Vicar General

The Office of the Vicar General assists the diocesan bishop in the governance of the diocese by helping to carry forward his pastoral care for the people, clergy, and institutions of the diocese. By virtue of this office, the vicar general possesses ordinary executive authority according to the norm of law throughout the diocese and acts in the name of the bishop in matters of administration and pastoral governance, helping to ensure that diocesan policies, pastoral directives, and administrative actions are carried out consistently and with due regard for the good order of diocesan life. In the Diocese of Portland, the Vicar General exercises immediate oversight of the Office of the Bishop, the Office of Pastoral and Administrative Services, the Office of Ministry to Priests, and the Office of Ministerial Services, ensuring the coherent coordination of diocesan governance and pastoral life. The vicar general serves as the principal point of contact between the bishop and the clergy of the diocese, with particular responsibility for matters pertaining to priestly life and ministry, vocations and seminarian formation, and parish organization and pastoral planning.

The Very Reverend John (Jack) D. Dickinson is the diocese's vicar general in a part-time capacity. He also serves as the judicial vicar of the Diocese of Portland and is the pastor of St. John Paul II Parish in Scarborough.

A native of South Berwick, Fr. Dickinson earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Providence College in Rhode Island and completed his seminary studies at the Theological College at The Catholic University of America, as well as advanced studies at the School of Canon Law at The Catholic University of America. His previous parish assignments in the diocese include those at Corpus Christi Parish in Waterville, Good Shepherd Parish in Saco, Saint Thérèse of Lisieux Parish in Sanford, and Saint Matthew Parish, Limerick.