Diocese of Wilmington
diocese of the Catholic Church in Delaware and Maryland, United States
The Diocese of Wilmington (Latin: Dioecesis Wilmingtoniensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical diocese of the Catholic Church in the eastern United States, comprising the entire state of Delaware and the Eastern Shore Region of Maryland. William Koenig is the bishop.
History
1600 to 1700
The first Catholic church in the Delmarva Peninsula was Wye Chapel, erected near present-day Easton, Maryland. The Jesuit Nicholas Gulick served as its resident pastor. The chapel served as a base for priests to visit other communities in the region. In 1590, after Delaware became a royal colony, the chapel was shut down after King William III of England prohibited the practice of Catholicism.
1700 to 1800
Before and during the American Revolutionary War, the Catholics in all of the British colonies in America were under the jurisdiction of the Apostolic Vicariate of the London District in England. The first Catholic mission in Delaware was established by Jesuit missionaries near present-day Blackbird in 1747. However, in Easton, James Beadnall, another Jesuit priest, was arrested for celebrating a mass in a private home.
After the end of the American Revolution in 1783, Pope Pius VI erected the Prefecture Apostolic of the United States in 1784, encompassing the entire United States.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Diocese of Wilmington” is diocese of the Catholic Church in Delaware and Maryland, United States. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Diocese, Wilmington and diocese, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “diocese of the Catholic Church in Delaware and Maryland, United States” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q878085. VIAF identifies the subject as 260451743. Authority coordinates are 39.743, -75.553. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1600, 1700, 1590 and 1800.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Diocese of Wilmington”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Diocese of Wilmington primary sources, Diocese of Wilmington archive and Diocese research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Diocese of Wilmington”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Diocese of Wilmington” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.