The Diocese of Joliet in Illinois ( la, Diœcesis Joliettensis in Illinois) is a
Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the
Catholic Church in the state of
Illinois in the United States. The Diocese of Joliet in Illinois 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 ...
in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan
Archdiocese of Chicago. The mother church is the
Cathedral of St. Raymond Nonnatus
Cathedral of St. Raymond Nonnatus is a Catholic cathedral in Joliet, Illinois, United States. It is the seat and a parish of the Diocese of Joliet in Illinois.
History St. Raymond Parish
As the city of Joliet expanded in the early 20th century ...
.
The current bishop of Joliet is
Ronald Hicks.
Territory
The Diocese of Joliet comprises the
City of Joliet in
Illinois and its surrounding counties:
DuPage,
Ford,
Grundy,
Iroquois,
Kankakee,
Kendall and
Will
Will may refer to:
Common meanings
* Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death
* Will (philosophy), or willpower
* Will (sociology)
* Will, volition (psychology)
* Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will
...
.
History
Early history
During the 17th century, present day Illinois was part of the French colony of
New France. The Diocese of Quebec, which had jurisdiction over the colony, sent numerous French missionaries to the region. After the British took control of New France in 1763, the
Archdiocese of Quebec
The Archdiocese of Québec ( la, Archidiœcesis Quebecensis; french: Archidiocèse de Québec) is a Catholic archdiocese in Quebec, Canada. Being the first see in the New World north of Mexico, the Archdiocese of Québec is also the primatial s ...
retained jurisdiction in the Illinois area. In 1776, the new United States claimed sovereignty over the area of Illinois. In 1785, Archbishop
John Carroll John Carroll may refer to:
People Academia and science
*Sir John Carroll (astronomer) (1899–1974), British astronomer
*John Alexander Carroll (died 2000), American history professor
*John Bissell Carroll (1916–2003), American cognitive sci ...
of the
Archdiocese of Baltimore, then having jurisdiction over the entire United States, sent his first missionary to Illinois. In 1787, the area became part of the
Northwest Territory
The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolutionary War. Established in 1 ...
of the United States.
With the creation of the
Diocese of Bardstown in Kentucky in 1810, supervision of the Illinois missions shifted there. In 1827, the new bishop of the Diocese of St. Louis assumed jurisdiction in the new state of Illinois. In 1834, the Vatican erected the
Diocese of Vincennes
The Diocese of Vincennes (in Latin, Vincennapolis), the first Roman Catholic diocese in Indiana, was erected 6 May 1834 by Pope Gregory XVI. Its initial ecclesiastical jurisdiction encompassed Indiana as well as the eastern third of Illinois. In 18 ...
, which included both Indiana and Illinois. With the creation of the
Diocese of Chicago in 1843, all of Illinois was transferred there from the Diocese of Vincennes.
The construction of the
Illinois and Michigan Canal in northeast Illinois during the 1830's and 1840's attracted many Irish Catholic immigrants into the Joliet area. The diocese assigned Reverend John Plunkett to minister to the workers. He established St. Patrick Church as the first church in the Joliet area. With the industrialization of Illinois and the emergence of
Chicago as an important center of commerce for the nation, the new churches and missions in the Joliet area flourished. Its congregants were mostly newly arrived immigrant laborers from Europe and several generations of local farmers.
Diocese of Joliet
In 1948,
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 Joliet, removing its territory from the Archdiocese of Chicago, to meet the demands of the exponential growth of Catholicism in the region. He named Reverend
Martin McNamara of the Archdiocese of Chicago as the first bishop. McNamara selected St. Raymond's church as the cathedral. By 1950, the 540-seat church proved inadequate and he began planning a new facility. He consecrated the new Cathedral of
St. Raymond Nonnatus
Raymond Nonnatus, O. de M. ( ca, Sant Ramon Nonat, es, San Ramón Nonato, french: Saint Raymond Nonnat, mt, San Rajmondo Nonnato), (1204 – 31 August 1240) is a saint from Catalonia in Spain. His nickname ( la, Nonnatus, "not born") refers t ...
on May 26, 1955.
In 1985,
Pope Paul VI appointed
Romeo Blanchette of the Archdiocese of Chicago as an auxiliary bishop in Joliet.
After McNamara died in 1966, Paul VI appointed Blanchette as the second bishop of Joliet. He served as bishop until 1979, resigning due to health issues. Blanchette's replacement, Auxiliary
Joseph Imesch of the
Archdiocese of Detroit, was named by
Pope John Paul II. Soon after arriving in Joliet, Imesch worked with other community leaders to create the Daybreak Shelter for the
homeless
Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are:
* living on the streets, also kn ...
