Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston

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This article is about the diocese with a cathedral in Charleston, South Carolina. For the diocese with a cathedral in Charleston, West Virginia, see Roman Catholic Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston.

Diocese of Charleston

Dioecesis Carolopolitana
Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist, Charleston SC, East view 20160704 1.jpg
Cathedral of St. John the Baptist
Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston.svg
Coat of arms
Location
Country United States
Territory South Carolina
Ecclesiastical provinceAtlanta
MetropolitanArchdiocese of Atlanta
Statistics
Area31,055 sq mi (80,430 km2)
Population
- Total
- Catholics (including non-members)		(as of 2016)
4,832,482
196,245 (4.1%)
Information
DenominationCatholic
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
EstablishedJuly 11, 1820
CathedralCathedral of Saint John the Baptist
Patron saintSt. John the Baptist St. Finbar (minor patron)
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
BishopRobert E. Guglielmone
Metropolitan ArchbishopGregory John Hartmayer
Vicar GeneralRichard Harris, D. Anthony Droze
Map
Diocese of Charleston map.png
Website
charlestondiocese.org

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the southern United States and comprises the entire state of South Carolina,[1] with Charleston as its see city. Currently, the diocese consists of 96 parishes and 21 missions throughout the state.[2] It is led by Most Rev. Robert E. Guglielmone, thirteenth Bishop of Charleston, who serves as pastor of the mother church, Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in the city of Charleston.[3] Its first bishop was Most Rev. John England. Charleston is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Atlanta.[4]

Services are primarily given in English throughout the diocese, though the rapid increase in the Hispanic population has caused several congregations to include Spanish language services, particularly in the Lowcountry region.

History[]

Pope Pius VII erected the Diocese of Charleston, taking the territory of the states of Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina from the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Baltimore,[1] on July 11, 1820 by Pope Pius VII, designating it as a suffragan of the same metropolitan see, making it the seventh oldest Roman Catholic diocese in the United States.

On 3 July 1850, Pope Pius IX erected the Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah, taking the territory of the state of Georgia from the Diocese of Charleston and the state of Florida except for its panhandle from the Diocese of Mobile.[1]

On 3 March 1868, the same pope erected the Vicariate Apostolic of North Carolina, taking the territory of the state of North Carolina from the Diocese of Charleston,[1] thus reducing the territory of the Diocese of Charleston to the state of South Carolina.

On 10 February 1962, Pope John XXIII elevated the Diocese of Atlanta to a metropolitan archdiocese and transferred the Diocese of Charleston to the new metropolitan province.[1]

Cathedrals[]

Consecrated on April 6, 1854, the Cathedral of Saint John and Saint Finbar was the first proper cathedral of the diocese. On December 11, 1861, it was destroyed in a fire that consumed most of the city. The Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist was built to replace the original and sits on the foundation of the ruins.[5] Before the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh was formed, the Diocese of Charleston had a pro-cathedral in Wilmington, North Carolina, that is now St. Mary Catholic Church.

Sexual abuse[]

In 2007, then-Charleston Bishop Robert J. Baker agreed to pay a settlement of $12 million to people who were sexually abused by priests who were serving in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston.[6] In March 2019, the Diocese unveiled the names of 42 clergy who were "credibly accused" of committing acts of sex abuse while serving in the Diocese of Charleston.[7] In August 2019, it was revealed that Charleston Bishop Robert E. Guglielmone was being sued in the state of New York for sex abuse he reportedly committed while serving in the Diocese of Rockville Centre.[8] In November 2020, North Myrtle Beach director of youth ministry Jacob Ouellette was arrested on charges of criminal sexual conduct, two counts of criminal solicitation of a minor, and first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor on the Internet.[9]

List of Bishops[]

The complete list of Bishops of the diocese is as follows:[1]

Bishops of Charleston[]

  1. John England (1820-1842)
    - William Clancy (Coadjutor Bishop 1834-1837; appointed Apostolic Vicar of British Guiana before succession)
  2. Ignatius A. Reynolds (1843-1855)
  3. Patrick N. Lynch (1857-1882)
  4. Henry P. Northrop (1883-1916)
  5. William Thomas Russell (1916-1927)
  6. Emmet M. Walsh (1927-1949), appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Youngstown and subsequently succeeded to that see
  7. John J. Russell (1950-1958), appointed Bishop of Richmond
  8. Paul John Hallinan (1958-1962), appointed Archbishop of Atlanta
  9. Francis Frederick Reh (1962-1964), appointed Rector of the Pontifical North American College and later Bishop of Saginaw
  10. Ernest Leo Unterkoefler (1964-1990)
  11. David B. Thompson (1990-1999; Coadjutor Bishop 1989-1990)
  12. Robert J. Baker (1999-2007), appointed Bishop of Birmingham
  13. Robert E. Guglielmone (2009–present)

Other priests of this diocese who became Bishops[]

  • John Barry, appointed Bishop of Savannah in 1857
  • Joseph Bernardin, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Atlanta in 1966, Archbishop of Cincinnati in 1972, and Archbishop of Chicago in 1982; became Cardinal in 1983.
  • John James Joseph Monaghan, appointed Bishop of Wilmington in 1897
  • John Moore, appointed Bishop of Saint Augustine in 1877
  • (Abbot emeritus was incardinated in this diocese in 1993.)

Departments[]

Magazine[]

The Catholic Miscellany, successor to the U.S. Catholic Miscellany, the first Catholic newspaper in the United States, is the diocese's official magazine.

Office of Vocations[]

  • The Drexel House - Catholic residence for men's discernment in downtown Charleston, SC
  • Vicar of Vocations:
  1. Msgr. Richard D. Harris - Vicar of Vocations, 2004 - 2010; Interim Vicar for Vocations, 2020 - Present
  2. Fr. Jeffrey Kirby - Vicar of Vocations, 2010 - 2015
  3. Fr. Mark Good - Vicar of Vocations, 2015 - 2019
  4. Fr. S. Matthew Gray - Vicar of Vocations, 2019 - 2021
  5. Fr. Rhett Williams - Director of Vocations, 2021 - Present

Schools[]

  • Secretary of Education: William Ryan

Diocesan high schools[]

Private high schools[]

Parochial elementary schools[]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Diocese of Charleston". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
  2. ^ "Diocese of Charleston Parish Directory". Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
  3. ^ "Welcome To The Cathedral Of St. John the Baptist". Archived from the original on February 23, 2007. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  4. ^ "Province of Atlanta | Archdiocese of Atlanta". Archatl.com. February 21, 1962. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
  5. ^ "Cathedral History". Archived from the original on February 7, 2007. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  6. ^ http://www.catholic.org/diocese/diocese_story.phpid=22894
  7. ^ Behre, Robert; Yee, Gregory; Dennis, Rickey. "Diocese of Charleston releases names of 42 SC priests accused of sexual misconduct". Post and Courier. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  8. ^ Smith, Glenn; Hobbs, Stephen; Moore, Thad. "Bishop of Charleston Diocese accused of sexual abuse in new lawsuit from NY". Post and Courier. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  9. ^ Altman-Devilbiss, Alexx (November 23, 2020). "Youth ministry director in NMB charged with several sex crimes involving minors". WPDE. Retrieved April 5, 2021.

External links[]

Coordinates: 32°46′33″N 79°56′03″W / 32.77583°N 79.93417°W / 32.77583; -79.93417

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