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Diocesan HistoryThe Diocese of Allentown was formed on January 28, 1961 when Pope John XXIII signed a document separating the counties of Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Northampton and Schuylkill from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The news was made public February 15. The following April 11, Bishop Joseph McShea, then auxiliary bishop of Philadelphia, was installed as the first Bishop of Allentown by Archbishop Egidio Vagnozzi, Apostolic Delegate to the United States in the new Cathedral Church of Saint Catharine of Siena in Allentown. When Pope John Paul II accepted Bishop McShea's resignation as Bishop of Allentown on February 8, 1983, he appointed the Most Reverend Thomas J. Welsh, then the founding Bishop of the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, to succeed Bishop McShea. Bishop Welsh was installed as the Second Bishop of Allentown on March 21, 1983 by John Cardinal Krol, Archbishop of Philadelphia, in the presence of Bishop McShea. Bishop McShea died November 28, 1991 at the age of 83. On December 16, 1997 Pope John Paul II accepted the resignation of Bishop Welsh and appointed Bishop Edward P. Cullen to succeed him. Bishop Cullen was then auxiliary bishop, vicar general and vicar for administration of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Bishop Cullen was installed as the Third Bishop of Allentown on February 9, 1998 at the Cathedral of Saint Catharine of Siena by Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua, the Archbishop of Philadelphia. Catholics form the largest single religious group in the five counties of the diocese. In the 153 parishes of the Diocese, there are almost 269,000 practicing Catholics, representing 23% of the general population of the diocese. There are 244 diocesan and 66 religious priests, 97 permanent deacons and 495 women religious serving in the Allentown Diocese. There are 13,400 students enrolled in 52 elementary schools and more than 4,100 students in 9 high schools in the diocese. There are two Catholic colleges, 3 Catholic hospitals, 2 elderly care facilities and numerous Catholic charities within the diocese. The Diocese of Allentown is the center for two national movements. National Shut-In Day was founded in Reading, in October of 1970, under the leadership of Monsignor Felix Losito. It gained nationwide recognition in 1972, when President Nixon signed a congressional resolution establishing the third Sunday of October as Shut-In Day across the nation. Operation Rice Bowl, founded in the Allentown area by clergy of varying faiths, has spread to Catholic dioceses throughout the United States. Catholics across the nation have raised millions of dollars through this Lenten program.
Copyright 2003 The Catholic
Diocese of Allentown
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