Diocese of Kalamazoo

Dioecesis Kalamazuensis
Cathedral of Saint Augustine
Location
CountryUnited States
TerritoryCounties of Allegan, Barry, Van Buren, Kalamazoo, Calhoun, Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph, and Branch
Ecclesiastical provinceDetroit
Statistics
Area5,337 sq mi (13,820 km2)
Population
- Total
- Catholics
952,812
101,888 (11%)
Parishes46 (+13 missions)
Schools22

• Three high schools

• Two middle schools

• 17 elementary schools

• Two stand-alone preschools
Information
DenominationCatholic
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
EstablishedDecember 19, 1970 (53 years ago)[1]
CathedralCathedral of Saint Augustine
Patron saintSt. Augustine of Hippo
Secular priests75
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
BishopEdward M. Lohse
Metropolitan ArchbishopAllen Vigneron
Vicar GeneralRev. Fabio Garzon
Bishops emeritusPaul Joseph Bradley
Map
Website
diokzoo.org

The Diocese of Kalamazoo (Latin: Dioecesis Kalamazuensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in southwestern Michigan in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Detroit.

The mother church of the Diocese of Kalamazoo is the Cathedral of Saint Augustine in Kalamazoo.

The current bishop is Edward M. Lohse.

Territory

The Diocese of Kalamazoo encompasses Allegan, Van Buren, Berrien, Cass, Saint Joseph, Kalamazoo, Branch, Calhoun, and Barry Counties.

History

1700 to 1800

During the 17th century, present-day Michigan was part of the French colony of New France. The Diocese of Quebec had jurisdiction over the region. In 1763, the Michigan area became part of the British Province of Quebec, forbidden from settlement by American colonists. After the American Revolution, the Michigan region became part of the new United States. For Catholics, Michigan was now under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, which then comprised the entire country.

1800 to 1970

In 1808, Pope Pius VII erected the Diocese of Bardstown in Kentucky, with jurisdiction over the new Michigan Territory. In 1821, the pope erected the Diocese of Cincinnati, taking the Michigan Territory from the Diocese of Bardstown.[2]

Pope Gregory XVI formed the Diocese of Detroit in 1833, covering the entire Michigan Territory. Pope Leo XIII erected the Diocese of Grand Rapids out of the Archdiocese of Detroit in 1882, including Kalamazoo. The Kalamazoo area would remain part of the Diocese of Grand Rapids for the next 88 years.

The first Catholic church in Kalamazoo, St. Augustine's, was dedicated in 1852.[3] St. Philip Roman, the first Catholic Church in Battle Creek, was dedicated by Bishop Casper Borgess of Detroit in 1879.[4] In 1913, Nazareth College was opened in Nazareth, Michigan.

1970 to present

Diosesan Pastoral Center

On December 19, 1970, the Diocese of Kalamazoo was erected by Pope Paul VI and St. Augustine Church was designated as its cathedral The pope named Reverend Paul Donovan of the Diocese of Lansing as the first bishop of Kalamazoo. Donovan resigned in 1994 after 23 years as bishop.

In 1994, Pope John Paul II appointed Auxiliary Bishop Alfred Markiewicz from the Diocese of Rockville Centre as the second bishop of Kalamazoo.[5] He died in 1997 after only three years in office. That same year, John Paul II named Reverend James Murray of Lansing to replace Markiewicz. in 2006, Murray released the “Diocesan Pastoral Plan for Hispanic Latino Ministry.” He also established the diocese Trauma Recovery Program for victims of childhood trauma. Murray retired in 2009.

Pope Benedict XVI in 2009 named Auxiliary Bishop Paul J. Bradley of the Diocese of Pittsburgh as the next bishop of Kalamazoo.[6] In May 2017, Reverend Richard Fritz was accused of embezzling $100,000 from two different parishes, reportedly to purchase lottery tickets.[7] However, the charges were dismissed in July 2017.[8] Fritz retired in 2015.

Bradley retired in May 2023. His successor is Reverend Edward M. Lohse from the Diocese of Erie, who was installed on July 25, 2023.

