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Diocese of Wilmington

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Diocese of Wilmington
Dioecesis Wilmingtoniensis
Catholic
Cathedral of St. Peter
Cathedral of St. Peter
Location
Country United States
Territory Delaware
The nine counties on the Eastern Shore of Maryland: Caroline, Cecil, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne's, Somerset, Talbot, Wicomico, and Worcester
Ecclesiastical province Baltimore
Statistics
Area 13,916 km2 (5,373 sq mi)[1]
Population
Total
Catholics 		(as of 2023)
1,508,853[1]
246,174[1][2] ( 16.3%)
Parishes 56[1]
Information
Denomination Catholic
Sui iuris church Latin Church
Rite Roman Rite
Established March 3, 1868
Cathedral Cathedral of Saint Peter
Patron saint St. Francis de Sales
Secular priests 106, plus 54 religious priests[1]
Current leadership
Pope Leo XIV
Bishop William Edward Koenig
Metropolitan Archbishop William E. Lori
Bishops emeritus William Francis Malooly
Map
Website
cdow.org

The Diocese of Wilmington (Latin: Dioecesis Wilmingtoniensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical diocese of the Catholic Church in the eastern United States, comprising the entire state of Delaware and the Eastern Shore Region of Maryland. William Koenig is the bishop.

History

1600 to 1700

The first Catholic church in the Delmarva Peninsula was Wye Chapel, erected near present-day Easton, Maryland. The Jesuit Nicholas Gulick served as its resident pastor. The chapel served as a base for priests to visit other communities in the region. In 1590, after Delaware became a royal colony, the chapel was shut down after King William III of England prohibited the practice of Catholicism.

1700 to 1800

Before and during the American Revolutionary War, the Catholics in all of the British colonies in America were under the jurisdiction of the Apostolic Vicariate of the London District in England. The first Catholic mission in Delaware was established by Jesuit missionaries near present-day Blackbird in 1747.[3] However, in Easton, James Beadnall, another Jesuit priest, was arrested for celebrating a mass in a private home.

After the end of the American Revolution in 1783, Pope Pius VI erected the Prefecture Apostolic of the United States in 1784, encompassing the entire United States. Five years later, he converted the prefecture into the Diocese of Baltimore.[4] St. Mary of the Assumption was the first Catholic church in Delaware, built by White Clay Creek in 1788.[5]

1800 to 1868

Patrick Kenney established a mission in 1804 on the site of the Coffee Run Cemetery in Mill Creek. The Coffee Run Mission Site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.[6]

in 1808, Pope Pius VII erected the Diocese of Philadelphia out of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, placing all of Delaware into the new diocese. Delaware would remain part of the Diocese of Philadelphia for the next 60 years.[7] The first Catholic church in Wilmington was started in 1816.[5]

1868 to 1900

On March 3, 1868, Pope Pius IX erected the Diocese of Wilmington. The new diocese contained the following counties:

  • All the counties in Delaware, taken from the Diocese of Philadelphia
  • Caroline, Cecil, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne's, Somerset, Talbot, Wicomico, and Worcester counties in Maryland, taken from the Diocese of Philadelphia
  • Accomack and Northampton counties in Virginia, taken from the Archdiocese of Baltimore.[8]

Pius IX designated the new diocese as a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. He appointed Thomas Becker of Baltimore as the first bishop of Wilmington.[9] In 1868, the Sisters of the Visitation of the Holy Mary moved into a convent in Wilmington.[10] The first Catholic church in Easton, Maryland, Sts Peter and Paul, was dedicated also in 1858.

Becker oversaw a three-fold increase in the number of priests a doubling of churches.[11] He established an orphanage and academy for boys and two additional parochial schools.[11][12] After 18 years in Wilmington, Becker was appointed in 1886 by Pope Leo XIII as bishop of the Diocese of Savannah.[9]

To replace Becker, Leo XIII in 1886 appointed Alfred Curtis as the second bishop of Wilmington.[13] During his tenure as bishop, Curtis introduced the Josephite Fathers into the diocese to minister to African-American Catholics. In 1890, Curtis dedicated St. Joseph Church, a parish for African-Americans in Wilmington run by the Josephites.[14] At that time, Delaware law banned African-Americans from White churches.[11]

Twice a year, Curtis would visit the New Castle County Almshouse in Farmhurst to minister to the poor and bring them food. When he took office, Curtis discovered that all the church property in the diocese was under the personal name of the bishop. He spent the next few years legally transferring all the property to the diocese itself.[15] He also led efforts to clear the sizable debt held by the diocese and its parishes.

