1643 to 1830 When the Baptist minister
Roger Williams founded the colony of
Providence Plantations in 1643, he enacted
religious tolerance there for all Christians. This was in contrast to the other American colonies, which restricted Catholic worship and the legal rights of Catholics. However, by 1719, the
Rhode Island General Assembly had enacted a law disenfranchising Catholics from voting to discourage any from moving to the colony. With the start of the
American Revolutionary War in 1776, attitudes towards Catholics shifted in the American colonies. The rebel leaders needed to gain the support of Catholics for their cause. In addition, the American alliance with Catholic France fostered a more favorable attitude among Americans towards Catholicism. During the revolution, a French army camped in
Newport and
Providence, Rhode Island. The first Catholic masses in Providence Plantations were celebrated there for these soldiers. After the revolution, the new State of Rhode Island in 1783 allowed Catholics to vote and removed all other restrictions against them. In 1789, the Vatican erected the
Diocese of Baltimore to cover the entire territory of the new United States. The construction of
Fort Adams in Newport in 1799 and the establishment of
cotton mills in
Pawtucket started attracting Irish Catholic immigrants to Rhode Island. After the 1803 uprising by enslaved peoples in the French colony of
Guadeloupe, several French families migrated to
Bristol and Providence. In 1808, the Vatican erected the
Diocese of Boston, covering Rhode Island and the rest of New England. The first Catholic church in Rhode Island was established in 1828 in Newport to minister to Catholics working at Fort Adams.
1830 to 1872 By the early 19th century, resentment was beginning to build in many areas of the United States due to the rising number of Catholic immigrants from Ireland and Europe. In the 1830s, John Corry started looking for a plot of land to build the first Catholic church in Providence. However, many landowners were unwilling to sell him any land. Corry eventually obtained a property and starting building Saints Peter and Paul Church, which was dedicated in 1838. In 1843,
Pope Gregory XVI erected the Diocese of Hartford, which included both
Connecticut and Rhode Island. The pope selected Monsignor
William Tyler of Boston as the first bishop of Hartford. At the time, only 600 Catholics lived in
Hartford, Connecticut, as opposed to 2,000 in Providence. For that reason, Tyler petitioned the Vatican to move the diocesan see from Hartford to Providence. The oldest existing Catholic church in Rhode Island, St. Mary's, was founded in
West Warwick in 1844.
1872 to 1887 On February 16, 1872,
Pope Pius IX erected the Diocese of Providence, taking all of Rhode Island from the Diocese of Hartford. The pope also included several parts of Massachusetts, including the islands of
Martha's Vineyard and
Nantucket,
Cape Cod, and the
Fall River area in the new diocese. The pope named
Thomas Hendricken as the first bishop of Providence. The new diocese had 125,000 parishioners, 43 churches, nine parish schools and one orphanage. During Hendricken's tenure, French-Canadian Catholics started migrating into the diocese to work in the
textile mills in
Woonsocket and
Fall River, Massachusetts. Hendricken created 13 English-speaking parishes and two French-speaking parishes during this time. By 1873, the immigration into the diocese slowed and the post-war boom ended with many of his flock unemployed or on reduced wages. Hendricken started the design and construction of the
Cathedral of SS Peter and Paul.
1887 to 1900 After Hendricken died in 1886, Pope Leo XIII in 1887 named
Matthew Harkins of Boston as the next bishop of Providence. During his tenure as bishop, Harkins constructed the following institutions: • Home for the Aged in Pawtucket (1881) • St. Maria Working Girls' Home in Providence (1894) • St. Joseph's Hospital in Providence (started 1891) • St. Vincent de Paul Infant Asylum (1892) • Working Boys' Home (started 1897) • House of the Good Shepherd (1904) • Nazareth Home (1906) He founded
Providence College in 1917. Due to Harkins's advancing age and declining health, the Vatican appointed two
auxiliary bishops to the diocese between 1914 and 1917. In 1919, the pope named
William Hickey from the
Diocese of Worcester as coadjutor bishop in 1919. In 1924, the dissidents founded the newspaper to express their opposition to Hickey's plan. The dissidents became known as Sentinellists. In 1927, Hickey
excommunicated Daignault and other Sentinellists and placed on the . Eventually, Daignault and the others recanted their opposition to Hickey and he lifted their excommunications. During Keough's tenure as bishop, the Catholic population of the diocese increased from 325,000 to 425,000, and the number of clergy grew by fifty percent. He also founded a
minor seminary, eased tensions between the French- and English-speaking parishioners, and reduced the heavy debt load of the diocese. Keough was named Archbishop of Baltimore in 1947.
Russell J. McVinney of Providence was its next bishop, named by Pius XII in 1948. During his tenure in Providence, McVinney established 28 new parishes, and opened Our Lady of Fatima Hospital in
North Providence. In 1952, McVinney issued a series of regulations that forbade Catholics from participating in divorce proceedings or even attending weddings performed by non-Catholic clergy.
1960 to 1990 Following the conclusion of the
Second Vatican Council, McVinney created a diocesan liturgical commission in 1964 and one of the first diocesan ecumenical commissions in 1965. He also established the Catholic Inner City Apostolate in 1966 and the diocesan human relations commission in 1967. McLaughlin responded that he did not need McVinney's permission to run for office. McLaughlin also noted that McVinney and his opponent, Senator
John O. Pastore, were "lifelong friends." In 1985, Gélineau registered opposition to an ordinance for the
City of Providence to protect
LGBTQ+ people from discrimination in employment, housing, credit and access to public accommodations, explaining that "Homosexual acts are contrary to God's command and contrary to his purpose in creating sex."
1990 to present Pope John Paul II appointed Bishop
Robert Mulvee from the
Diocese of Wilmington as
coadjutor bishop of Providence in 1995. After Gélineau retired in 1997, Mulvee succeeded him. Mulvee retired in 2005. The next bishop of Providence was Bishop
Thomas Tobin from the
Diocese of Youngstown, named by
Pope Benedict XVI in 2005. In 2022,
Pope Francis appointed Bishop
Richard Henning from the
Diocese of Rockville Centre as coadjutor bishop of Providence. When Tobin retired in 2023, Henning automatically succeeded him. On August 5, 2024, Francis appointed Henning as the next archbishop of Boston. On April 8, 2025, Auxiliary Bishop
Bruce Lewandowski from Baltimore was installed as bishop of Providence on May 20, 2025. ==Bishops==