The Diocese of Helena ( la, Dioecesis Helenensis) is the

Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...

ecclesiastical territory or

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

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

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

with its

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

located in Helena. The diocese was created from the year-old Apostolic Vicariate of Montana on March 7, 1884, while Montana was still a territory. The Diocese of Helena is a

suffragan diocese A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria ...

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United State ...

of the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon, a province that encompasses

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

, and Montana. The diocese covers 51,922 square miles of western and north central Montana, encompassing 21 counties and parts of two others. The diocese’s 57 parishes and 38 missions are structured into six deaneries: Bozeman, Butte, Conrad, Helena, Kalispell, and Missoula. Its diocesan church is the Cathedral of St. Helena, which was dedicated in 1914 and is located in Helena.

History

Cathedral of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary - Helena, Montana

Before becoming a diocese, this was the Apostolic Vicariate of Montana (covering the whole territory and then the state of Montana). For its first twenty years, the diocese served all of Montana. In 1904 the new Diocese of Great Falls (later renamed the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings) was formed to serve eastern Montana. The seat of the diocese is in the Cathedral of St. Helena in the state capital of Helena. It was completed in 1914.

Sexual abuse settlement and bankruptcy

On January 31, 2014, the Diocese of Helena filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as part of a $15 million settlement intended to go to 362 victims of sex abuse by clergy in the Diocese. The settlement, which was approved in 2015, covers Catholic churches in all or part of counties in western Montana.

Helena Synagogue Sale

The Diocese of Helena closed the deal with the Montana Jewish Project, a nonprofit organization, on August 25, 2022 and sold the Temple Emanu-El, which was built in 1891. The organization fundraised for nine months to make the purchase and intend to use the synagogue as Jewish community center to host events and celebrations. The synagogue was in Diocese's possession since 1981, and it is the oldest synagogue in Montana. Bishop Austin Vetter and his staff negotiated the sale with the Montana Jewish Project for months.

Bishops

Apostolic Vicar of Montana

Jean-Baptiste Brondel Jean-Baptiste Brondel (23 February 1842 – 3 November 1903) was a Belgian-born prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Vancouver Island in British Columbia and Alaska (1879–1883) and as vicar apostolic and bis ...

(1883–1884)
-

Augustin Ravoux Augustin Ravoux (January 11, 1815 – January 17, 1906) was a French priest and missionary who served in the area preceding Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, in Minnesota. Biography Ravoux was born in Langeac, Auvergne ...

, S.J. (appointed in 1868), incapacitated, so did not assume office

Bishops of Helena

(1884–1903) # John Patrick Carroll (1904–1925) #

George Joseph Finnigan George Joseph Finnigan, C.S.C. (February 22, 1885 – August 14, 1932) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Helena in Montana from 1927 to 1932 Biography Early life George Finnigan w ...

(1927–1932) #

Ralph Leo Hayes Ralph Leo Hayes S.T.D. (September 21, 1884 – July 5, 1970) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Helena in Montana from 1933 to 1935, and as the fifth bishop of the Diocese of Da ...

(1933–1935), appointed

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the

Pontifical North American College The Pontifical North American College (NAC) is a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic educational institution in Rome, Italy, that prepares seminarians to become priests in the United States and elsewhere. The NAC also provides a residence for Pri ...

and

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

and later Bishop of Davenport #

Joseph Michael Gilmore Joseph Michael Gilmore (March 23, 1893 – April 2, 1962) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Helena in Montana from 1936 until his death in 1962. Biography Joseph Gilmore was born in Ne ...

(1935–1962) #

Raymond Gerhardt Hunthausen Raymond Gerhardt Hunthausen (August 21, 1921 – July 22, 2018) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Helena in Montana from 1962 to 1975 and as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Seattle in Washingt ...

(1962–1975), appointed Archbishop of Seattle #

Elden Francis Curtiss Elden Francis Curtiss (born June 16, 1932) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Helena in Montana from 1976 to 1993, and as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Omaha in Nebraska from 1993 to 2 ...

(1976–1993), appointed Archbishop of Omaha # Alexander Joseph Brunett (1994–1997), appointed Archbishop of Seattle #

Robert C. Morlino Robert Charles Morlino S.J. (December 31, 1946 – November 24, 2018) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as bishop of Diocese of Madison in Wisconsin from 2003 until his death. He was the bishop of Diocese of Helena ...

(1999–2003), appointed Bishop of Madison # George Leo Thomas (2004–2018), appointed Bishop of Las Vegas #

Austin Anthony Vetter Austin Anthony Vetter (born September 13, 1967) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Church who has been serving as bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena, Diocese of Helena in Montana since 2019. Biography ...

(2019–present)

Other priests of this diocese who became Bishops

These bishops were priests in the diocese before consecration: * Jeffrey M. Fleming,

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 ...

of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Great Falls–Billings The Diocese of Great Falls–Billings ( la, Dioecesis Magnocataractensis–Billingensis) is a Latin Church diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in eastern Montana in the United States. The Diocese of Great Falls was established in 1904; it beca ...

Diocesan College

* Carroll College, Helena

High schools

Butte Central Catholic High School Butte Central Catholic High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Butte, Montana. It is one of two high schools in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena, the other being Loyola Sacred Heart in Missoula. Their mascot is the Maroons. ...

Butte __NOTOC__ In geomorphology, a butte () is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from a French word mea ...

Loyola Sacred Heart High School Loyola Sacred Heart High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Missoula, Montana. It is one of two high schools in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena, the other being Butte Central Catholic in Butte. It is affiliated with St. Jo ...

Missoula Missoula ( ; fla, label=Salish language, Séliš, Nłʔay, lit=Place of the Small Bull Trout, script=Latn; kut, Tuhuⱡnana, script=Latn) is a city in the U.S. state of Montana; it is the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, Missoula Cou ...

* St Andrew School, Helena

Elementary schools

* De La Salle Blackfeet School, Browning * Butte Central Elementary, Butte * St Andrew School, Helena * St Joseph Catholic School, Missoula * St Matthew Elementary, Kalispell

Notes

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena Official Site
{{authority control Helena

Diocese of Helena The Diocese of Helena ( la, Dioecesis Helenensis) is the Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in western Montana with its cathedral located in Helena. The diocese was created from the year-old Apostolic Vicariate ...

Helena Helena Helena Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2014

History

Sexual abuse settlement and bankruptcy

Helena Synagogue Sale

Bishops

Apostolic Vicar of Montana

Bishops of Helena

Other priests of this diocese who became Bishops

Diocesan College

High schools

Elementary schools

See also

Notes

External links