The Josephite priest John de Ruyter in 1893 opened St. Joseph's Orphanage in Wilmington for African-American boys; it was the first such orphanage in the United States.[14] That same year, the Ursuline Sisters of Bedford Park moved from New York City to Wilmington to start the Ursuline Academy Wilmington for girls.[16]

1900 to 1960

Curtis retired as bishop of Wilmington in 1896 due to poor health.[13] Leo XIII in 1897 appointed John Monaghan of the Diocese of Charleston as his replacement.[17] When Monaghan became bishop, the diocese had 25,000 Catholics, 30 priests, 22 churches and 18 missions, 12 seminarians, eight religious communities, three academies, nine parochial schools, and three orphanages.[11] During his tenure, Monaghan established seven parishes, seven missions, eight schools and a home for the elderly.[11] The Oblate Fathers in 1903 opened the Salesianum, a secondary school for boys in Wilmington. The Sisters of Saint Francis of Philadelphia opened St. Francis Hospital in Wilmington in 1924. It is today Saint Francis Healthcare.[18]

Monaghan retired as bishop of Wilmington in 1925;[17] his successor was Edmond Fitzmaurice from Philadelphia.[19] During his 35-year tenure, Fitzmaurice oversaw an increase in the Catholic population from 34,000 to 85,000.[11] To accommodate these numbers, he founded 17 new parishes, eight missions, and 19 elementary and nine secondary schools.[11] Fitzmaurice encouraged participation in Catholic Charities, and founded the Catholic Welfare Guild, Catholic Youth Organization, Society for the Propagation of the Faith, and Knights of Columbus chapter in the diocese. He also established the Catholic Interracial Council, the Catholic Forum of the Air, the Catholic Television Guild, the Diocesan Book Forum, the Catholic Education Guild, and the Young Christian Workers.[11]

In 1945, Fitzmaurice ordered the parents of Catholic students in public high schools in the diocese to prohibit their children from attending sex education courses, which he described as "offensive to the Catholic conscience."[20] Pope Pius XII in 1958 appointed Michael Hyle of Baltimore as coadjutor bishop in Wilmington to assist Fitzmaurice.[21] He donated his personal residence in 1959 to provide a location for the founding of St. Edmond's Academy in Wilmington, which was named in his honor.[22]

1960 to 1985

When Fitzmaurice resigned in 1960 as bishop of Wilmington, Hyle automatically succeeded him.[21] He dedicated much of his administration to the implementation of the Second Vatican Council reforms of the early 1960s, encouraging parishes to form parish councils and to embrace the ecumenical movement.[11] Hyle started construction on St. Mark's High School in Wilmington, which opened in 1970.[23] He also inaugurated the University of Delaware's Newman Centre (Thomas More Oratory) in Newark.[11] Hyle died in 1967.[21] Pope Paul VI in 1968 appointed Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Mardaga from Baltimore as the next bishop of Wilmington.[11]

During his 16-year tenure, Mardaga continued the implementation of the Second Vatican Council reforms, establishing a council for the laity and participating in ecumenical work.[11] He also reorganized the diocesan curia and created a ministry for migrant workers.

In 1974, Paul VI transferred the two Virginia counties in the Diocese of Wilmington to the Diocese of Richmond, establishing the present territory of the diocese. Following Mardaga's death in 1984, Pope John Paul II in 1985 named Auxiliary Bishop Robert Mulvee from the Diocese of Manchester as Mardaga's replacement.[24]

1985 to present

During his tenure as bishop of Wilmington, Mulvee emphasized collegiality in his administration of the diocese, helped restructure the Delmarva Ecumenical Agency into the Christian Council of Delaware and Maryland's Eastern Shore, and founded three new missions and raised a fourth to parish status.[11] Mulvee's tenure in Wilmington ended in 1995 when John Paul II named him as coadjutor bishop for the Diocese of Providence.[24]

John Paul II appointed Auxiliary Bishop Michael Saltarelli of the Archdiocese of Newark as Mulvee's replacement in Wilmington in 1996.[25] During his tenure, Saltarelli oversaw an increase of over 60,000 Catholics in the diocese, ordained 23 priests and 47 permanent deacons, and constructed or renovated numerous churches, schools, and other facilities.[26] After Saltarelli retired as bishop of Wilmington in 2007, Pope Benedict XVI in 2008 named Auxiliary Bishop W. Francis Malooly of Baltimore to replace him.[27] Malooly was criticized by some Catholic news outlets for refusing to withhold communion from then Vice President Joseph Biden due to his position on abortion rights for women.[28]

In 2009, the diocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the face of financial liabilities from lawsuits regarding sexual abuse by priests.[29] Malooly retired as bishop of Wilmington in 2021 and Pope Francis that same year appointed William Koenig of the Diocese of Rockville Centre as his replacement[30] As of 2026, Koenig is the current bishop of Wilmington.