. Every month, Imesch would visit the shelter to serve meals and converse with its clients. He started the first Diocesan Annual Appeal in 1986 and in 1996 founded the Joliet Diocesan Catholic Education Foundation. Imesch started a sister relationship with the Diocese of Sucre in
Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
, helping build and staff a hospital there.
With Imesch's retirement in 2006, Pope Benedict XVI named Bishop
J. Peter Sartain of the Diocese of Little Rock as the next bishop of Joliet. Four years later, Benedict XVI appointed him as archbishop of the
Archdiocese of Seattle
''Formerly known as Diocese of Nesqually, 1850-1907.''
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in the U.S. state of ...
. His replacement in 2011 was Bishop
Robert Conlon of the
Diocese of Steubenville. Conlon took a medical leave in 2019 and then resigned the next year.
Pope Francis in 2020 named Auxiliary Bishop
Ronald Hicks of the Archdiocese of Chicago as the next bishop of the Diocese of Joliet. Hicks is the current serving bishop of the diocese.
Reports of sex abuse
In September 2012, Bishop Conlon created a controversy by reinstating F. Lee Ryan, a diocese priest, to ministry for homebound parishioners. The diocese had suspended Ryan in 2010 from St. Edmund Parish in
Watseka, Illinois, and St. Joseph Mission in
Crescent City, Illinois, because it had determined a sexual abuse allegation against Ryan from the 1970's was credible. According to ''
The Huffington Post'', Conlon ruled that since
child molestation
Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (wheth ...
was not a serious crime under
canon law in the 1970s, the diocese could only limit Ryan in ministry and not remove him completely. After dealing with large opposition within the diocese to this decision, Conlon reversed himself on September 18, 2012, and permanently removed Ryan from ministry.
In a 2015 lawsuit brought against the diocese by
sexual abuse victims, it was revealed that Bishop Blanchette ignored warnings about the behavior of certain seminarians. The diocese settled with the victims for over $4 million.
* He allowed the ordination of Lawrence Gibbs in 1973, despite complaints about his behavior from administrators at Saint Mary of the Lake Seminary. Gibbs eventually molested 14 boys.
* Blanchette allowed James Nowak to be ordained, despite knowing that the
Capuchin Order had dismissed him due to his failure to keep his
vow of chastity. Nowak eventually abused eight children.
A list released by the diocese in August 2018 revealed the names of 35 clergy who served in the diocese during a 70-year period and were "credibly accused" of sex abuse. On August 31, 2018, it was announced that the diocese had agreed to pay $1.3 million to three males who claimed they had been sexually abused in the diocese during the early 1980s.
On October 31, 2019, Conlon and the Diocese of Joliet were named in a $100,000
sexual abuse lawsuit. The defendant was a
developmentally disabled
Developmental disability is a diverse group of chronic conditions, comprising mental or physical impairments that arise before adulthood. Developmental disabilities cause individuals living with them many difficulties in certain areas of life, espe ...
man who had been sexually assaulted in 2017 at the
Shapiro Developmental Center in Kankakee, Illinois. The assailant, Father Richard Jacklin, was arrested for the assault. The lawsuit charged the diocese and Conlon with improper vetting of Jacklin's background and negligent supervision of him.
Bishops
Bishops of Joliet in Illinois
#
Martin Dewey McNamara
Martin Dewey McNamara (May 12, 1896 – May 23, 1966) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first bishop of the new Diocese of Joliet in Illinois from 1949 until his death in 1966.
Biography
Early life
McN ...
(Dec 17, 1948, – May 23, 1966)
#
Romeo Roy Blanchette (Jul 19, 1966, – Jan 30, 1979)
#
Joseph Leopold Imesch
Joseph Leopold Imesch (June 21, 1931 – December 22, 2015) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as bishop of the Diocese of Joliet in Illinois from 1979 to 2006. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archd ...
(Jun 30, 1979, – May 16, 2006)
#
James Peter Sartain (May 16, 2006, – Sep 16, 2010), appointed
Archbishop of Seattle
''Formerly known as Diocese of Nesqually, 1850-1907.''
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in the U.S. state of ...
#
Robert Daniel Conlon
Robert Daniel Conlon (born December 4, 1948) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as bishop of the Diocese of Joliet in Illinois from 2011 to 2020. From 2002 to 2011 he served as bishop of the Diocese of Steubenville in ...
