Diocese of Metuchen

Diocese of Metuchen Dioecesis Metuchenis
The coat of arms of the Diocese of Metuchen
Location
Country	United States
Territory	Counties of Middlesex, Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren, New Jersey
Ecclesiastical province	Metropolitan Province of Newark
Statistics
Area	3,688 km2 (1,424 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2013) 1,527,000 642,000 (42.0%)
Parishes	94
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	November 19, 1981
Cathedral	Saint Francis of Assisi Cathedral
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	James F. Checchio Bishop of Metuchen
Metropolitan Archbishop	Joseph Tobin Archbishop of Newark
Map
Website
diometuchen.org

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen (Latin: Dioecesis Metuchenis) is a Roman Catholic diocese in New Jersey, centered in the borough of Metuchen. It was erected on November 19, 1981, from the territory of the Diocese of Trenton. The diocese encompasses the New Jersey counties of Middlesex, Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren. The Bishop of Metuchen presides from the Saint Francis of Assisi Cathedral in Metuchen.

The diocese counts more than 600,000 Catholics within its purview, distributed across more than one hundred parishes, serviced by 160 priests residing in the diocese, with 100 non-resident priests and 150 deacons assisting. Six hundred religious serve the schools and various organizations throughout the diocese.

In 2006, the twenty-fifth anniversary of the diocese's founding, it began preparations for a synod, the First Synod of the Diocese of Metuchen.

The following is the list of bishops of the diocese and their years of service:

† = deceased

A member of the Saint Peter's Healthcare System

The official coat of arms is blazoned with Quarterly, Or and Argent, in dexter chief a tongue of fire Gules; in sinister base the letter "M" Azure, crowned Argent; overall a cross Moline Azure. The cross is taken from the arms of the See of Trenton from which the diocese was formed; the tongue of fire refers both to "metachen," Lenni Lenape for firewood, and the descent of the Holy Spirit; the crowned M refers to the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the diocesan patron, founding bishop Theodore McCarrick's arms, and Pope John Paul II's arms. Its four quarters represent the four counties comprising the diocese.