Diocese of Camden Dioecesis Camdensis | |
|---|---|
 Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception | |
 Coat of Arms of the Diocese of Camden | |
| Location | |
| Country |  United States |
| Territory |  South Jersey |
| Ecclesiastical province | Metropolitan Province of Newark |
| Statistics | |
Population
|
|
| Parishes | 62 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Established | December 9, 1937 |
| Cathedral | Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception |
| Patron saint | Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception[2] |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Leo XIV |
| Bishop | Joseph A. Williams |
| Metropolitan Archbishop | Joseph Tobin |
| Bishops emeritus | Dennis Joseph Sullivan |
| Map | |
 | |
| Website | |
| camdendiocese.org | |
TheDiocese of Camden (Latin:Dioecesis Camdensis) is aLatin Churchdiocese of theCatholic Church in theU.S. state ofNew Jersey. It consists of 62 parishes and about 475,000 Catholics in theSouth Jersey counties ofAtlantic,Camden,Cape May,Cumberland,Gloucester, andSalem.
TheBishop of Camden presides from theCathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Camden, although most major ceremonies are held at Saint Agnes Catholic Church inBlackwood. Some liturgies are held atSt. Joseph Pro-Cathedral inCamden.
BishopJoseph A. Williams became the ninth Bishop of Camden on March 17, 2025.
Although the BritishProvinces of East Jersey andWest Jersey were not officially welcoming to Catholics, they tended to ignore their presence.[3] The first Catholics in South Jersey was a group of Catholic glass blowers brought toWisterburg in present-daySalem County in 1739. Traveling priests periodically traveled to the region to minister to the small congregation there.[4]
The assistance of Catholic French troops during theAmerican Revolution helped to abate anti-Catholic sentiment in all of the 13 original colonies. In 1784,Pope Pius VI erected theApostolic Prefecture of United States of America, including all of the new United States. In 1789, the same pope raised this prefecture to theDiocese of Baltimore.[5]
WhenPope Pius VII in 1808 erected theDiocese of Philadelphia, he included the Camden area of New Jersey.[6] In 1830, BishopFrancis Kenrick of Philadelphia dedicated the St. Mary's Church in Pleasant Mills, making it the first Catholic church in the present day Diocese of Camden.
Around 1848, a large wave of Irish Catholic immigrants fleeing theGreat Famine in Ireland arrived in New Jersey.[7] St. Mary's Church inGloucester City was the first parish in the area, established in 1849.[8] InAtlantic City, St. Nicholas Church opened in 1858. The first church in Camden, St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, was finished in 1859.[4]
In 1853, when Pope Pius IX erected theDiocese of Newark in 1853, all of New Jersey was put in this diocese.[6] In 1881,Pope Leo XIII erected theDiocese of Trenton, takingSouth Jersey from the Diocese of Newark.[9] The Camden area would remain part of the Diocese of Trenton for the next 56 years.
Pope Pius XI erected the Diocese of Camden on December 9, 1937, taking its present territory from the Diocese of Trenton and designating theChurch of the Immaculate Conception in Camden as its cathedral. The pope namedBartholomew J. Eustace of theArchdiocese of New York as the first bishop of Camden.[10] At that time, the new diocese had 75 diocesan priests and 11 religious priests to serve approximately 100,000 Catholics in 49 parishes and 31 missions, plus 30 elementary and five secondary schools.[8]
Two of the parishes that Eustace founded were established specifically for African-American Catholics; St. Monica's inAtlantic City and St. Bartholomew's in Camden.[11] When St. Bartholomew's fell into financial difficulties, Eustace recruited comedianEddie Cantor to give a benefit performance for the parish in 1950.[12][13] Eustace also erected Our Lady of Fatima Parish for Spanish-speaking Catholics.[11] He openedOur Lady of Lourdes Hospital at Camden in 1950.[12]
Following completion of its construction in 1952,St. Joseph Church in Camden was declared apro-cathedral because the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception was too small for many functions. Eustace opened Mercy Hospital atSea Isle City in 1953, the Angelus Convalescent Home atWildwood and St. Mary's Home for the Aged atHaddonfield.[12]
By the time Eustace died in 1956, the Catholic population and the number of priests in the diocese had more than doubled. He founded 31 parishes, 25 missions, 50 churches, 20 convents, 22 elementary schools, and four high schools.[14]
