From Our Own. Correspondent
NEW YORK
Washington, D.C., the nation's capital, has been raised to the rank of an archiepiscopal see, ranking equally with the archdiocese of Baltimore. Henceforth the Archbishop of Baltimore, Mgr, Michael J. Curley, will be Archbishop of Baltimore and Washington.
Washington was never made an episcopal see for the good reason that when the hierarchy in the United States was erected Washington was not a city but a part of two small cities. Baltimore, however, was an important city of the infant republic, and in 1789 it was named a diocese and senior see of the young American republic. Baltimore was later made an archdiocese at a time when Washington still remained a small city.
The propriety of naming Washington as a see has grown with the establishment in the capital city of numerous organisations and institutions of the Church. Notable among these is the office of the Apostolic Delegate. The American bishops have been meeting in Washington annually, and in 1919 established in the capital city the National Catholic Welfare Conference. Washington is also the site of the Catholic University of America and the site of numerous houses of study for religious orders on or near the grounds of the Catholic University.