Diocese of Paterson Dioecesis Patersonensis | |
|---|---|
 Cathedral of St. John the Baptist | |
 Coat of arms | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| Territory | NorthernNew Jersey:Passaic,Morris, andSussex Counties |
| Ecclesiastical province | Metropolitan Province of Newark |
| Population |
|
| Information | |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Established | December 9, 1937 |
| Cathedral | Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist |
| Patron saint | Saint John the Baptist,[1]Saint Patrick[2] |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Leo XIV |
| Bishop | Kevin J. Sweeney |
| Metropolitan Archbishop | Joseph Tobin |
| Bishops emeritus | Arthur J. Serratelli |
| Map | |
 | |
| Website | |
| patersondiocese.org | |
TheDiocese of Paterson (Latin:Dioecesis Patersonensis) is aLatin Church ecclesiastical territory, ordiocese, of the Catholic Church innorthernNew Jersey. It is asuffragan diocese in theecclesiastical province of the metropolitanArchdiocese of Newark.
The patrons of the diocese areSaint Patrick andJohn the Baptist. Its proper feasts are theFeast of St. Patrick (March 17), theNativity of John the Baptist (June 24) and the anniversary of the dedication of the cathedral church (June 30).[3]
As of 2025, the current bishop of Paterson isKevin J. Sweeney.
As of 2023, the Diocese of Paterson had the following staff:
The diocese in 2023 contained approximately 440,000 Catholics out of a total population of 1,800,000,[4]
Although the British Provinces of East New Jersey and West New Jersey were not officially welcoming to Catholics, they tended to ignore their presence. During the mid 1700s, priests would periodically visit German Catholic workers at the iron mills inPassaic County. The first parish in New Jersey, Saint Joseph’s, was established inWest Milford in 1765.[5]
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.[6]
As the population of the United States grew, the Vatican in 1808 established theDioceses of Philadelphia andNew York.[7] In 1820, BishopJohn Connolly of New York sent Reverend Richard Bulger to Paterson to serve as first resident priest in New Jersey.[5] In 1821, Bulger established St. John the Baptist Church, the first church of any denomination in Paterson.[8] Waves of Irish and German Catholic immigrants flooded into the area during the mid-1800s.
In 1853, the Vatican erected theDiocese of Newark from the Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Philadelphia. The Paterson area would remain part of the Diocese of Newark for the next 84 years. In 1867, theSisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth founded St. Joseph's Hospital in Paterson.[9]
Sacred Heart Church, the first Catholic church in Clifton, was dedicated in 1897.[10] That same year, St. Mary's Hospital opened inPassaic.[11] TheCollege of Saint Elizabeth in Morris Township was founded in 1899 by theSisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth.[12] It was one of the first Catholic colleges in the United States to award degrees to women. It is today Saint Elizabeth University.
The Diocese of Paterson was established byPope Pius XI on December 9, 1937, taking its territory from Diocese of Newark. The pope named Auxiliary BishopThomas H. McLaughlin of Newark as the first bishop of Paterson.[13] St. John the Baptist in Paterson was designated as the diocesan cathedral.[5] In 1938, McLaughlin established Associated Catholic Charities in the diocese.[14]
Following the death of McLaughlin in 1947,Pope Pius XII that same year appointed Auxiliary BishopThomas Boland of Newark as the second bishop of Paterson. Boland served in Paterson for five years before being appointed archbishop of Newark in 1952.[15][16]
Boland was succeeded by Auxiliary BishopJames A. McNulty of Newark, named by Pius XII in 1953.[17] During his tenure, he established thirteen new parishes.[18] In 1963, McNulty became bishop of theDiocese of Buffalo. To succeed McNulty, that same yearPope John XXIII appointed BishopJames Navagh from theDiocese of Ogdensburg as the fourth bishop of the diocese of Paterson.[19] He died suddenly in 1965.[20]
Pope Paul VI in 1966 appointed Auxiliary BishopLawrence B. Casey from theDiocese of Rochester as Navagh's replacement in Paterson. Casey died in 1977.[21]Frank Rodimer of Paterson was named by Paul VI as the next bishop of Paterson, the first native of the diocese to serve that role.
