The Diocese of Great Falls–Billings ( la, Dioecesis Magnocataractensis–Billingensis) is a Latin Church diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in

eastern Montana Eastern Montana is a loosely defined region of Montana. Some definitions are more or less inclusive than others, ranging from the most inclusive, which would include the entire part of the state east of the Continental Divide, to the least inclusiv ...

in the United States. The Diocese of Great Falls was established in 1904; it became the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings in 1980. As of 2023, the bishop of Great Falls-Billings is Michael Warfel. The diocese has two cathedrals: St Ann's Cathedral in

Great Falls Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

, dedicated in 1907, and St Patrick's Co-Cathedral in

Billings Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it is the seat of Yellowstone County and the principal city of the Billings Met ...

, dedicated in 1908.

History

1800 to 1883

The earliest Catholic presence in present-day Montana was the arrival of Catholic

Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

/Haudenosaunee fur traders who settled with the

Flathead Nation Flathead may refer to: Peoples * Flathead people, one of three tribes of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation in Montana. * The Flathead, or Flathead Indian (or Amerindian) tribe more formally known as the Confe ...

western Montana Western Montana is the western region of the U.S. state of Montana. The most restrictive definition limits western Montana only to the parts of the state west of the Continental Divide. Other common definitions add in the mountainous areas east ...

around 1811. The Flathead sent emissaries to St. Louis, Missouri four times in the 1830s to petition the Diocese of St. Louis for their own missionaries. At that time, the diocese was responsible for large territories east of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

. Finally, in 1840, the Diocese of St. Louis sent missionary Reverend

Pierre-Jean de Smet Pierre-Jean De Smet, SJ ( ; 30 January 1801 – 23 May 1873), also known as Pieter-Jan De Smet, was a Flemish Catholic priest and member of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). He is known primarily for his widespread missionary work in the mid-19th ...

to Montana. Encouraged by his reception by the Flathead Nation, de Smet returned the following year to establish missions. The missions founded by Jesuit missionaries in eastern Montana included: * St. Xavier's Mission in St. Xavier for the

Crow Nation The Crow, whose Exonym and endonym, autonym is Apsáalooke (), also spelled Absaroka, are Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans living primarily in southern Montana. Today, the Crow people have a federally recognized tribe, th ...

(1840) * St. Peter's Mission near

Cascade Cascade, Cascades or Cascading may refer to: Science and technology Science *Cascade waterfalls, or series of waterfalls * Cascade, the CRISPR-associated complex for antiviral defense (a protein complex) * Cascade (grape), a type of fruit * Bioc ...

for

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settlers from Canada (1874)

1883 to 1900

In April 1883,

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 ...

erected the Apostolic Vicariate of Montana, including eastern Montana from the Diocese of St. Louis. He appointed Bishop

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 ...

of the

Diocese of Vancouver Island The Diocese of Victoria ( la, Dioecesis Victoriensis in Insula Vancouver) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Its episcopal see is in Victoria. The diocese e ...

as the apostolic vicar. One year later, the same pope created the Diocese of Helena to replace the vicariate. Eastern Montana would be part of the Diocese of Helena for the next 21 years. In 1884, Brondel purchased land in present-day Ashland to found the St. Labre Indian School, staffed by Ursuline Order sisters. The first Catholic parish in

, St. Patrick's, was established in 1887.

1900 to 1930

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X ( it, Pio X; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of C ...

erected the Diocese of Great Falls on May 18, 1904, taking eastern Montana from the Diocese of Helena. The pope named Reverend Mathias Lenihan from the Diocese of Dubuque as the first bishop of the new diocese. Lenihan served as bishop for 26 years. He was involved in

temperance Temperance may refer to: Moderation *Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed *Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion Culture *Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...

reform, building the

parochial school A parochial school is a private primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathematics and language arts. The ...

system, and constructing a new cathedral. The new St. Ann Cathedral in

was dedicated on December 15, 1907. Lenihan was instrumental in establishing an

orphanage An orphanage is a Residential education, residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the Childcare, care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parent ...

staffed by the Sisters of Charity of Providence. In 1913, Lenihan introduced Benedictine sisters from Germany to minister to minister in Poplar to Native Americans at the

Fort Peck Indian Reservation The Fort Peck Indian Reservation ( asb, húdam wįcášta, dak, Waxchį́ca oyáte) is located near Fort Peck, Montana, in the northeast part of the state. It is the home of several federally recognized bands of Assiniboine The Assinibo ...

