Dear Friends in Christ,
As we continue to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence this year, 2026 continues to be a time for reflecting on the history of our country and a time to look toward the future and the way in which we might shape it for future generations.
The same can be said of our Catholic faith and how the history of our diocese can continue to be a foundation for the future.
The Diocese of Wilmington traces its history to Jesuit missionaries who crisscrossed the Eastern Shore of Maryland from the 1600s and traveled throughout Delaware in the 1700s to reach the scattered communities within the territory. The faith continued to take root and in the early 1800s Father Patrick Kenny, an Irish priest from Dublin began serving the Catholics of northern Delaware and established the first Catholic Church in Wilmington – St. Peter’s Church in the Quaker Hill neighborhood. When Pope Pius IX erected the Diocese of Wilmington to include Delaware and the nine counties of Maryland’s Eastern Shore in 1868, St. Peter’s Church was chosen as the Cathedral of the diocese.
A significant part of the parish at that time was St. Peter’s School. Having been established in the 1830s by the Daughters of Charity to educate and provide for the poor and orphaned children in the neighborhood, it continues today to serve students in the city of Wilmington as a true community school that remains rooted in the original goal of the Daughters of Charity: sharing the gospel message and responding to the needs of society.
Built on this rich history of sacraments and service, the Cathedral of St. Peter holds a central place in our diocesan family. Within the Cathedral walls we celebrate ordinations, special Masses, and most recently, the consecration of our Diocese to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as part of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage.
Today, the faith which grew like a mustard seed, fostered by missionaries, the Daughters of Charity, and priests like Father Kenny, must continue to be cultivated by our diocesan community.
As we reflect on the past and look toward the future, I invite you to prayerfully consider contributing to the cathedral collection during the weekend of August 15-16 or online at DowntownCatholic.com or cdow.org/cathedral.
Together, we can ensure that our cathedral will endure to serve the people of the city of Wilmington and the Catholic community of Delaware and Maryland’s Eastern Shore for decades to come.
Faithfully yours in Christ,
Most Rev. William E. Koenig
Bishop of Wilmington
