Diocese of London, Ontario Diœcesis Londonensis | |
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Location | |
Country | Canada |
Ecclesiastical province | Ontario |
Metropolitan | Archdiocese of Toronto |
Deaneries | 7 |
Statistics | |
Area | 21,349 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%) |
Parishes | 131 |
Information | |
Denomination | Catholic Church |
Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
Rite | Roman Rite |
Established | February 21, 1856 |
Cathedral | St. Peter's Cathedral Basilica |
Patron saint | The Immaculate Conception & St. Patrick |
Secular priests | 169 |
Current leadership | |
Pope | Francis |
Bishop | Ronald Peter Fabbro |
Metropolitan Archbishop | Frank 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.
The Diocese covers the counties of Middlesex, Elgin, Norfolk, Oxford, Perth, Huron, Lambton, Kent and Essex.
As of 2020[update], 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]
Main article: List of churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of London, Ontario |