1642 – Jesuit Missionary Father Isaac Jogues was first known to have appeared in what eventually became New York State. Taken captive by the Mohawk, he suffered torture which left him maimed for life. He was killed by Mohawk natives at the village of Ossernenon near Auriesville on October 18, 1646. He was canonized in 1930 with Rene Goupil and John Lalande as the first American martyrs.
1697 –While only two Catholic residents were listed in the Albany County census, the next 75 years saw a large influx of Catholics who emigrated from European countires like Germany, Ireland, and Scotland.
Easter Sunday, 1676 – Kateri Tekakwitha was baptized by Father Jacques de Lamberville and given the name Kateri (Mohawk for Catherine). She died at the age of 24 in 1680.
September 13, 1797 – The cornerstone of St. Mary’s Church in Albany was laid. St. Mary’s was the first parish established in what would become the Albany Diocese and only the second parish established in New York State after St. Peter’s in Manhattan.
1828 – The first Sunday school in upstate New York formed at St. Mary’s in Albany followed soon after by a grammar school run by the Sisters of Charity. Three sisters arrived from Emmitsburg, Maryland, marking the beginning of the presence of women religious in the area. Within five years, the Sisters also organized an orphan asylum adjoining St. Mary’s Church in Albany following a severe cholera epidemic.
•1847, April 23 – Pope Pius IX established the Diocese of Albany. The first decades were characterized by growth and service. Many Catholic parishes opened during this era to meet the religious needs of the faithful. The diocese also engaged with several religious and lay organizations to help meet the social, educational, and healthcare needs of Catholics and others, including the Brothers of Saint John the Baptist de La Salle and the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul.
1847, September 19 – Father John McCloskey, then coadjutor bishop of the Archdiocese of New York with right of succession, was installed as first bishop of the new Diocese of Albany.
July 2, 1848 – The cornerstone was laid for the Gothic Revival-style Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception by New York’s Archbishop Hughes. It was dedicated in 1852.
1864 – Bishop John McCloskey left the Albany Diocese to become Archbishop of the See of New York.
October 15, 1865 – Father John J. Conroy was consecrated as the second Bishop of Albany.
1867 – St. Agnes Cemetery in Menands was purchased, the first diocesan cemetery.
December 1871 – Father Francis McNeirny was named coadjutor Bishop of Albany Diocese with right of succession.
1872 – The Diocese of Ogdensburg was established from territory formerly belonging to the Albany Diocese.
January 18, 1874 – Bishop McNeirny was appointed Administrator of the Diocese of Albany.
1877 - Bishop Conroy resigned, and Bishop McNeirny was made Bishop of Albany by right of succession.
January, 1887 – The Diocese of Syracuse was established.
July 1, 1894 — Father Thomas M.A. Burke was consecrated as fourth Bishop of Albany following the death of Bishop McNeirny on January 2, 1894.
1909 – Camp Tekakwitha was created at Lake Luzerne as a summer camp for boys from the parish of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Camp Tekakwitha was first of several summer camps for boys and girls in the Albany Diocese.
July 5, 1915 – Thomas F. Cusack, Auxiliary Bishop of New York was appointed fifth Bishop of Albany following the death of Bishop Burke on January 20, 1915.
1917 – Catholic Charities' presence was established in the Albany Diocese by Bishop Cusack.
1917 — Bishop Cusack opened a campaign to raise $80,000 toward maintaining Catholic chaplains wherever American soldiers went.
March 25, 1919 – Father Edmund F. Gibbons consecrated as sixth Bishop of Albany following the death of Bishop Cusack on July 12, 1918.
1923 – Catholic youth and family life was also supported educationally through the establishment of diocesan schools, such as Catholic Central High School in Troy, as well as local colleges founded by religious orders.
1926 — The Diocesan newspaper The Evangelist began circulation.
1942 – Father Patrick Peyton, chaplain at Vincentian Institute High School in Albany, had a vision to bring the rosary to millions in America and began his Family Rosary Crusade.
August 21, 1945 – Father William A. Scully was named coadjutor Bishop of Albany with right of succession.
November 10, 1954 – Bishop William A. Scully succeeded as seventh Bishop of Albany due to Bishop Gibbons’ declining health.
1955 – The Bishop’s Fund was inaugurated by Bishop Scully. Monies raised for this fund originally supported a program of improvement and expansion of schools. This fund, now known as The Bishop’s Appeal, currently funds diocesan programs in education, charity, administration, service, and prayer that support parish efforts.