Sexual abuse cases

Joseph Curry, a former altar boy at St. Dennis Church in Galena, sued the Diocese of Wilmington in August 2008. Curry claimed that he had been sexually abused over 100 times by Edward B. Carley. The abuse started in 1981, when Curry was 10 years old. The lawsuit claimed that the diocese knew that Carley had sexually abused parishioners at St. Ann's Church in Wilmington during the 1950s and early 1960s.[31] Carley died in 1998. Curry and the diocese settled the lawsuit in 2011 for $1.7 million.[32]

In 2011, a bankruptcy court approved a settlement plan for the diocese. Under the plan, 150 victims were to receive an average payment of $310,000 each, totaling $77.425 million. The clergy accused of abuse were not identified.[33]

Bishops

Bishops of Wilmington

  1. Thomas Albert Andrew Becker (1868–1886), appointed Bishop of Savannah
  2. Alfred Allen Paul Curtis (1886–1897)
  3. John James Joseph Monaghan (1897–1925)
  4. Edmond John Fitzmaurice (1925–1960), appointed Archbishop ad personam upon retirement in 1960
    - Hubert James Cartwright, Coadjutor Bishop (1956-1958)
  5. Michael William Hyle (1960–1967; coadjutor bishop 1958-1960)
  6. Thomas Joseph Mardaga (1968–1984)
  7. Robert Edward Mulvee (1985–1995), appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Providence and later succeeded to that see
  8. Michael Angelo Saltarelli (1996–2008)
  9. William Francis Malooly (2008–2021)
  10. William Edward Koenig (2021–present)

Other diocesan priests who became bishops

Education

High schools

As of 2026, the Diocese of Wilmington had eight high schools:[34]

Elementary schools

As of 2026, the Diocese of Wilmington had 20 elementary and middle schools:[34]

  • Aquinas Academy – Bear
  • Christ the Teacher Catholic School – Newark
  • Good Shepherd Catholic School – Perryville, MD
  • Holy Angels School – Newark
  • Holy Cross School – Dover
  • Immaculate Heart of Mary School – Wilmington
  • Most Blessed Sacrament Catholic School – Ocean Pines, MD
  • Mount Aviat Academy – Childs, MD
  • Nativity Preparatory School – Wilmington
  • Saint Ann School – Wilmington
  • Saint Edmond's Academy – Wilmington
  • Saint Francis de Sales School – Salisbury, MD
  • Saint John the Beloved School – Wilmington
  • Saint Mary Magdalen School – Wilmington
  • Saint Peter Cathedral School – Wilmington
  • Saints Peter & Paul Elementary School – Easton, MD
  • Serviam Girls Academy – New Castle
  • St. Anthony of Padua Grade School – Wilmington
  • St. Elizabeth School – Wilmington
  • Ursuline Academy – Wilmington

Canonical status and jurisdiction

Diocese of Wilmington is a diocese of the catholic church of the Catholic Church.[42]

From the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia

Diocese of Wilmington — (Wilmingtoniensis). Erected 3 March, 1868. It includes what is known as the Delmarvia Peninsula, the Sate of Delaware, nine counties of Maryland, and two counties of Virginia east of Chesapeake Bay. The first Catholic mission in this territory was founded at Bohemia Manor, Cecil Co., Maryland, in 1704 by the Jesuits, who were the only priests on the peninsula until 1808, when Rev. Patrick Kenny came to reside at Coffee Run, Delaware (see DELAWARE). The first church in the city of Wilmington was St. Peter's (1808), now the cathedral. The first bishop was Rt. Rev. Thomas A. Becker (q.v.), before his election a priest at Richmond, Virginia. He found in the new diocese only eight priests and fourteen churches, most of these scarcely more than sheds. St. Peter's Orphanage and St. Peter's School were in charge of the Sisters of Charity, two more school had recently been closed, and the sisters withdrawn to Philadelphia. The Catholic population of the whole diocese did not exceed 5000. By constant and untiring effort in the face of extreme poverty, scarcity of vocations, and many other difficulties, Bishop Becker increased the number of churches to twenty-six and the clergy to twenty-one. He brought to the diocese the Benedictine fathers, the Sisters of St. Francis (Glen Riddle, Pa.), and the Sisters of the Visitation. He also founded an orphan asylum for boys. During his episcopate the Catholic population increased to about 18,000.

