Roman Catholic Diocese of Richmond
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Diocese of Richmond Dioecesis Richmondiensis |
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| Location | |
| Country |  United States |
| Territory | Central and Southern Virginia, as well as the Eastern Shore of Virginia 
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| Ecclesiastical province | Baltimore |
| Metropolitan | Baltimore |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 36,711 sq mi (95,080 km2) |
| Population - Total - Catholics |
(as of 2015) 4,942,100 236,061 (4.7%) |
| Parishes | 142 |
| Schools | 28 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Catholic Church |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Established | July 11, 1820 (196 years ago) |
| Cathedral | Cathedral of the Sacred Heart |
| Patron saint | St. Vincent de Paul |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Bishop | Francis Xavier DiLorenzo |
| Metropolitan Archbishop | William E. Lori |
| Map | |
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| Website | |
| www.richmonddiocese.org | |
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Richmond (Latin: Dioecesis Richmondiensis) is an ecclesiastical and episcopal see or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. Prior to the American Revolution few Catholics lived within Virginia. Anti-Catholic laws discouraged the faithful from settling in colonial Virginia. It was not until the passage of Thomas Jefferson's Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom in 1786 that Catholics were free to worship openly in the Commonwealth. The Diocese of Richmond was canonically erected by Pope Pius VII on July 11, 1820. Its current territory encompasses all of central and southern Virginia, Hampton Roads, and the eastern shore. It is a ceremonial suffragan of the metropolitan province of Baltimore, from which its territory was taken.
Today there are 236,061 active Catholics at 142 parishes in the Diocese of Richmond. The diocese currently has 87 active priests, 59 retired priests, 115 permanent deacons, 6 religious brothers, 139 religious sisters of Catholic religious order and 25 seminarians. There are 28 diocesan Catholic schools in the diocese with a total enrollment of 12,062 students in 6 High Schools and 22 Elementary Schools.
The diocese is currently led by a prelate bishop which pastors the mother church in the City of Richmond, at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart. The current bishop is Most Reverend Francis Xavier DiLorenzo, previously the Bishop of Honolulu. He was appointed by Pope John Paul II on March 31, 2004, and installed on May 24, 2004.
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