Bishop Edward J. Maginn may be best known for his role as Auxiliary Bishop to Bishop Scully; however, he served the diocese faithfully for many years prior. Soon after Bishop Gibbons ordained Maginn at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany in 1922, he appointed him Vice Chancellor for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany's. Appointments to Chancellor and Vicar General followed in 1924 and 1936, respectively. The people of St. Vincent de Paul parish in Albany welcomed then-Father Maginn as their pastor and principal of Vincentian Institute in 1944. In 1957, Bishop Maginn was consecrated as Auxiliary to the Bishop of Albany and Titular Bishop of Curium by Bishop Scully. He was named Apostolic Administrator in May 1966, and carried out those responsibilities until Bishop Scully's death in May 1969. Bishop Maginn helped shepherd the Diocese through the turbulent 1960s, with special attention to the pastoral, educational, and healthcare institutions placed under his leadership. He served as one of the Council Fathers, and attended the Second Vatican Council in Rome. Bishop Maginn was appointed Vicar General by Bishop Scully's successor, Bishop Broderick, in 1969; that appointment was renewed in 1977 by Bishop Hubbard. Bishop Maginn served the parishioners of St. Vincent de Paul until his retirement in 1972. He died on August 21, 1984, and was interred at St. Mary's Cemetery, South Glens Falls.
June 27, 1957 – Father Edward J. Maginn was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Albany, a position he would hold under the next two Bishops.
1962-1965 — Bishop Maginn represented the Albany Diocese at the second Vatican Council held in four sessions at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome during the fall.
June 19, 1964 — Bishop Edmund F. Gibbons died.
January 10, 1966 – Bishop Maginn was appointed Apostolic Administrator for the Diocese.
1969 – The Consultation Services Center for priests and religious was opened. It was one of the first psychological counseling centers in the nation to serve the needs of the clergy and vowed religious. It was later expanded to serve the laity.
Bishop Edwin B. Broderick was installed as the eighth Bishop in Albany in 1969. In addition to teaching and pastoral work, Bishop Broderick also served as Director of Radio and Television and later as Auxiliary Bishop in the Archdiocese of New York.
1973 – The first annual Spring Enrichment program was offered. Spring Enrichment is an annual formation program for catechists, youth ministers, Catholic school teachers, pastoral leaders, and others.
1974 – With the appointment of Sister Serena Branson, D.C., as Director of Catholic Charities, this marked a significant change within the Diocese – the designation of a woman as head of one of the largest departments of the Diocese.
June 1976 – The first class of 23 permanent deacons was ordained by Bishop Broderick, to serve in such areas as hospital, nursing homes, and prison ministries.
1976 – Bishop Broderick resigned as Bishop of the Diocese to become director of Catholic Relief Services, the U.S. Catholic Church’s overseas aid agency.
March 27, 1977 – Bishop Howard J. Hubbard was ordained and installed as ninth Bishop of the Albany Diocese.
Palm Sunday, 1986 – Bishop Hubbard participated in the first Jewish and Catholic Reconciliation Service held anywhere in the world.
1994 – Phase I of a Pastoral Planning Process was initiated in which parishes in the Diocese were asked to measure their vitality and viability and create plans accordingly.
July 1996 – Bishop Hubbard appointed three Chancellors, including the first lay Chancellor for the Albany Diocese.
July 18,1996 – The first website for the Diocese of Albany was launched.
1998 – The first Diocesan Youth Day – “Called to be One: Celebrating Unity and Diversity” – was celebrated.
2000 – RENEW 2000 was the Albany Diocese’s millennium celebration program created in response to Pope John Paul II’s directive for the global Catholic Community to celebrate the 2,000th anniversary of the birth of Jesus and prepare for the third millennium. It involved spiritual renewal through prayer and worship, faith-sharing, reflection on Scripture, and action.
May 2002 – In the wake of the sexual abuse scandals in the Boston Archdiocese, the Albany Diocese’s Clergy Sexual Misconduct Policy was reviewed by an independent panel and changes were made based on recommendations of the panel.
2006 – A five-year grassroots planning process, Called to be Church, began. It involved Catholics from across the Diocese in a planning effort designed to reimagine the future of the Diocese. In 2009, the Diocese announced 11 parish mergers and 33 worship sites to close in an effort to address population shifts and fewer priests while ensuring the long-term health and mission of parishes, a process that was completed by the end of 2011.
February 11, 2014 – Pope Francis appoints Rev. Edward B. Scharfenberger, then-pastor of St. Matthias Church in Ridgewood, Queens, as the tenth Bishop of Albany, succeeding Bishop Howard J. Hubbard upon his retirement.
April 10, 2014 – Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger is installed as the tenth Bishop of Albany at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York. Bishop Scharfenberger chooses as his Episcopal Motto a line from the Prayer of St. Francis: “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.”
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