Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis

Archdiocese of Saint Louis Archidiœcesis Sancti Ludovici Archidiocèse catholique de St. Louis
Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis
Coat of arms
Location
Country	United States
Territory	St. Louis City and ten counties in eastern Missouri
Ecclesiastical province	St. Louis
Statistics
Area	5,968 sq mi (15,460 km2)
Population - Total - Catholics (including non-members)	(as of 2017) 2,255,800 514,178 (22.8%)
Parishes	181
Schools	112
Information
Denomination	Catholic
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	July 18, 1826 (195 years ago)
Cathedral	Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis
Patron saint	Saint Louis IX Saint Vincent DePaul Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne
Secular priests	337
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Archbishop	Mitchell T. Rozanski
Auxiliary Bishops	Mark Steven Rivituso
Bishops emeritus	Raymond Leo Burke Robert Joseph Hermann Robert James Carlson
Map
Website
archstl.org

The Archdiocese of St. Louis (Latin: Archidiœcesis Sancti Ludovici, French: Archidiocèse catholique de St. Louis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church that covers the City of St. Louis and the Missouri counties of Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, Perry, Saint Charles, Saint Francois, Ste. Genevieve, St. Louis, Warren, and Washington. It is the metropolitan see of the ecclesiastical province containing three suffragan sees: Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, the Diocese of Jefferson City, and the Diocese of Kansas City-Saint Joseph.

It was led from 2009-2020 by Robert James Carlson, the former Bishop of Saginaw, who was named the Archbishop-elect on April 21, 2009, by Pope Benedict XVI, and was installed on June 10, 2009.^[1] Archbishop Carlson was assisted by Auxiliary Bishop Robert Joseph Hermann, who retired in 2010. Then, Auxiliary Bishop Edward Matthew Rice served from 2010 to 2016, and was in turn replaced by Mark Steven Rivituso, who was appointed in 2017. Carlson's predecessor as Archbishop was Raymond Leo Burke, who transferred to the position of Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura on June 27, 2008. Carlson retired on June 10, 2020, and on that day, Mitchell Thomas Rozanski, the Bishop of Springfield in Massachusetts, was appointed his successor.

The archdiocesan cathedral is the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis. The original cathedral and mother church is the Basilica of St. Louis, King of France.

History[]

Early history[]

The first parish of Saint Louis was established in 1770 and it was incorporated into the Diocese of Louisiana and the Two Floridas when it was erected on April 25, 1793, which originally encompassed the entire Louisiana Purchase as well as the Florida peninsula and the Gulf Coast. This parish is St. Genevieve parish in St. Genevieve Missouri^[2]

The city of Saint Louis was sold to the United States in 1803. The area's first bishop was Louis William Valentine Dubourg, who on September 24, 1815, was appointed Bishop of Louisiana and the [East and West] Two Floridas by Pope Pius VII. He was the Bishop of the Louisiana Territory from 1815-1826.^[2] Unlike his predecessor, who set up his see in New Orleans, DuBourg chose to set up his episcopal see in St. Louis.

Diocese[]

After his resignation and transfer to lead the diocese of Montauban, France, the diocese of Louisiana was split, giving New Orleans a bishop again, and the Diocese of St. Louis was erected on July 18, 1826, by Pope Leo XII. When founded, it included the state of Missouri, the western half of Illinois, and all American territory west of the Mississippi River and north of the state of Louisiana. It was the largest American diocese, equaling in extent all of the other nine dioceses.

Its first bishop, Joseph Rosati, led the Catholic Church's expansion of its presence in these areas, and built its first cathedral, now known as the Basilica of St. Louis, King of France. He was the Bishop of St. Louis from 1826-1843.^[2]

On July 28, 1837, territory in Iowa, Minnesota, and the Dakotas was taken from the Diocese to form the Diocese of Dubuque, Iowa.

Until 1840, the "Old Cathedral" was the only church in the city. By 1850, there were 10: Cathedral of St. Louis, St. Mary of Victories, St. Francis Xavier, St. Patrick, St. Joseph, St. Vincent de Paul, St. John the Apostle, Sts. Peter and Paul, Holy Trinity, and St. Michael.^[2]

Archdiocese[]

The St. Louis Diocese was elevated to an Archdiocese on July 20, 1847, by Pope Pius IX.