The second bishop of Camden was Auxiliary bishopJustin J. McCarthy of Newark, appointed byPope Pius XII in 1957.[15] He opened several newschools and expanded already existing ones, making room for an increase of over 5,000 students at theelementary level and 1,000 students at the high school level. At the time of his death, some 20,000 children were enrolled inCCD classes, nearly a 100 percent increase since his installation. McCarthy sent some clergy toPuerto Rico to learn Spanish so they could better serveSpanish-speaking Catholics.[16]
In 1957, McCarthy opened a mobilechapel formigrant workers, and in 1959 secured the services of fourOblates of the Sacred Heart Sisters to teach religion and dosocial work at Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Camden.[17] He also erected four newparishes, founded a diocesan commission on properties and buildings, and encouraged a Catholic Youth Council be established at every parish in the diocese.[17]
Following McCarthy's death in 1959,Pope John XXIII namedCelestine Damiano, theapostolic delegate to South Africa, as the third bishop of Camden in New Jersey (with the personal title ofarchbishop) in 1960.[18] That same year, Damiano launched a drive to raise $5 million for the construction and improvement of Catholicsecondary schools in the diocese.[17] He established the following high schools in New Jersey:
Damiano also opened 17 newelementary schools in the diocese, with total enrollment for all schools increasing by more than 3,000. He also founded a diocesan school board in 1965, and greatly expanded theConfraternity of Christian Doctrine.[17] He established the Spanish Catholic Center atVineland in 1962.[19] Damiano initiated the diocese'sBrazil mission project in 1961, and the House of Charity Appeal for funding diocesan human services in 1964.[19] He delivered theinvocation for the1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City. In 1966, Damiano established a new rule to allowinterracial weddings in diocesan churches without permission from the diocese. Previously, these couples were married only in church rectories.[20] Damiano died in 1967.
To replace Damiano,Pope Paul VI named Auxiliary BishopGeorge Guilfoyle of New York as the next bishop of Camden in 1968.[21] Following theassassination of Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. in April 1968, Guilfoyle describedracism as "not a mere myth but an ugly reality" and urged Catholics to "purge every fragment of racism among us."[22] He established a diocesan pastoral council and directed everyparish to establish aparish council in 1968.[22] He also established the Office of Pastoral Planning, Office of Evangelization, and Secretariat for Education.[23] He advocated "theright to life from conception to old age," and established thePro-Life Office in 1973.[22]
During his tenure, Guilfoyle erected eight parishes, elevenconvents, twenty-three churches, thirty-sevenrectories, and six schools.[22] Aretreat house was acquired by the diocese,special education facilities were expanded and aNewman Centre erected atGlassboro State College inGlassboro.[23] The diocese builtnursing homes and established two residences for the elderly, Victorian Towers and St. Mary's Village.[23] Guilfoyle established an Hispanic Apostolate;Spanish-languageMasses in manySouth Jersey parishes were instituted, while the diocese worked to obtain Spanish-speaking priests, brothers and nuns.[22]
After Guilfoyle retired in 1989,Pope John Paul II appointed Auxiliary BishopJames T. McHugh of Newark as the next bishop of Camden.[24] During his nine-year tenure, he reorganized the diocesan administrative structure and relocated its headquarters to downtown Camden.[25] He presided over a diocesansynod in September 1992.[25] McHugh created a $63 million Catholic Education Endowment Fund for schools and religious education programs, a five-point plan to reinvigorate Catholic high schools, and supportedschool voucher legislation in theNew Jersey Legislature.[17] McHugh becamecoadjutor bishop of theDiocese of Rockville Centre in 1998. Auxiliary BishopNicholas DiMarzio of Newark was selected by John Paul II in 1999 as the sixth bishop of Camden.[26]
While bishop, DiMarzio established an Office of Ethnic Ministries, an Office of Black Catholic Ministry, and an Office of Hispanic Ministry.[27] DiMarzio also created anapostolate to theHaitian community and founded two missions to serve theKorean andVietnamese communities. In 2000, DiMarzio established Mater Ecclesiae Chapel, the first canonically established mission owned by a diocese and staffed exclusively by diocesan priests to offer exclusively theTridentine Mass.[28] John Paul II named DiMarzio as bishop of theDiocese of Brooklyn in 2003.
