Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana

For the diocese of the same name in Louisiana, see Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana.

Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana Dioecesis Lafayettensis in Indiana
St. Mary's Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Coat of arms
Location
Country	United States
Territory	Central Indiana
Ecclesiastical province	Indianapolis
Statistics
Area	9,832 sq mi (25,460 km2)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2004) 1,176,736 98,003 (8.3%)
Parishes	62
Information
Denomination	Catholic
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	October 21, 1944 (80 years ago)
Cathedral	The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception
Patron saint	Immaculate Conception St. Théodore Guérin
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Timothy L. Doherty
Metropolitan Archbishop	Charles C. Thompson
Bishops emeritus	William Leo Higi
Map
Website
dol-in.org

The Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana (Template:Lang-la) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in central Indiana in the United States. The current bishop is Timothy L. Doherty. The Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Indianapolis.

History

Early history

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. Reverend 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.

Diocese of Vincennes

The Diocese of Vincennes was created in 1834 by Pope Gregory XVI to cover the entire state of Indiana and part of Illinois. The diocese sent many French missionaries to this very anti-Catholic area. The most notable missionary was Sister Theodore Guerin who made her way to southern Indiana with her Sisters of Providence in 1841. Guerin and the other sisters formed St. Mary of the Woods College at Terre Haute, Indiana. Many alumni of St. Mary traveled throughout Indiana preaching.

In 1857, Pope Pius IX established the Diocese of Fort Wayne, taking its territory from the Diocese of Vincennes. The Lafayette area would be part of this diocese for the next 87 years.

Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana

1944 to 1965

Pope Pius XII erected the Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana on October 21, 1944, with territory of the Diocese of Fort Wayne. The new diocese had 54 parishes and an approximate population of 31,700 Catholics. In 1945, the pope named Reverend John Bennett as the first bishop of the new diocese. Reverend John Carberry of the Diocese of Brooklyn was appointed coadjutor bishop of the diocese to assist Bennett in 1956 by Pius XII. When Bennett died in 1957, Carberry automatically became the next bishop of Lafayette in Indiana.

Carberry convened the first diocesan synod and established the Diocesan Council of Men and the Society for Priestly Vocations during his tenure. In 1964, Carberry announced that a census would be held in the diocese. The census found a population of 73,822 Catholics and noted a move from mostly rural populations to scattered suburban areas. On January 20, 1965, Pope Paul VI appointed Carberry as bishop of the Diocese of Columbus.

1965 to 2010

In August 1965, Paul VI appointed Reverend Raymond Gallagher of the Diocese of Cleveland as the next bishop of Lafayette in Indiana. Within his first five years, Gallagher dedicated many churches in northern Indiana.

With Gallagher's retirement in 1982, Auxiliary Bishop George Fulcher of the Diocese of Columbus was appointed by Pope John Paul II as his replacement. In January 1984, Fulcher died in a car crash. The pope selected Monsignor William Higi in 1984 to succeed Fulcher.

2010 to present

During Higi's reign, he opened St. Theodore Guerin High School in Noblesville. In addition to working within the diocese, he also made connections to Haiti with many outreaches to the third-world country. After over 26 years as bishop, Higi retired in 2010.

The current bishop of the Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana is Timothy Doherty from the Diocese of Rockford. Doherty was named by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010. In 1990 there were 154 priests in the Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana. By 2010, the number had dropped to 129. To alleviate the shortage, Doherty recruited priests from Nigeria and Mexico.

On July 1, 2020, Doherty suspended Theodore Rothrock, a priest at St. Elizabeth Seton Parish in Carmel, from public ministry. In a Sunday bulletin, Rothrock had describe Black Lives Matter organizers as parasites and maggots. Rothrock later apologized for his statement.

Sex abuse

On December 31, 2003, Bishop Higi reported that 18 priests serving in the diocese since 1950 had been accused by 26 parishioners of sexually abusing them as minors. Nine priests were removed from ministry due to credible accusations.

