The Diocese of Allegheny is a former Roman Catholic diocese of the United States (1876–1889), in the state of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. It is currently an episcopal

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...

, known in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

as ''Dioecesis Alleghenensis''.

History

In November 1875, Bishop

Michael Domenec Michael Domenec, DD, C.M. ( ca, Miquel Domènech i Veciana; 1816–1878) full name Miquel Joan Josep Domènech i Veciana, was a Spanish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the second bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh in Pennsyl ...

of the Diocese of Pittsburgh traveled to Rome to request the division of the Diocese of Pittsburg, and the formation of a new diocese with Allegheny City as its see. Priests and people were taken by surprise when the division was announced.Canevin, Regis. "Pittsburgh." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 12. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 15 September 2021 The diocese was created on 11 January 1876 with territory split from the Diocese of Pittsburgh, as a fellow

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...

of the Metropolitan

Archdiocese of Philadelphia The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Philadelphia is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in southeastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. It covers the City and County of Philadelphia as well a ...

. Domenec was appointed as its first ordinary, and missioner

John Tuigg John Tuigg (February 19, 1820 – December 7, 1889) was an Irish-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the third bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania from 1876 to 1889. Biography Early life John Tuigg w ...

of Altoona, vicar-general of Pittsburgh, was appointed to succeed him in Pittsburgh. The

Panic of 1873 The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered an economic depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 to 1877 or 1879 in France and in Britain. In Britain, the Panic started two decades of stagnation known as the "Lon ...

had been a financial disaster for the Pittsburgh diocese. The division was unpopular in Pittsburgh, as it complicated the financial situation and left those by institutions most in debt to the Pittsburgh diocese. Bishop Domenec resigned the See of Allegheny 27 July, 1877, and retired to his native land, where he died at Tarragona, 7 January, 1878. Bishop

, who was serving as Bishop of Pittsburgh, was appointed

Apostolic Administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

. On 1 July 1889, the see was suppressed as a residential diocese and its territory was reunited with the diocese of Pittsburgh.

Former territory

At its creation, the Diocese of Allegheny covered eight counties and an area of , leaving the Diocese of Pittsburgh with six counties and an area of . Allegheny County was split unevenly between the two dioceses, with most of that county remaining in the Diocese of Pittsburgh.: "Thus the new diocese had eight counties, with about one fourth of Allegheny, or an area of about 6530 square miles; leaving the parent diocese six counties and about three fourths of Allegheny, with an area of about 4784 square miles." The Rev. Andrew Lambing, an early historian of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, described the boundary lines as follows:

References and works cited

;References ;Works cited * *

Sources and external links

GigaCatholic, with incumbent biographies

(subscription required for full article) Catholic titular sees in North America History of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Catholic Church in Pennsylvania Religious organizations established in 1876 1876 establishments in Pennsylvania {{US-RC-diocese-stub