To replace DiMarzio in Camden, John Paul II selected Coadjutor BishopJoseph Galante from theDiocese of Dallas in 2004.[29] In April 2008, Galante announced the closing of roughly half of the parishes in the diocese. This followed a previous announcement of the closing of various Catholic schools. In January 2011, a group of parishioners of the closed St Mary's Church inMalaga re-entered the building and began an around-the-clock vigil, attracting regional and national media attention.[30]
In July 2008, theNew York Post reported Galante's involvement in a scandal involving Italian real estate developerRaffaello Follieri and investorRonald Burkle.[31] ThePost reported that Galante sold Follieri a private beach house in Wildwood for $400,000 in 2007. It also reported that one of Galante's priests misrepresented himself to potential investors. At the time, Follieri was negotiating with the Diocese of Camden and other US and Canadian dioceses to buy churches with Burkle's money and then sell the properties for later profit. In September 2008, Follieri pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy,wire fraud, and money laundering charges, and received a4+1⁄2-year prison sentence.[32] The beach house was sold in 2010 for $310,000.[33] Galante and Burkle were never charged with any crimes in relation to the scandal; Galante retired in 2013.
In 2013,Pope Benedict XVI appointed Auxiliary BishopDennis Joseph Sullivan of New York as bishop of Camden.[34] In October 2020, the diocese filed abankruptcy petition in theUnited States Bankruptcy Court for theDistrict of New Jersey. The diocese cited civil liability arising from abuse settlements and difficulties arising from theCOVID-19 pandemic as the primary sources of financial distress.[35]Pope Francis named Auxiliary BishopJoseph A. Williams from theArchdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis as coadjutor bishop on May 21, 2024.[36] On March 17, 2025 Williams became bishop of Camden, succeeding Sullivan.[37]
Reverend John P. Connor was arrested in October 1984 on charges of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy when he was a teacher at Bishop Eustace Preparatory School inPennsauken. The assault happened at Connor's trailer inCape May after a golf outing, with Connor describing it to the boy as a "religious experience". In apretrial intervention with the local prosecutor, the diocese in 1984 sent Connor to the Southdown Institute inHolland Landing, Ontario, for eight months of psychological treatment. After Connor finished treatment in 1985, theDiocese of Pittsburgh accepted his transfer, where new allegations of abuse would later arise.[38][39] A Diocese of Camden spokesman in 2005 said they had notified the bishop of Pittsburgh about Connor's arrest.[40]
In 2003, Bishop DiMarzio approved an $880,000 financial settlement to 19 plaintiffs who had sued the diocese in 1994. The plaintiffs alleged sexual abuse by clergy in the diocese from 1961 through 1985. Seven of the plaintiff complaints had been dismissed in court over the years due to lack of evidence.[41]
The Catholic dioceses in New Jersey in February 2019 released the names of clergy who had been credibly accused of sexually abusing children since 1940.[42] Of the 188 clerics listed, 57 were based in the Diocese of Camden.[42] In February 2020, it was reported that the dioceses had paid over $11 million to compensate 105 claims of sexual abuse claims[43] Of these 105 claims, 98 were compensated through settlements.[43]
In July 2020, the diocese suspended future payments to victims of clergy sexual abuse, citing the financial impact stemming from theCOVID-19 pandemic.[44] In August 2020, four new lawsuits were filed against the diocese involving three priests:
The diocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2020, citing the combined impact from not only numerous sex abuse lawsuits, but also the COVID-19 pandemic.[47] In April 2022, the diocese agreed to pay $87.5 million to settle its abuse claims, one of the largest such settlements in the United States.[48]
James Louis Schad (1966–1993)
Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Newark | |
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39°55′33″N75°07′11″W / 39.92583°N 75.11972°W /39.92583; -75.11972
