The Archdiocese of Saint Louis is the Roman Catholic archdiocese that covers the City of St. Louis as well as the following Missouri counties: Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, Perry, Saint Charles, Saint Francois, Ste. Genevieve, St. Louis, Warren, and Washington.
It was led by Archbishop Raymond Burke until his transfer to the position of Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura on June 27, 2008. Robert James Carlson, the former Bishop of Saginaw, was named the Archbishop-elect on April 21, 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI, and was installed on June 10, 2009.[1] The archdiocesan cathedral is the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis. The original cathedral and motherchurch is the Basilica of St. Louis, King of France.
History
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] Floridas by Pope Pius VII. DuBourg chose to set up his episcopal see in St. Louis. After his resignation and transfer to lead the diocese of Montauban, France, the Diocese of Saint 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, equalling in extent all of the other nine dioceses.
Its first bishop, Joseph Rosati, led the Roman Catholic Church's expansion its presence in these areas, and built its first cathedral, now known as the Basilica of St. Louis, King of France.
On July 28, 1837, territory in Iowa, Minnesota, and the Dakotas was taken from the Diocese to form the Diocese of Dubuque, Iowa.
The Saint 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.
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 thirty years earlier, he had paid a visit when he was Cardinal Wojtyła, Archbishop of Kraków.
Politics
In July of 2009 the Diocese of St. Louis contributed $10,000 of its money to overturn a law in the New England state of Maine allowing same-sex civil marriage.[2] In early 2009, Maine, through its legislature and with the approval of its catholic governor extended the civil rights of same sex couples to marry in Maine. According to Maine's "Commission on Governmental Ethics & Election Practices", the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland Maine spent over $553,000 to rescind those rights. The Diocese of St. Louis' $10,000 was part of that $553,000. [3]
Residential bishops
The following is a list of the bishops and archbishops of Saint Louis and their terms of service.
- Bishop Joseph Rosati, C.M. (1827–1843)
- Archbishop Peter Richard Kenrick (1843–1895)
- Archbishop John Joseph Kain (1895–1903)
- Archbishop John Joseph Cardinal Glennon (1903–1946)
- Archbishop Joseph Elmer Cardinal Ritter (1946–1967)
- Archbishop John Joseph Cardinal Carberry (1968–1979)
- Archbishop John L. May (1980–1992)
- Archbishop Justin Francis Cardinal Rigali (1994–2003)
- Archbishop Raymond Leo Burke (2004–2008)
- Archbishop Robert J. Carlson (2009–present)
Auxiliary bishops
Eastern Rites
There are two Eastern Rite churches and one Eastern Rite Cathedral within the archdiocese's boundaries:
High schools
- Barat Academy, O'Fallon
- Bishop DuBourg High School, St. Louis †
- Cardinal Ritter College Prep High School, St. Louis
- Chaminade College Preparatory School, Ladue
- Christian Brothers College High School, St. Louis
- Cor Jesu Academy, St. Louis
- De Smet Jesuit High School, Creve Coeur
- Duchesne High School, St. Charles
- Gateway Academy, Chesterfield
- Incarnate Word Academy, Bel-Nor
- John F. Kennedy Catholic High School, Manchester †
- Nerinx Hall High School, Webster Groves
- Notre Dame High School, St. Louis
- Rosati-Kain High School, St. Louis †
- St. Dominic High School, O'Fallon
- St. Elizabeth Academy, St. Louis
- St. Francis Borgia Regional High School, Washington
- St. John Vianney High School, Kirkwood
- St. Joseph's Academy, Frontenac
- Saint Louis Priory School, St. Louis
- St. Louis University High School, St. Louis
- St. Mary's High School, St. Louis †
- St. Pius X High School, Festus †
- St. Vincent High School, Perryville
- Trinity Catholic High School, North County †
- Ursuline Academy, Oakland
- Valle Catholic High School, Sainte Genevieve
- Villa Duchesne/Oak Hill School, St. Louis
- Visitation Academy of St. Louis, Town and Country
†Archdiocesan high schools that are owned and operated by the Archdiocese.[4]
References
External links
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