Because of its strong Catholic identity and having been the mother diocese of many dioceses in the midwest, the archdiocese was often referred to as "the Rome of the west". It is dedicated to Saint Louis IX and has as its copatrons Saints Vincent de Paul and Rose Philippine Duchesne. St. Louis IX, the patron of the archdiocese, represents the ideal Christian knight- a fervent layman, a man of honor and a leader unafraid of exhibiting his ardent spirituality. In 1833 a French laymen answered what the Second Vatican Council calls the universal call to holiness of all Christians. Blessed Frederic Ozanam founded the St. Vincent de Paul Society to serve the poor. The first chapter of the Society in the United States was started in St. Louis in 1845, led by Judge Bryan Mullanphy, who later became mayor of the city of St. Louis. Mother Rose Philippine Duchesne and the Religious of the Sacred Heart opened the first school for girls west of the Mississippi, in St. Charles in 1818.

The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis contains the largest collection of mosaics in the world and is one of St. Louis' most impressive architectural treasures. The Cathedral of St. Louis was dedicated in 1926 on the 100th anniversary of the establishment of St. Louis as a diocese. An imposing structure – solid, permanent, huge – the building's richly colored interior mosaics are a visual prayer. Built under the direction of Archbishop John Glennon – the last Irish-born Bishop of St. Louis – and completed under the leadership of Archbishop John May, every impressive inch of the Cathedral is used to tell the story of salvation and the history of the Catholic faith lived in St. Louis. Work on the Cathedral mosaics would not be completed for 60 years. The Cathedral of St. Louis was designated a "Basilica" in 1997 on the 150th anniversary of the archdiocese.^[2]

St. Louis Preparatory Seminary in the countryside which is now the St. Louis suburb of Shrewsbury was completed in 1931. Later it became Cardinal Glennon College and in 2015 it is home to 125+ from St. Louis and other dioceses all over the world. Today it is called Kenrick-Glennon Seminary.

In January 1999, the archdiocese was host to a two-day visit from Pope John Paul II, the first time a pope had visited the city. It was not John Paul's first visit, since 30 years earlier, he had paid a visit when he was Cardinal Wojtyła, Archbishop of Kraków.

Sexual Abuse[]

In July 2019, the Archdiocese of St. Louis released the names of 64 clergy who were "credibly accused" of committing acts of sexual abuse while serving in the Archdiocese.^[3]

On August 16, 2019, "sexually violent priest" Frederick Lenczycki, who had previously served prison time in Illinois between 2004 and 2009 for acts of sexual abuse,^[4] was sentenced to 10 years in prison two-and-a-half months after pleading guilty to sexually abusing a boy in St. Louis County.^[3]

Bishops[]

The following is a list of the bishops and archbishops of St. Louis, and coadjutors and auxiliary bishops of St. Louis; and their years of service.

Ordinaries[]

Bishop of Louisiana and the Floridas

1. Louis-Guillaume-Valentin Dubourg (1812–1826), appointed Bishop of Montauban and later Archbishop of Besançon

Bishops of St. Louis

1. Joseph Rosati, C.M. (1827–1843)
2. Peter Richard Kenrick (1843–1847)

Archbishops of St. Louis

1. Peter Richard Kenrick (1847–1895)
2. John Joseph Kain (1895–1903)
3. Cardinal John J. Glennon (1903–1946)
4. Cardinal Joseph Ritter (1946–1967)
5. Cardinal John Joseph Carberry (1968–1979)
6. John L. May (1980–1992)
7. Justin Francis Rigali (1994–2003), appointed Archbishop of Philadelphia (Cardinal in 2003)
8. Raymond Leo Burke (2004–2008), appointed Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura and later Patron of the Order of Malta (Cardinal in 2010)
9. Robert James Carlson (2009–2020)
10. Mitchell T. Rozanski (2020–present)

Coadjutor Bishops[]

• John Timon (1839, did not take effect), appointed Prefect Apostolic of the Republic of Texas in 1840 and later Bishop of Buffalo
• James Duggan (1857–1859), did not succeed to see; appointed Bishop of Chicago
• Patrick John Ryan (1872–1884), did not succeed to see; appointed Archbishop of Philadelphia

Auxiliary Bishops[]

