SAINT JOHN IN CANADA (SAINT JOHN), DIOCESE OF. - City and diocese in the province of New Brunswick (Canada), St. John is the oldest incorporated city in North America. It in fact dates back to 1785.

The first missionaries in what was then Acadia were the Jesuits Biard and Massé, in 1611, who remained there after the destruction of Port Royal in 1613, and they were succeeded later by the Recollets. With the founding of Québec a new interest in Acadia arose; Msgr. de St-Vallier went there in person in 1686. The first church of St. John was opened on 1 Nov. 1815. In Aug. 1829, Charlottetown, on Prince Edward Island, was elevated to a diocese with jurisdiction over New Brunswick until 30 Sept. 1842, when the province was erected into a diocese. A partition was then made in the diocese of New Brunswick with the creation of St. John in the southern part of the province and the appointment of Msgr. John Sweeney (consecrated on 15 Apr. 1860) as bishop.

A suffragan of Moncton, the diocese has a total population of 192,357 inhabitants, of whom 40,000 are Catholics; 57 diocesan priests and 15 religious (Redemptorists) exercise the sacred ministry in the 65 churches, 30 parishes, and 40 missions. The charitable works consist of a home for the aged, 1 hospital and 3 orphanages.

Bibliography4 works

BIBL.: Le Canada ecclésiastique, 1950, Montréal 1950, pp. 497-501; A. J. O'Neill, St-John, in Cath. Enc., XIII, pp. 355-356; Pius VIII, Inter multiplicus gravissimagine, 11 Aug. 1829; Gregory XVI, Dominici gregis cura, 30 Sept. 1842, in A. M. Bernasconi, Acta Gregorii papae XVI, III, Rome 1903, p. 233.

Gastone Carrière

@incollection{ec10_san_giovanni_nel_canada_saint, author = {Carrière, Gastone}, title = {San Giovanni Nel Canadà (Saint John), diocesi di}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {X}, pages = {1770}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1953}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/san-giovanni-nel-canada-saint-john-diocesi-di} }

One of some 20,000 entries brought back from the twelve printed volumes (1948–54). Spotted something? Help us improve it.

Saint John in Canada (Saint John), Diocese of

About this entry