Roman Catholic Diocese of Arlington


The Roman Catholic Diocese of Arlington is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the mid-atlantic United States. The Diocese of Arlington comprises 70 located in the 21 northern-most counties and independent cities within the Commonwealth of Virginia, including the counties of Arlington, Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, Frederick, King George, Lancaster, Loudoun, Madison, Northumberland, Orange, Page, Prince William, Rappahannock, Richmond, Shenandoah, Spotsylvania, Stafford, Warren and Westmoreland, and cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, Manassas Park, and Winchester. Bishop Michael F. Burbidge is the ordinary of the Diocese of Arlington since December 2016; his residence is on the grounds of the Cathedral of Saint Thomas More in Arlington County, Virginia. In 2013, there were 256 priests and 453,916 registered Catholics in the Diocese of Arlington. The total population within the Diocese of Arlington, Catholic and non-Catholic, was 2,968,486.
The Diocese of Arlington also operates two mission churches for the Diocese of San Juan de la Maguana in the Dominican Republic—Bánica Mission Parish and Pedro Santana Mission Parish, which are overseen by the diocesan Office of the Propagation of the Faith. The Director of the Propagation of the Faith in the Diocese of Arlington is currently Fr. Patrick L. Posey.

History

The diocese was canonically erected on May 28, 1974 by Pope Paul VI. The parishes which the Diocese of Arlington comprises were ceded from the neighboring Diocese of Richmond.

Churches

Bishops

Bishop of Arlington

  1. Thomas Jerome Welsh, appointed Bishop of Allentown
  2. John Richard Keating
  3. Paul S. Loverde
  4. Michael F. Burbidge

    Other priest from the diocese who became bishop

On February 14, 2019, Bishop Michael F. Burbidge released a list of sixteen priests who had been credibly accused of sexual abuse in the Diocese of Arlington. In 2010, Rev. Felix Owino A.J. pled guilty to molesting an 11-year old girl in Fairfax County. In 2011, Owino was given a nine month prison sentence, a five year suspended prison sentence and the chance of being deported back to his native country of Kenya. By 2018, Owino had been deported. In March 2020, New Jersey priest Scott Asalone was arrested on charges of sexually abusing a teenager in Loudoun County, Virginia in 1985. Washington D.C. councilman David Grosso publicly identified himself as the one who was sexually abused by Asalone.

Catholic colleges and universities

The Diocese co-ordinates and supports a range of charitable activities focused on assistance to the vulnerable, fund-raising and education. Initiatives include counselling, prison visits and foster care. Archduchess Kathleen of Habsbourg-Lorraine is a former communications director of the CCDA.