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Our History

- 1700 to 1960: Seeds of Faith in the Caribbean
  
  By 1733, the present-day U.S. and British Virgin Islands were a Danish colony, yet they fell under the Catholic jurisdiction of the Diocese of San Juan in Puerto Rico—a Spanish colony. The seeds of Catholicism took root:
  Holy Cross Catholic Church in Christiansted, St. Croix, opened its doors in 1755, becoming the first Catholic church in the Virgin Islands.
  In 1773 an Italian Franciscan, Fr Petro Sellaroli, offered to reside in St Thomas Island, celebrating weekly in what was then a rented apartment.
  Eventually, with money subscribed by the community, Fr. Sellaroli purchased a building owned by the Danish Crown that became the first church. The church was devasted by fire in 1804, and after a prolonged reconstruction, on January 12, 1806, a new building was consecrated and named after the two Apostles, Sts Peter and Paul.
  In 1804, the Vatican called upon Bishop John Carroll from the Diocese of Baltimore in the United States to send priests to the Virgin Islands. These priests tended to Spanish merchants and French planters living there. The Saints Peter and Paul Church in Charlotte Amalie, constructed in 1848, stands as a testament to their labor. In 1917, during World War I, the Government of Denmark sold the islands of St. Croix, St. John, and St. Thomas to the United States.
- 1960 to 1993: From Prelature to Diocese
  
  In 1960, Pope Paul VI erected the Territorial Prelature of the Virgin Islands, separating it from the Diocese of San Juan de Puerto Rico. Most Reverend Edward J. Harper, C.Ss.R., the former vice-provincial of the Redemptorists in Puerto Rico, became the Apostolic Prefect.
  In 1977, Pope Paul VI elevated the prefecture to the Diocese of Saint Thomas in the Virgin Islands, appointing Most Reverend Harper as its first bishop.
  Pope John Paul II appointed Most Reverend Seán Patrick O’Malley as Coadjutor Bishop in St. Thomas in 1984. Bishop O’Malley succeeded Bishop Harper in 1985.
  Bishop O’Malley’s compassionate leadership extended to the homeless and those with HIV/AIDS. In 1992 he was transferred to the Diocese of Fall River.
- 1993 to Present: Continuity and New Horizons
  
  Bishop Elliot Thomas, appointed by John Paul II in 1993, continued the diocese’s mission.
  In 1998, Most Reverend George V. Murry, Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago, was appointed coadjutor bishop of St Thomas.
  When Bishop Thomas retired in 1999, Bishop Murry assumed leadership.
  In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Most Reverend Murry as Bishop of Youngstown.
  Most Reverend Herbert Bevard succeeded Bishop Murry in 2008. Unfortunately, a health emergency led to his retirement in 2020.
  In 2021, Pope Francis named Most Reverend Jerome Feudjio as the new bishop, ensuring the continuity of faith in the U.S. Virgin Islands. He is the current Diocesan Bishop.
  In the course of all these events, the community grew. Structures kept adjusting, but the work of Christ has always remained the same. At the moment, our Diocese has 9 Parishes grouped into two deaneries. Four schools foster the work of evangelization.