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Roman Catholic Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama

Coordinates: 33°39′12″N 86°48′32″W / 33.65333°N 86.80889°W / 33.65333; -86.80889
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Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama

Dioecesis Birminghamiensis
Cathedral of St. Paul
Coat of arms of the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama
Coat of arms
Location
Country United States
TerritoryNorthern Alabama
Ecclesiastical provinceMobile
Statistics
Area28,091 sq mi (72,760 km2)
Population
- Total
- Catholics		(as of 2012)
2,995,000
103,900 (3.5%)
Parishes54
Information
DenominationRoman Catholic
RiteRoman Rite
Established28 June 1969
(split from Diocese of Mobile-Birmingham)
CathedralCathedral of Saint Paul
Patron saintSaint Paul
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
BishopSteven John Raica
Metropolitan ArchbishopThomas John Rodi
Bishops emeritusRobert Joseph Baker
Map
Website
bhmdiocese.org

The Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory. or diocese, of the Catholic Church that encompasses the northern 39 counties of Alabama in the United States.[1] It was erected on December 9, 1969, with territory from what is now the Archdiocese of Mobile. The Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Mobile.

The Cathedral of Saint Paul, in Birmingham, Alabama serves as the Episcopal see of the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama. EWTN, a major Catholic media enterprise, is located in the diocese.

History

1791 to 1969

After the American Revolution ended in 1791, the Birmingham area and most of Alabama was considered part of the State of Georgia. In 1793, the Vatican erected the Diocese of Louisiana and the Two Floridas centered in New Orleans to administer most of the Deep South region of the new United States.[2]

In 1837, the Vatican created the Vicariate Apostolic of Alabama and the Florida, covering all of the new State of Alabama. The vicariate was succeeded in 1834 by the Diocese of Mobile. The Birmingham area would remain part of the Diocese of Mobile, succeeded by the Diocese of Mobile-Birmingham, for the next 135 years.

1969 to 1993

Pope Paul VI erected the Diocese of Birmingham, with territory taken from the Diocese of Mobile-Birmingham, on June 28, 1969, simultaneously renaming the mother diocese to Diocese of Mobile. The pope named Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Vath as the first bishop of Birmingham. In 1980, Pope John Paul II elevated the Diocese of Mobile to a metropolitan archdiocese and designated the Diocese of Birmingham as one of its suffragans. Vath died in 1987.

Reverend Raymond Boland from the Archdiocese of Washington became the next bishop of Birmingham, named by John Paul II in 1988. The same pope appointed Boland as bishop of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph in 1993.

1993 to present

To replace Boland, John Paul II named David Edward Foley of Washington as bishop of Birmingham. In 1999, Foley issued a decree prohibiting priests in his diocese, under most circumstances, from celebrating Mass in the ad orientem position. Though the decree never specifically mentioned EWTN, observers agreed that it was directed at Mother Angelica's network.[3] Foley retired in 2005.In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI named Bishop Robert Baker from the Diocese of Charleston as bishop of Birmingham. Baker retired in 2020.

The current bishop of Birmingham is Steven J. Raica, formerly bishop of the Diocese of Gaylord. He was appointed by Pope Francis in 2020.

Reports of sexual abuse

In 2004, four priests accused of sexual abuse who served in the Diocese of Birmingham agreed to pay a settlement of $45,000 to eleven of their victims.[4] In December 2018, Bishop Baker released of list of six clergy who were accused of committing acts of sex abuse while serving the diocese.[5][6] Baker also acknowledged the abuse committed by these six priests, stating that "they committed these deplorable acts,” and apologized.[5][6] Five were removed from ministry and one died.[4]

One accused priest who was later acquitted, Reverend Francis Mary Stone, was also revealed to have maintained his clerical status after violating his vow of celibacy. He also fathered a child with an EWTN employee while serving as a host of the network's show Life on the Rock.[7][8] After these revelations became public, Stone was suspended from public ministry.[8]

Bishops

Bishops of Birmingham

  1. Joseph Gregory Vath (1969–1987)
  2. Raymond James Boland (1988–1993), appointed Bishop of Kansas City-Saint Joseph
  3. David Edward Foley (1994–2005)
  4. Robert Joseph Baker (2007–2020)
  5. Steven John Raica (2020–present)

Other diocesan priests who became bishops

Education

Elementary schools

  • Anniston – Sacred Heart
  • Bessemer – St. Aloysius
  • Birmingham – Holy Family
  • Birmingham – Our Lady of Fatima
  • Birmingham – Our Lady of Sorrows
  • Birmingham – Our Lady of the Valley
  • Birmingham – St. Barnabas
  • Birmingham – St. Francis Xavier
  • Birmingham – St. Rose Academy (operated independently of diocese)
  • Cullman – Sacred Heart
  • Decatur – St. Ann
  • Florence – St. Joseph
  • Gadsden – St. James
  • Hoover – Prince of Peace
  • Huntsville – Holy Family
  • Huntsville – Holy Spirit
  • Madison – St. John the Baptist
  • Tuscaloosa – Holy Spirit

High schools

See also

References

  1. ^ "Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama - Interesting Facts". Archived from the original on 2013-12-30. Retrieved 2013-01-15.
  2. ^ "New Orleans (Archdiocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  3. ^ "Vatican May Step In on EWTN-Mass Case". National Catholic Register.
  4. ^ a b "Bishop Accountability". www.bishop-accountability.org. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  5. ^ a b WVTM 13 Digital (Dec 15, 2018). "Catholic Diocese of Birmingham releases names of 6 priests accused of child sex abuse". WVTM. Retrieved May 30, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ a b Garrison, Greg (December 14, 2018). "Birmingham bishop releases names of priests accused of abuse". The Birmingham News. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  7. ^ "Login". origin.bishop-accountability.org. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Ex-EWTN priest, TV host not guilty of child sexual abuse". al. Jun 1, 2016. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  9. ^ "Bishop William Dermott Molloy McDermott". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 21 January 2015.[self-published source]
  10. ^ "Rinunce e Nomine, 11.10.2019" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. Retrieved 11 October 2019.

External links

33°39′12″N 86°48′32″W / 33.65333°N 86.80889°W / 33.65333; -86.80889

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