Sexual abuse

In 2018, Bishop Bradley proposed a ten-step plan for overhauling church policies on the reporting of sexual abuse allegations.[9] In January 2019, Bradley assigned Archbishop Emeritus John Nienstedt, of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, to assist for several months at a parish in Battle Creek. Many parishioners in Battle Creek did not want Nienstadt due to his failure to report sexual abuse claims as archbishop. After two weeks, Nienstadt left the parish.[10]

In May 2019, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced that Reverend Jacob Vellian had been indicted on two charges of rape. He was accused of sexually assaulting a 15 year old girl between 1973 and 1974 at St. John the Evangelist church. As Vellian was living in India, prosecutors were attempting to extradite him to the United States.[11]

In February 2020, the diocese announced that an individual was claiming that Reverend Richard Fritz, who faced embezzlement charges in 2017, had sexually abused them during the late 1970s and early 1980s.[12] In March 2020, the diocese determined that the allegations against Fritz were credible.[13]

Statistics

The Diocese of Kalamazoo consists of 46 parishes and 13 missions, with 75 priests, and 36 deacons. The diocese operates three high schools, two middle schools and 17 grade schools, serving more than 3,000 students. The diocese also has two parish-run preschools.

Bishops of Kalamazoo

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of the diocese of Kalamazoo has the following elements.

  • A red field representing the Native American peoples of the diocese
  • A silver wavy band representing the Kalamazoo River; Kalamazoo was a Native American word for "boiling pot."
  • Blue annulets representing bubbles in the river
  • A Native American peace pipe with gold feathers, called a "calumet" by French explorers

The coat of arms also contains an open book displaying the Latin phrase Tolle Lege (Take and Read). The book represents the bible and the quote comes from a story by Augustine of Hippo, patron saint of the diocesan cathedral. According to Augustine, he was meditating on the bible under a tree when he was a young man, He heard a small child tell him "Tolle lege.". Opening the bible to the Epistle to the Romans 13:13, Augustine read the following passage:

"Let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires."

Believing that God had spoken to him, Augustine decided to enter the priesthood. He eventually became the Bishop of Hippo in North Africa.[14]

Churches

Schools

namelocation2014-15 enrollment
High Schools
Hackett Catholic Prep Kalamazoo 274
Lake Michigan Catholic High School St. Joseph 139
St. Philip Catholic Central High School Battle Creek 145

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Diocese of Kalamazoo". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  2. ↑ Shearer, Donald (June 1933). "Pontificia Americana: A DOCUMENTARY HISTORY OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES 1784 -1884". Franciscan Studies. 11 (11): 343. JSTOR 41974134 – via JSTOR.
  3. ↑ "History". St. Augustine Cathedral. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
  4. ↑ "Parish History". St. Philip Roman Catholic Church. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  5. ↑ Alfred John Markiewicz
  6. ↑ "Rinunce e Nomine, 06.04.2009" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. April 6, 2009. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
  7. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/brad.devereaux.3 (2017-05-03). "Priest charged with embezzlement over $100,000 including church funds". mlive. Retrieved 2023-07-12. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help); External link in |last= (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ↑ "Charges dismissed against Father Fritz". Coldwater Daily Reporter. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
  9. ↑ Newschannel 3, Jorge Rodas | (2018-09-14). "Local Bishop calls on Catholic Church to look into reporting policies for sexual abuse". WWMT. Retrieved 2021-10-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ↑ "Apologetic bishop underestimated reaction to Nienstedt's presence". mlive. 2016-01-21. Retrieved 2021-10-17.
  11. ↑ Miller, Kayla (2019-05-24). "Former Southwest Michigan priest charged with rape, awaits extradition in India". mlive. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
  12. ↑ "Sexual abuse allegation against former Kalamazoo priest deemed credible". WZZM13.com. February 21, 2020. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
  13. ↑ Tunison, John (2020-02-21). "Southwest Michigan retired priest under investigation for sex abuse: Diocese". mlive. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
  14. ↑ "Coat of Arms". Diocese of Kalamazoo. Retrieved February 24, 2016.

42°17′30″N 85°35′29.2″W / 42.29167°N 85.591444°W / 42.29167; -85.591444

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