The
Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen () is a
Roman Catholic diocese in
New Jersey, centered in the
borough of
Metuchen. It was erected on November 19, 1981, from the territory of the
Diocese of Trenton.
The Bishop of Metuchen presides from the
Saint Francis of Assisi Cathedral in Metuchen.
The diocese encompasses the New Jersey counties of
Middlesex,
Somerset,
Hunterdon and
Warren.
Its
coat of arms is
blazoned Quarterly, Or and Argent, in dexter chief a tongue of fire Gules; in sinister base the letter "M" Azure, crowned Argent; overall a cross Moline Azure. The cross is taken from the arms of the
See of Trenton from which the diocese was formed; the tongue of fire refers both to "
metachen,"
Lenni Lenape for firewood, and the
descent of the
Holy Spirit; the crowned M refers to the Queenship of the
Blessed Virgin Mary, the diocesan patron, founding bishop Theodore McCarrick's arms, and
Pope John Paul II's arms. Its four quarters represent the four counties comprising the diocese.
The diocese counts 600,000 Catholics within its purview, distributed across more than one hundred parishes, serviced by 160 priests residing in the diocese, with 100 non-resident priests and 150 deacons assisting. Six hundred religious serve the schools and various organizations throughout the diocese.
In 2006, the twenty-fifth anniversary of the diocese's founding, it began preparations for a
synod, the
First Synod of the Diocese of Metuchen.
Bishops of the Diocese of Metuchen......
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