• Christian Herman Winkelmann (1933–1939), appointed Bishop of Wichita
• George Joseph Donnelly (1940–1946), appointed Bishop of Leavenworth
• John Patrick Cody (1947–1954), appointed Coadjutor Bishop and Bishop of Kansas City-Saint Joseph and later Coadjutor Archbishop and Archbishop of New Orleans and Archbishop of Chicago (Cardinal in 1967)
• Charles Herman Helmsing (1949–1956), appointed Bishop of Kansas City-Saint Joseph
• Leo Christopher Byrne (1954–1961), appointed Coadjutor Bishop and Bishop of Wichita and later Coadjutor Archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis
• Glennon Patrick Flavin (1957–1967), appointed Bishop of Lincoln
• George Joseph Gottwald (1961–1988)
• Joseph Alphonse McNicholas (1969–1975), appointed Bishop of Springfield in Illinois
• Charles Roman Koester (1971–1991)
• Edward Thomas O'Meara (1972–1979), appointed Archbishop of Indianapolis
• John Nicholas Wurm (1976–1981), appointed Bishop of Belleville
• Edward Joseph O'Donnell (1983–1994), appointed Bishop of Lafayette
• James Terry Steib (1983–1993), appointed Bishop of Memphis
• Paul Albert Zipfel (1989–1996), appointed Bishop of Bismarck
• Edward Kenneth Braxton (1995–2001), appointed Bishop of Lake Charles and later Bishop of Belleville
• Michael John Sheridan (1997–2001), appointed Bishop of Colorado Springs
• Joseph Fred Naumann (1997–2004), appointed Archbishop of Kansas City in Kansas
• Timothy Michael Dolan (2001–2002), appointed Archbishop of Milwaukee and later Archbishop of New York (Cardinal in 2012)
• Robert Joseph Hermann (2002–2010)
• Edward Matthew Rice (2010–2016), appointed Bishop of Springfield-Cape Girardeau
• Mark Steven Rivituso (2017–present)

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops[]

• Michael Portier, appointed Vicar Apostolic of Alabama and the Floridas in 1825 and later Bishop of Mobile
• Patrick A. Feehan, appointed Bishop of Nashville in 1865 and later Bishop and Archbishop of Chicago
• John Hennessy, appointed Bishop (in 1866) and later Archbishop of Dubuque
• John Joseph Hogan, appointed Bishop of Saint Joseph in 1868 and later Bishop of Kansas City
• Joseph Melcher, appointed Bishop of Green Bay in 1868 (1853 appointment as Bishop of Quincy did not take effect)
• John Joseph Hennessy, appointed Bishop of Wichita in 1868
• John Henry Tihen (priest here, 1886–1888), appointed Bishop of Lincoln in 1911 and later Bishop of Denver in 1917
• Christopher Edward Byrne, appointed Bishop of Galveston in 1918
• Mark Kenny Carroll, appointed Bishop of Wichita in 1947
• Marion Francis Forst, appointed Bishop of Dodge City in 1960 and later Auxiliary Bishop of Kansas City in Kansas
• Andrés Bernardo (Andrew Bernard) Schierhoff, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of La Paz in 1968 and later Prelate of Pando
• Luis Morgan Casey, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of La Paz in 1983 and later Apostolic Vicar of Pando
• John Joseph Leibrecht, appointed Bishop of Springfield-Cape Girardeau in 1984
• John R. Gaydos, appointed Bishop of Jefferson City in 1997
• George Joseph Lucas, appointed Bishop of Springfield in Illinois in 1999 and later Archbishop of Omaha
• Robert William Finn, appointed Coadjutor Bishop in 2004 and later Bishop of Kansas City-Saint Joseph
• Richard Frank Stika, appointed Bishop of Knoxville in 2009

Churches[]

Eastern Rites[]

There are two Eastern Rite churches and one Eastern Rite Cathedral within the archdiocese's boundaries:

• St. Raymond's Cathedral, Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles (Maronite)
• St. Louis Byzantine, Eparchy of Parma (Ruthenian)
• St. Mary's Assumption, Eparchy of Saint Nicolas of Chicago (Ukrainian)

Schools[]

^[5]

†Archdiocesan high schools that are owned and operated by the Archdiocese^[6]
@ All-boys school
% All-girls school

Cemeteries[]

The Archdiocese Office of Catholic Cemeteries operates 17 cemeteries in the region, including:^[7]

Suffragan sees[]

Ecclesiastical Province of St. Louis

• Diocese of Jefferson City
• Diocese of Kansas City-Saint Joseph
• Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau

See also[]

References[]

External links[]

• Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis Official Site
• Archives section
• Story of John Paul II's 1999 visit
• St. Louis Review, the weekly newspaper of the archdiocese
• Rome of the West, features photography of churches in the Archdiocese
• Eastern rites in the Archdiocese:
  • Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon (Maronite)
  • The Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Parma
  • Saint Nicholas Eparchy for Ukrainian Catholics

Coordinates: 38°38′34″N 90°15′26″W / 38.64278°N 90.25722°W / 38.64278; -90.25722