In 1886 Bishop Becker was transferred to Savannah, Georgia, and was succeeded by Rev. Alfred A. Curtis, at that time chancellor of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Bishop Curtis was born on 4 July, 1831, in Somerset Co., Maryland, and was therefore a native of the diocese. He was reared as an Episcopalian, and was ordained to the ministry of that church. As such he was stationed a short time at Chestertown, Kent Co., Maryland, in his future diocese. In 1872 he visited England, where he was received into the Church by Cardinal Newman. Returning he entered St. Mary's Seminary, Baltimore, where he was ordained by Archbishop Bayley, 19 Dec., 1874. He was consecrated Bishop of Wilmington of 14 Nov., 1886. To pay off numerous debts contracted in the rapid extension of the diocese by his predecessor and to provide labourers and means to continue the work was a task that called for unusual zeal and energy. Yet so well did he fulfil it that in the ten years of his episcopate the number of churches was increased by thirteen and the clergy by eight. He established a mission for coloured people, placing the Josephite Fathers in charge. He also brought to the diocese the Benedictine and the Ursuline Sisters. One of his chief works is the Visitation Monastery, which he built and had endowed in order that the sisters might become exclusively contemplative according to the primitive rule of their order. He died on 14 July, 1908, and, at his own request his remains were buried within the enclosure of this monastery. In 1896 Bishop Curtis resigned, leaving the diocese with 39 churches served by 29 priests, and with four communities of teaching sisters, 1 contemplative community, 3 orphanages, an industrial school, and a Catholic population of 25,000.

The third and present bishop is the Rt. Rev. John J. Monaghan. He was born 23 May, 1856, at Sumter, South Carolina, and educated at St. Charles College, Ellicott City, Maryland, and St. Mary's Seminary, Baltimore. He was ordained on 19 Dec., 1880, and served at various posts in the Diocese of Charleston until his appointment as bishop. He was consecrated at St. Peter's Pro-Cathedral on 9 May, 1897. Under his administration the growth of the diocese has continued. Among the most notable of his acts are the introduction of the Oblate Fathers of St. Francis de Sales (1903) and the Little Sisters of the Poor (1903). The former conduct a day college for boys, while the latter care for the aged poor. The churches already in existence have been remodelled, new buildings provided for the orphans, four new churches added in the country and two in the city, a residence for the bishop was purchased, and all placed on a prosperous footing during this administration. The growth of the diocese continues, not with the strides of those dioceses where immigration is large, but, if slowly, yet surely. Over eighty per cent of the Catholic population is in Wilmington and its neighbourhood. The foreign elements are found here almost exclusively. The parochial schools, with a single exception, are in or around the city. The remainder of the diocese is still a missionary district, the Catholics are few and scattered, and some churches are visited only once a month. In the whole diocese the Catholics form less than nine per cent of the population.

Statistics (1911)

Diocesan priests 38; religious 18; churches with resident priests 27; mission churches 21; chapels 5; stations 14; academies 2; college 1; parochial schools 13, with 3900 pupils; orphan asylums 256; industrial school for coloured boys 1, with 60 inmates; religious communities of men 3; communities of women 7; Catholic population 35,000.

Archives of the Diocese of Wilmington; Archives of the Maryland Province S.J.; JOHNSTONE, Hist. of Cecil Co., Md. (Elkton, Md., 1881); CONRAD, Hist. of Delaware (Wilmington, 1908).

References

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  2. Back to citation "About Us - Wilmington". Wilmington, DE: Diocese of Wilmington. July 26, 2025.
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  6. Back to citation Tangel, Andrew (December 1, 2005). "Death knell may sound for historic farm buildings". The News Journal. pp. B1, B2. Archived from the original on February 22, 2007. Retrieved June 8, 2006; The title of the on-line article differs from the title of the cited article as it appeared in print; "Coffee Run Mission Site (added 1973 - New Castle County - #73000509)". National Register of Historic Places.
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  18. Back to citation Phillips, Mike (October 16, 2024). "100 years for the hospital 'on top of the hill'". WDEL 101.7FM. Retrieved February 20, 2026.
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  20. Back to citation "Sex Lectures Assailed". The New York Times. February 12, 1945.
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  23. Back to citation "History". Saint Mark’s High School. Retrieved February 20, 2026.
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  41. Back to citation "Catholic School Community in DE | Ursuline Academy". www.ursuline.org. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
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Bibliography

Notes
Citations

39°44′34.7″N 75°33′11.56″W / 39.742972°N 75.5532111°W

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