(May 17, 2011, – May 4, 2020)
#
Ronald A. Hicks
Ronald Aldon Hicks (born August 4, 1967) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been serving as bishop for the Diocese of Joliet in Illinois since 2020. Hicks previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese o ...
(07.17.2020–present)
Auxiliary Bishops
*
Romeo Roy Blanchette (Feb 8, 1965, – Jul 19, 1966), appointed Bishop of Joliet
*
Raymond James Vonesh
Raymond James Vonesh (January 25, 1916 – August 16, 1991) was an American Bishop of the Catholic Church. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Joliet in Illinois from 1968–1991.
Early life and education
Born in Cicero, Illinois, ...
(Jan 5, 1968, – May 7, 1991)
*
Daniel Kucera
Daniel William Kucera, OSB (Czech pronunciation uˈtsera May 7, 1923 – May 30, 2017) was a bishop of the Catholic Church. He served as an Auxiliary Bishop in Joliet (1977–1980), the Bishop of Salina (1980–1983), and as the Archbish ...
,
OSB (Jun 6, 1977, – Mar 5, 1980), appointed
Bishop of Salina and later
Archbishop of Dubuque
The Archdiocese of Dubuque ( la, Archidiœcesis Dubuquensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the northeastern quarter of the state of Iowa in the United States.
It includes all the Iowa counti ...
*
Daniel L. Ryan
Daniel Leo Ryan (September 28, 1930 – December 31, 2015) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Latin Church diocese of Springfield in Illinois from 1984 to 1999. He previously served as an auxiliary bisho ...
(Aug 14, 1981, – Nov 22, 1984), appointed
Bishop of Springfield in Illinois
*
Roger Kaffer
Roger Louis Kaffer (August 14, 1927 Joliet, Illinois – May 28, 2009 Joliet) was the American Auxiliary Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Joliet in Illinois from 1985 until 2002.
Kaffer was born on August 14, 1927, to parents, Earl Louis Kaf ...
(Apr 25, 1985, – Aug 15, 2002)
*
James Edward Fitzgerald (Jan 11, 2002, – Jun 5, 2003)
*
Joseph M. Siegel
Joseph Mark Siegel (born July 18, 1963) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, serving as the bishop of the Diocese of Evansville in Indiana since 2017. He previously served as auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Joliet in Illino ...
(Oct 28, 2009, – Oct 18, 2017), appointed
Bishop of Evansville
Apostolic Administrators
*
Richard E. Pates (Dec 27, 2019, – Jul 17, 2020)
Major Churches
*
Cathedral of St. Raymond Nonnatus
Cathedral of St. Raymond Nonnatus is a Catholic cathedral in Joliet, Illinois, United States. It is the seat and a parish of the Diocese of Joliet in Illinois.
History St. Raymond Parish
As the city of Joliet expanded in the early 20th century ...
* National Shrine of Mary Immaculate Queen of the Universe, Lombard
*National Shrine of Saint Thérèse, Darien
High schools
*
Benet Academy
Benet Academy ( ) is a co-educational, college-preparatory, Benedictine high school in Lisle, Illinois, United States, overseen by the Diocese of Joliet. Founded in 1886, the school was initially established in Chicago as the all-boys St. Procopiu ...
, Lisle
*
Bishop McNamara High School, Kankakee
*
Chesterton Academy of the Holy Family, Lisle
*
IC Catholic Prep
IC Catholic Prep (ICCP) is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Elmhurst, Illinois, and located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet in Illinois. When opened in 1936, it was the only co-educational secondary institution in DuPage County ...
, Elmhurst
*
Joliet Catholic Academy, Joliet
*
Montini Catholic High School
Montini Catholic High School (often shortened to Montini) is a co-educational, college preparatory, high school, run by the La Sallian educational institutions, Christian Brothers in Lombard, Illinois. It is located in the Roman Catholic Dioce ...
, Lombard
*
Providence Catholic High School
Providence Catholic High School (often referred to as Providence, Provi, or abbreviated PCHS) is a Roman Catholic secondary school located in New Lenox, Illinois. Located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet, Providence Catholic is a private ...
, New Lenox
*
St. Francis High School, Wheaton
References
External links
*
Cathedral of Saint Raymond NonnatusParishes of the Diocese of Joliet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roman Catholic Diocese Of Joliet In Illinois
1948 establishments in Illinois
Christian organizations established in 1948
Crest Hill, Illinois
Culture of Joliet, Illinois
Joliet in Illinois
Joliet