. The diocese also established several new parishes during his episcopate. Lenihan retired in 1930.

1930 to 1980

The second bishop of Great Falls was Edwin O'Hara from the

Diocese of Oregon City The Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon (''Archidioecesis Portlandensis in Oregonia'') is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It encompasses the western part of the state of Oregon, from the s ...

, named by

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

in 1930. Concerned at the lack of doctrinal education among rural Catholic children, O'Hara introduced the

Confraternity of Christian Doctrine Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) is a catechesis program of the Catholic Church, normally for children. It is also the name of an association that traditionally organises Catholic catechesis, which was established in Rome in 1562. Rel ...

(CCD) program in the diocese in 1930. O'Hara worked to implement CCD throughout his diocese and the United States. His efforts led to a revitalization of CCD and rapid adoption of it throughout the country. O'Hara then promoted the establishment of CCD neighborhood groups of four to six adults to study a single work for eight weeks, twice a year. By 1934, more than 400 adult CCD groups existed in the diocese. The movement spread nationwide, with tens of thousands of adult groups. O'Hara became bishop of the

Diocese of Kansas City In 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 provinces were administratively associat ...

in 1939. To replace O'Hara,

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 ...

appointed Monsignor William Condon from the Diocese of Spokane. Condon retired in 1967. His replacement was Auxiliary Bishop Eldon Schuster, named bishop by

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 ...

that same year. Shuster retired in 1977. In 1978, Reverend Thomas Joseph Murphy of the Archdiocese of Chicago was appointed bishop of Great Falls-Billings by Paul VI.

1980 to 2010

On February 14, 1980,

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 ...

renamed the Diocese of Great Falls to the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings to reflect the population growth in Billings. In 1987, Murphy became the

coadjutor archbishop The term coadjutor (or coadiutor, literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadj ...

of the Archdiocese of Seattle. To replace Murphy in Great Falls-Billings, John Paul II appointed Auxiliary Bishop Anthony Milone from the Archdiocese of Omaha. In 2005, the Northern Cheyenne Nation sued the St. Labre Indian School in Ashland and the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings. The plaintiff alleged that both organizations used the tribe's poverty to raise millions of dollars, but shared almost none of it with the nation. The lawsuit claimed

breach of contract Breach of contract is a legal cause of action and a type of civil wrong, in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other party ...

, cultural genocide,

fraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compens ...

, and unjust enrichment. Murphy retired early in 2006 due to health concerns. Pope Benedict XVI then named Bishop Michael William Warfel from the Diocese of Juneau as the next bishop of Great Falls-Billings. As of 2023, Warfel is the current bishop of the diocese.

2010 to present

In 2013, the

Montana Supreme Court The Montana Supreme Court is the supreme court, highest court of the state court system in the U.S. state of Montana. It is established and its powers defined by Article VII of the 1972 Montana Constitution. It is primarily an appellate court wh ...

reversed parts of a lower court ruling dismissing the Northern Cheyenne suit. However, the Supreme Court did say that the Northern Cheyenne had failed to prove allegations of breach of contract,

negligent misrepresentation In common law jurisdictions, a misrepresentation is a False statements of fact, false or misleading ''Royal Mail Case, R v Kylsant''

931 Year 931 ( CMXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – Hugh of Provence, king of Italy, cedes Lower Burgundy to Rudolph II, in re ...

Question of law, statement of fact made during negotiations by one party to another, the statement then in ...

, fraud and wrongful conversion. The court also out claims of cultural genocide. The Northern Cheyenne and St. Labre School reached an out-of-court settlement in December 2014. The school agreed to pay the nation $6 million in 2014, $1 million per year from 2015 to 2019, and $60,000 per year beginning in 2020. In early 2016, the diocese created the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings Juridic Persons Capital Assets Support Corporation (the "Capital Assets Support Corporation", or CASC), a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

organization. The diocese then transferred most of its cash and assets to CASC by the end of 2016. Critics accused the diocese of trying to protect the church's assets from victim claims by transferring them to an organization it controlled. On March 31, 2017, the diocese filed for Chapter 11

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

in the light of multiple lawsuits for sexual abuse of minors by clergy. In July 2018, Warfel reprimanded two priests from the diocese. The priests, wearing clerical garb, had attended a political rally in Great Falls for President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

. The rally organizers had seated the two priests in highly visible positions in the first row behind the podium. The priests were seen clapping when Trump joked about the MeToo movement and when he referred derisively to U.S. Senator

Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren ( née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the senior United States senator from Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and regarded as a ...

as "

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, known as Matoaka, 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman, belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of ...

