Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend

The Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend (Latin: Dioecesis Wayne Castrensis–South Bendensis) is a diocese of the Catholic Church in north-central and northeastern Indiana in the United States. The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Fort Wayne is the see's primary cathedral; Saint Matthew's Cathedral in South Bend is the associate cathedral. Kevin C. Rhoades is the bishop.

The Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend encompasses 14 Indiana counties: Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Elkhart, Huntington, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Marshall, Noble, Steuben, St. Joseph, Wabash, Wells, and Whitley.

The Indiana area was part of the French colony of New France during the 17th century and the first half of the 18th century. It was explored by French fur traders and missionaries under the Bishop of Quebec. It became British territory after the French Indian War ended in 1763; however, the British government refused to allow American colonists to enter the region.

Several years after the American Revolution in 1789, Pope Pius VI erected the Diocese of Baltimore, covering the entire United States. John Francis served as vicar-general in the west from 1798 until his death in 1804. In 1808, Pope Pius VII erected the Diocese of Bardstown, with jurisdiction over the Indiana Territory and other areas in the Midwest.^[1] In 1832, Stephen Badin established a mission at South Bend in what was now the State of Indiana.^[2]

In 1834, Pope Gregory XVI erected the Diocese of Vincennes, encompassing all of Indiana and the eastern third of Illinois. The pope named Simon Bruté, president of Mount St. Mary's College in Emmitsburg, Maryland, as its first bishop.^[3]

In 1835, Bruté was at South Bend in the course of a 600-mile visitation of the diocese. A Ruff from Metz in France was assigned to St. Mary's Church in Fort Wayne. Ruff was fluent in English, French, and German. St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church in Lagro was first constructed in 1838, as was St. Vincent de Paul in Logansport and St. Charles Borromeo in Peru. Bruté died in 1839.

Bishop Célestin de la Hailandière, Bruté's coadjutor bishop and successor, offered land at South Bend to Edouard Sorin of the Congregation of Holy Cross to build a college. Sorin arrived in South Bend in November 1842, and began the school using Badin's old log chapel. This was the start of the University of Notre Dame.^[4] In 1840, Julian Benoit purchased land in Fort Wayne for the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Benoit routinely covered over a dozen mission stations by canal boat or horseback.^[5]

In 1857, Pope Pius IX established the Diocese of Fort Wayne, taking its territory from the Diocese of Vincennes. The pope appointed John Luers of the Diocese of Cincinnati as the first bishop of Fort Wayne.

Luers founded St. Patrick's Parish in Chesterton in 1858, as well as St. Paul's Parish in Valparaiso. In 1863, Luers held a synod of priests at the University of Notre Dame in which he established the laws and constitution for the diocese.^[6] That same year, due to the large German-speaking population in the diocese, Luers invited the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ, a German religious order, to come to the diocese. He established an orphanage in Rensselaer for children who had lost their parents during the American Civil War.^[6] He also founded the Catholic Clerical Benevolent Association of the Diocese of Fort Wayne for the support of elderly and sick priests. Luers died in 1871.

In 1872, Pope Pius IX appointed Joseph Dwenger as the second bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne. He helped establish Immaculate Conception Parish in Celina in Mercer County.^[7] In 1875, he erected an orphan asylum and a trade school for boys at Lafayette. Dwenger promoted the parochial school system.^[8] In 1886, he erected an asylum for orphan girls at Fort Wayne.^[8] Dwenger died in 1893 after 21 years as bishop of Fort Wayne.

Bishop Joseph Rademacher of the Diocese of Nashville became bishop in 1893 and died in 1900. The next bishop was Herman Alerding, nominated in 1900. At Alerding's request, the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth came to the diocese in 1902 to work in the parochial schools. The Sisters of St. Francis of Maryville arrived in 1906; they had charge of the Wabash Railway hospital at Peru, known as St. Ann's Hospital. The Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart opened Sacred Heart Hospital in Garrett, Indiana in 1901; it later became Garrett Community Hospital.^[1]

During World War I, Alerding established the Fort Wayne Diocesan War Council.^[9] Under Alerding's administration, the number of diocesan priests rose from 109 in 1900 to 210 in 1925.^[9] In 1900, the diocese had 102 churches with resident pastors, 39 mission churches, and 73 parochial schools; in 1924, there were 148 churches with resident pastors, 31 mission churches, and 106 parochial schools.^[9] Alerding died in 1924.