Bishops

1. John George Bennett (1944–1957)
2. John Joseph Carberry (1957–1965), appointed Bishop of Columbus and later Archbishop of Saint Louis (elevated to Cardinal in 1969)
3. Raymond Joseph Gallagher (1965–1982)
4. George Avis Fulcher (1983–1984)
5. William Leo Higi (1984–2010)
6. Timothy Doherty (2010–present)

Patron saint

See: Immaculate Conception

See: St. Mother Théodore Guérin

From its beginning in 1944, the patron of the Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana has been the Immaculate Conception because the seat of the diocese, The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Lafayette shares the namesake. The feast day for the Immaculate Conception is on December 8th. It was in the early first decade of the 21st century that the diocese began contemplating adding another patron. With the formation of St. Theodore Guerin High School in Noblesville in 2004, Guerin was officially named as another patron of the diocese.

Arms

Coat of arms of Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana

Notes Coat of arms was designed and adopted when the diocese was erected Adopted 1944 Escutcheon The arms of the diocese are composed of a crescent at the top. The crenellated dividing line, just below the crescent, suggests the wall of a castle or fort. The bottom section of the diocesan arms features a field of bell-like devices in silver (or white) and blue. On that field is a red shield with a diagonal gold bar. Symbolism The crescent at the top is the emblem of Mary, mother of Jesus, under the title of the Immaculate Conception. She is the patroness of the diocese and its cathedral, the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception. The use of lunar symbolism to represent Mary is common, and comes from the Bible: "... and a great sign appeared in the sky — a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of 12 stars." (Revelation 12:1) The crescent moon also is found in the arms of the Diocese of Fort Wayne, mother diocese of the Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana. The crenellated dividing line, just below the crescent, suggests the wall of a castle or fort. The same motif is found in the coat of arms for the Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend, to represent the historic Fort Wayne. But for the Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana, it likely pays homage to Fort Ouiatenon, a French trading fort that once stood near the Wabash River, south of modern-day West Lafayette. There, as early as 1717, Catholicism came to what is now north central Indiana. The bottom section of the diocesan arms features a field of bell-like devices in silver (or white) and blue. On that field is a red shield with a diagonal gold bar: the arms of the Marquis de Lafayette. Lafayette was touring the United States in 1825, when the frontier town of Lafayette was platted and named in his honor The use of the marquis' personal arms identifies Lafayette, Indiana, as the diocesan see city.

Schools

Colleges

• Saint Joseph's College, Rensselaer in February 2017 the university's trustees announced the temporary closure of their Rensselaer campus at the end of the Spring 2017 semester. The trustees stated the university needs to raise $100 million in order to continue operations. The nursing campus in Lafayette remains open.

High schools

See also: Catholic schools in the United States

• Lafayette Central Catholic Jr/Sr High School, Lafayette
• St. Theodore Guerin High School, Noblesville

Media

Catholic radio within the diocese

• WRDF "Redeemer Radio" 106.3 FM licensed to Columbia City and based in Fort Wayne, plus audiostream.
• WSQM "Catholic Radio Indy" 90.9 FM in Noblesville.(repeater of WSPM 89.1 based in Indianapolis and licensed in Cloverdale), plus audiostream.

Publications

The Diocese of Lafayette publishes a weekly newspaper, The Catholic Moment, which was established on January 21, 1945. Its circulation is about 28,000.

Ecclesiastical province

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

Further reading

• Burton, Katherine (2007). The Eighth American Saint: The Life of Saint Mother Theodore Guérin, Foundress of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. Skokie, Illinois: ACTA Publications. ISBN 978-0-87946-324-3.
• Mitchell, Penny Blaker (2006). Mother Theodore Guerin – Saint of God: A Woman for All Time. Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana: Sisters of Providence.
• Prosen, Reverend Anthony, S.T.L., PH. D. (2006). A History of the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana. Éditions su Signe. ISBN 2-7468-1682-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

External links

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana Official Site