". Warfel later told the priests that they should have worn civilian clothes to the rally and should have requested less visible seats.

Sexual abuse

In 2012, the first of several sexual abuse lawsuits was filed against the diocese, alleging abuse of both boys and girls by diocesan clergy and employees. Over 60 plaintiffs had joined the suits by April 2015. By 2017, the diocese faced more than 400 potential sexual abuse lawsuits. On March 31, 2017, just weeks before the first sexual abuse trials were to begin, the diocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The diocese then agreed to compensate 72 plaintiffs in the lawsuits and establish a fund to compensate future unknown victims. In response, the alleged victims and other church creditors sued the diocese in January 2018. They alleged that the diocese illegally triggered its bankruptcy by creating CASC, in what they termed as a fraudulent attempt to hide $16 million assets. The victims also argued that the assets of 14 of the 50 parishes should be considered diocesan assets and subject to entailment. In response to this lawsuit, the diocese filed a motion to dismiss its bankruptcy proceeding. Another 14 victims came forward after the bankruptcy filing. In April 2018, the two sides announced a new bankruptcy plan and settlement, with terms similar to the 2015 bankruptcy filing by the Diocese of Helena. In addition, the Great Falls-Billings plan also required the diocese to begin "intensive background checks and screening of potential seminarians" and to publish a list of all known abusers, past and present, that were named in the lawsuits. A federal court approved the new Great Falls-Billings bankruptcy plan in August 2018. About $20 million was to be paid to 86 alleged victims, with the diocese agreeing to set aside another $1.75 million to cover administrative costs and to compensate victims who came forward in the future. The 86 victims covered in the settlement were to receive their payments within a month. The $20 million was to come from the following sources: * Catholic Mutual, the diocese's liability insurer ($8 million) * The diocese ($4 million) * Individual parishes ($4 million) * CASC ($2 million) * The Catholic Foundation of Eastern Montana ($1 million) * St. Labre Indian School ($1 million)

Bishops

Bishops of Great Falls

# Mathias Clement Lenihan (1904-1930) # Edwin Vincent O'Hara (1930-1939), appointed Bishop of Kansas City; later elevated to

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

(ad personam) in 1954 # William Joseph Condon (1939-1967) # Eldon Bernard Schuster (1967-1977) # Thomas Joseph Murphy (1978-1980), title changed with title of diocese

Bishops of Great Falls-Billings

# Thomas Joseph Murphy (1980-1987), appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Seattle and subsequently succeeded to that see # Anthony Michael Milone (1987-2006) #

Michael William Warfel Michael William Warfel (born September 16, 1948) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church serving as the bishop of the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings in Montana since 2007. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Juneau in Alaska f ...

(2007–present)

Coadjutor Bishops of Great Falls-Billings

Jeffrey M. Fleming (2022–present)

Former auxiliary bishops

Eldon Bernard Schuster (1961-1967), appointed Bishop of Great Falls

Education

High Schools

* Billings Central Catholic High School – Billings * Great Falls Central Catholic High School – Great Falls *

St. Labre Indian Catholic High School St. Labre Indian Catholic High School is a private school, private, Roman Catholic high school in Ashland, Montana. It is located within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Great Falls-Billings and serves students from Crow Nation, Crow and Northern Che ...

– Ashland

Higher education

University of Providence The University of Providence (UP, formerly University of Great Falls) is a private Roman Catholic university in Great Falls, Montana. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. History The University of Provide ...

– Great Falls, sponsored by the Sisters of Providence

Hospitals

The diocese has two Catholic acute-care hospitals, both sponsored by the

Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth The Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth is a Catholic religious institute based in Leavenworth, Kansas who follow in the tradition of Saints Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac. A member of the Sisters of Charity Federation in the Vincentian-Se ...

: * Holy Rosary Healthcare – Miles City * St. Vincent Healthcare – Billings

References

Notes

Citations

Arms

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roman Catholic Diocese of Great Falls-Billings

Diocese of Great Falls Christian organizations established in 1904

1904 establishments in Montana Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2017