John F. Noll was appointed as its the fifth bishop in 1925.^[10] He supervised construction of a preparatory seminary, several high schools, and an orphanage. During the Great Depression, Noll reorganized the system of Catholic charities. In 1944, the diocese became suffragan to the newly elevated Archdiocese of Indianapolis. In 1944 and 1956, the diocese lost territory to the newly formed dioceses of Lafayette and Gary.

After Noll died in 1956, Pope Pius XII named Auxiliary Bishop Leo Pursley of Fort Wayne as his replacement. In 1960, Pope John XXIII renamed the diocese as the Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend.

After Pursley retired in 1976, Pope Paul VI appointed Auxiliary Bishop William McManus of the Archdiocese of Chicago as the next bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend. He retired in 1985. The next bishop was Auxiliary Bishop John Michael D'Arcy from the Archdiocese of Boston, named by Pope John Paul II in 1985. D'Arcy served as bishop until his retirement in 2009.

The current bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend is Kevin C. Rhoades, previously bishop of the Diocese of Harrisburg. Rhodes was appointed in 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI.

In 2008, court papers revealed that Bishop Pursley in 1972 wrote to Bishop John Marshall of the Diocese of Burlington about Edward Paquette, a priest who wanted to transfer from Fort Wayne-South Bend to Vermont. In his letter, Pursley warned Marshall that Paquette had been accused of molesting boys and should, if accepted in Vermont, be kept away from children. Marshall allowed Paquette to transfer, but ignored Pursley's advice to restrict him. In 2008, the Diocese of Burlington paid out a $8.7 million settlement to a Vermont sexual abuse victim of Paquette.^[11]

In September 2018, Bishop Rhoades released a list of 18 priests and deacons who previously served the diocese and were credibly accused of sexually abusing minors.^[12][13]

1. John Henry Luers (1857–1871)
2. Joseph Gregory Dwenger (1872–1893)
3. Joseph Rademacher (1893–1900)
4. Herman Joseph Alerding (1900–1924)
5. John F. Noll (1925–1956) – elevated to Archbishop ad personam in 1953

1. Leo Aloysius Pursley (1956–1976) (diocese name changed in 1960)
2. William Edward McManus (1976–1985)
3. John Michael D'Arcy (1985–2009)
4. Kevin Carl Rhoades (2009–present)

• Leo Aloysius Pursley (1950–1955)
• Joseph Robert Crowley (1971–1990)
• John Richard Sheets, S.J. (1991–1997)
• Daniel R. Jenky, C.S.C. (1997–2002), appointed Bishop of Peoria

• John George Bennett, appointed Bishop of Lafayette in Indiana in 1945
• Andrew Gregory Grutka, appointed Bishop of Gary in 1956

Mother Theodore Guérin, founder of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods is considered the patron of education in the Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend.^[14]

• Ancilla Domini College – Donaldson
• Holy Cross College – Notre Dame
• Saint Mary's College – Notre Dame
• University of Notre Dame – Notre Dame
• University of Saint Francis – Fort Wayne

• Bishop Dwenger High School – Fort Wayne
• Bishop Luers High School – Fort Wayne
• Marian High School – Mishawaka
• Saint Joseph High School – South Bend

• WRDF "Redeemer Radio" 106.3 FM in Fort Wayne
• WRDI "Redeemer Radio" 95.7 FM in South Bend

See: List of the Catholic bishops of the United States#Province of Indianapolis

• Alerding, Herman Joseph. The Diocese of Fort Wayne, 1857-September 1907, Fort Wayne, Indiana., Archer Print Company, 1907
• Blanchard, Charles. History of the Catholic Church in Indiana, A. W. Bowen & Company–1898

• Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend's official site

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