The Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids ( la, Dioecesis Grandcataractensis) is a

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in western

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It comprises 80 parishes in 11 counties in West Michigan. It is a suffragan see to the Archdiocese of Detroit. The mother church of the diocese is the Cathedral of Saint Andrew. On April 18, 2013,

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

accepted Bishop Walter A. Hurley's resignation and appointed the Rev. David J. Walkowiak to be the twelfth Bishop of Grand Rapids.

History

The diocese was created from territory taken from the Diocese of Detroit on May 19, 1882 by

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

. In 1938, it lost territory when

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

established the

Diocese of Saginaw The Diocese of Saginaw ( la, Dioecesis Saginavensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church covering eleven County (United States), counties in Michigan. It was founded on February 26, 1938; the first bish ...

. Further territory was lost in 1970 when

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

created both the

Diocese of Gaylord The Diocese of Gaylord ( la, Diœcesis Gaylordensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the Northern Michigan region of the United States. It comprises the twenty-one most northern counties of the lo ...

to its north and the Diocese of Kalamazoo to its south. The diocese's St. Adalbert Church in Grand Rapids became one of the less than seventy

minor basilica In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular ...

s in the United States when

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

raised it to that rank in 1979.

Sex abuse

On May 6, 2021, Grand Haven retired priest Fr. William Langlois was defrocked after sexual abuse allegations against him were deemed as "credible."

Churches

Bishops

Bishops of Grand Rapids

# Henry J. Richter (1883–1916) # Michael J. Gallagher (1916–1918,

coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co ...

1915–1916), appointed

Bishop of Detroit The Archdiocese of Detroit ( la, Archidiœcesis Detroitensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church covering the Michigan counties of Lapeer, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, and Wayne. It i ...

Edward D. Kelly Edward Denis (also Dionysius) Kelly (December 30, 1860 – March 26, 1926) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Detroit in Michigan from 1911 to 1919, and then as the ...

(1919–1926) #

Joseph G. Pinten Joseph Gabriel Pinten (October 3, 1867 – November 6, 1945) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the third bishop of the Diocese of Superior in Wisconsin (1922–1926), and as the fourth bishop of the Diocese of ...

(1926–1940) #

Joseph C. Plagens Joseph Casimir Plagens (January 29, 1880 – March 31, 1943) was a Polish-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Grand Rapids in Michigan from 1941 to 1943. Plagens previously served as bishop of the D ...

(1941–1943) #

Francis J. Haas Francis Joseph Haas (March 18, 1889 – August 29, 1953) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic, Roman Catholic Church. He served as the sixth bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids, Diocese of Grand Rapids in Michigan from 1 ...

(1943–1953) # Allen J. Babcock (1954–1969) #

Joseph M. Breitenbeck Joseph Matthew Breitenbeck (August 3, 1914 – March 12, 2005) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the eighth bishop of the Diocese of Grand Rapids in Michigan from 1969 to 1989, having previously served as an auxiliary b ...

(1969–1989) # Robert J. Rose (1989–2003) # Kevin M. Britt (2003–2004; coadjutor bishop 2002–2003) # Walter A. Hurley (2005–2013) # David J. Walkowiak (2013–present)

Former Auxiliary Bishops of Grand Rapids

Joseph Schrembs Joseph Schrembs (March 12, 1866 – November 2, 1945) was a German-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Grand Rapids in Michigan for five months in 1911, as bishop of the Diocese of Tol ...

(1911), appointed

Bishop of Toledo This is a list of Bishops and Archbishops of Toledo ( la, Archidioecesis Metropolitae Toletana).

and later

Bishop of Cleveland The Diocese of Cleveland ( la, Dioecesis Clevelandensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. Pope Pius IX erected the diocese April 23, 1847, in ter ...

* Charles Salatka (1962–1968), appointed Bishop of Marquette and later Archbishop of Oklahoma City *

Joseph Crescent McKinney Joseph Crescent McKinney (September 10, 1928 – June 9, 2010) was a late 20th-century and early 21st-century bishop of the Catholic Church in the United States. He served as auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Grand Rapids in the state of Michiga ...

(1968–2001)

High schools

* Catholic Central High School, Grand Rapids *

Muskegon Catholic Central High School Muskegon Catholic Central High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Muskegon, Michigan. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids. Muskegon Catholic Central has won 13 football state championships (1979, 1980, 1982, ...

, Muskegon * St. Patrick High School, Portland *

West Catholic High School West Catholic High School is a private Catholic college preparatory secondary school in Grand Rapids, Michigan (U.S.). It opened in 1962 with loans from Kenowa Hills Public Schools. It is located within the Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids. ...

, Grand Rapids
Sacred Heart Academy Classical High School
Grand Rapids

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids Official Site

WOOD TV8: Hurley named Bishop of Grand Rapids
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grand Rapids Religious organizations established in 1882 West Michigan

Roman Catholic Diocese As of October 5, 2021, the Catholic Church in its entirety comprises 3,171 ecclesiastical jurisdictions, including over 652 archdioceses and 2,248 dioceses, as well as apostolic vicariates, apostolic exarchates, apostolic administrations, ap ...

Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 19th century

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

Catholic Church in Michigan 1882 establishments in Michigan