 23,043.
Based on the 2016 census, the population of Stormont and Glengarry today is 102,941 (59 699 of whom live in Cornwall.) The population over the last decade has grown marginally in Stormont and Cornwall, and has decreased marginally in Glengarry. Although the 2016 census numbers have not yet been released, there are approximately 64,000 Catholics in the diocese. The number of Catholics who attend church regularly is about 6,200.
Clergy and Churches
At the time of the creation of the Diocese, there were 10 priests serving 10 parishes and 5 missions.
Today the Diocese has 16 active priests (this number includes 5 priests who are not incardinated^ in the Diocese and 1 priest who is a military chaplain.) In addition, we have a number of retired priests, 3 of whom help out when priests are on holidays.
The Diocese also has 15 deacons and 2 young men who are studying for the diaconate. There are currently 4 seminarians for the Diocese.
The Diocese has 25 parishes and 1 mission. 15 of the parishes (includes mission) are English, 5 are French and 6 are bilingual. 10 of the parishes plus the mission do not have a resident priest.
Bishops
Over the course of the Diocese’s 126 year history, 8 bishops and 2 auxiliary bishops have led the Catholics of Stormont and Glengarry. Of the last 4 bishops, 3 {Proulx (7 years), Durocher (10), Damphousse (3)} were transferred to another diocese and 1 retired at the age of 75 (LaRocque).
*subordinate to a metropolitan see, i.e. archdiocese
^refers to the situation of a member of the clergy being placed under the jurisdiction of a particular bishop
Some Facts About the Archdiocese of Ottawa
Population: 851,000 Catholic
Population: 394,515
Area: 2,246 square miles
Parishes: 107
Parishes with resident pastor: 81
Parishes without resident pastor: 23
Missions: 3
Seminarians: 3