As bishop, Rodimer wrote a weekly column for the diocesan newspaper,The Beacon. He also established a $7 million diocesan endowment to support Catholic schools, parishes and other diocesan ministries through fundraising. With corporate leaders, Rodimer established the Tri-County Scholarship fund to provide scholarships to needy students attending Catholic schools.[22] During his tenure, Rodimer expressed his opposition tocapital punishment and to permanent replacements forstriking workers.[23]
After Rodimer retired in 2004,Pope John Paul II appointed Auxiliary BishopArthur J. Serratelli of Newark as his successor.[24][25] After Serratelli retired in 2020, Pope Francis named Kevin J. Sweeney of theDiocese of Brooklyn as the next bishop of Paterson.[26][27] As of 2023, Sweeney is the bishop of Paterson.
In August 2024, the diocese, along with its Colombian and Filipino priests, filed an immigration case against theUS Department of State, the US Department Homeland Security, and theUnited States Citizenship and Immigration Services. The action stemmed from policy changes in EB-4 worker visa procedures for foreign-born clergy.[28] The diocese dropped the lawsuit in November 2025 after reaching an agreement with the Trump Administration.[29]
In 1985, Mark Serrano reported to the Diocese of Paterson that he was sexually abused as a child by Reverend James Hanley, a pastor of St. Joseph's Parish. The abuse started when Serrano was age nine in 1974 and continued until he was age 16. It includedsodomy, oral sex and forced masturbation. The diocese removed Hanley from ministry in 1986 and paid a $241,000 financial settlement to Serrano and his family. Hanley waslaicized by the Vatican at his own request in 2003.[30]
Timothy J. Brennan pleaded guilty in 1987 to aggravated sexual contact in 1984 with a 15-year-old student while teaching at Delbarton High School in Morris County. Receiving a one-year suspended sentence, his religious order, St. Mary’s Abbey, sent him to treatment. Brennan then went to work in theDiocese of Rochester, which was not alerted to his conviction. In 2002, St. Mary’s Abbey permanently removed Brennan from ministry.[31][32]
The Diocese of Paterson in May 1987 received allegations ofsexual abuse against Reverend Jose Alonso, rector of St. Joseph Cathedral. He was accused of abusing two teenage brothers. The diocese sent Alonso to theServants of the Paraclete facility inNew Mexico for treatment and immediately notified local authorities.[33] Earlier in the 1980s, the diocese had received complaints about Alonso. After receiving reports supporting Alonso from two priests who worked with him, Bishop Rodimer had dismissed the accusations. Later in 1987, Alonso was charged with sexual abuse of the two brothers. He was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison.[34]
In 2004, the diocese settled lawsuits from 27 victims of sexual abuse by Hanley, Alonso and several other clerics.[35][36] In February 2019, the diocese released the names of 28 clergy with credible accusations of sexually abusing children since 1940.[37] In December 2019, more accusers of Hanley filed new lawsuits against the diocese.[38] By 2020, the names of 40 accused clergy listed were made public.[39]
On February 9, 2020, it was reported that all five Catholic dioceses across the state of New Jersey, including the Diocese of Paterson, had paid over $11 million to compensate 105 claims of sex abuse committed by Catholic clergy. Of these 105 claims, 98 were compensated through financial settlements.[40]
On August 10, 2020, former Bishop Rodimer's decision to approve of the Vatican naming BishopArthur Serratelli as his successor came under criticism. This was due to revelations that he had learned about sex abuse allegations facing Serratelli's former Newark superior, then CardinalTheodore McCarrick.[41] It was also revealed that a Diocese of Paterson official had informed Rodimer at the time of allegations that McCarrick had sexually abused boys at his beach house and that Rodimer then claimed to the official that he would contact the Vatican's U.S. representatives.[41]
A jury in October 2025 awarded a $5 million judgement to a man who claimed to have been sexually assaulted by Reverend Richard Lott during the 1970s. The judgement was shared by the diocese and the Order of St. Benedict of New Jersey. The Benedictines operated theDelbarton School, the site of the alleged crime.[42]
The 109parishes of the Diocese of Paterson are split into twelvedeaneries spanning the three counties.[43]Our Lady of FatimaTraditional Latin Mass Chapel, located in Pequannock, is not considered a parish of the Diocese of Paterson. Instead, it is achapel of ease administered by thePriestly Fraternity of St. Peter.[44]
Saint Clare's Health System, part ofCatholic Health Initiatives:
St. Joseph's Healthcare System, operated by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth:
The Diocese of Paterson is bordered by four other dioceses:
Places adjacent to Diocese of Paterson | |
|---|---|
Media related toRoman Catholic Diocese of Paterson at Wikimedia Commons| Ordinaries |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Churches | ||
| Education |
| |
| Other | ||
Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Newark | |
|---|---|
40°54′53.09″N74°09′46.18″W / 40.9147472°N 74.1628278°W /40.9147472; -74.1628278
