Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton
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Diocese of Trenton Dioecesis Trentonensis |
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| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| Territory | South-Central New Jersey counties of Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth, and Ocean |
| Ecclesiastical province | Newark |
| Metropolitan | Joseph Tobin |
| Statistics | |
| Population - Catholics |
850,000 (42%) |
| Parishes | 109 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Established | August 2, 1881 |
| Cathedral | Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption, Trenton |
| Co-cathedral | Co-Cathedral of St. Robert Bellarmine, Freehold |
| Patron saint | Blessed Virgin Mary |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Bishop |
David M. O'Connell Bishop of Trenton |
| Vicar General | Rev. Msgr. Thomas Gervasio |
| Emeritus Bishops | John Mortimer Smith |
| Map | |
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| Website | |
| dioceseoftrenton.org | |
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in southern New Jersey, United States. Its ecclesiastic territory includes the counties of Burlington, Monmouth, Ocean, and Mercer (where Trenton, the capital city of New Jersey, is located).
Pope Leo XIII created the Diocese of Trenton in 1881, carving it out of the Diocese of Newark, which then covered all of New Jersey.
Catholicism in what is now the diocese dates back more than 250 years.
Jesuit Father Joseph Greaton arrived in Philadelphia in 1729 and built Old St. Joseph Church, on Willings Alley at Fourth St. About 1732, he took charge of the West Jersey mission territory extending from Trenton to Cape May.
A few years later, visits to the widely scattered Catholic families were recorded by Father Theodore Schneider, another Jesuit, who visited the iron furnaces in the southern part of the state in 1744. Traveling on horseback, by stagecoach and riverboat, the energetic Jesuit covered all of south and central Jersey, as well as parts of eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware.
When Schneider died in 1764, Father Ferdinand Steinmeyer, another Jesuit, succeeded him. Also known as Father Ferdinand Farmer, he traversed the state from Philadelphia to New York twice yearly visiting scattered Catholic families. He continued the ministry until his death in 1786.
When the dioceses of New York and Philadelphia were established in 1808, West Jersey, the southern part, came under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the bishops of Philadelphia. When the Diocese of Newark was established in 1853, all of the state was in its jurisdiction.
About 1804, records show, Mass was celebrated in the printing office of Isaac Collins at Queen and Second Streets (now State and Broad Streets) in the heart of the Trenton business district.
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Wikipedia