The Diocese of Jefferson City ( la, Dioecesis Civitatis Jeffersoniensis) is a

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 the state of

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

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 ...

, The diocese consists of 38 counties in mainly rural northeastern and central Missouri, and includes the urban areas of Columbia, and the state capital

Jefferson City Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the capital of Missouri, United States. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 census, ranking as the 15th most populous city in the state. It is also the county seat of Cole County and the principa ...

. The Cathedral of Saint Joseph is located in Jefferson City. It 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 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 metropolitan

Archdiocese of St. Louis The Archdiocese of St. Louis ( la, Archidiœcesis Sancti Ludovici) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church that covers the City of St. Louis and the Missouri counties of Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, Perr ...

History

On July 2, 1956

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 Jefferson City. Its territory was taken from the

, 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 ...

, and the

Diocese of Saint Joseph The Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint Joseph was an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the northwestern part of the state of Missouri in the United States, erected on March 3, 1868, with territories taken from the Arc ...

. The diocese has 95 parishes, 15 missions, 68 active diocesan priests, 8 religious priests, and 88,000 Catholics. It has 73 Women Religious, 2 Religious Brothers, and 90 permanent deacons.

Bishops

The bishops of the diocese and their terms of service: # Joseph M. Marling, C.PP.S. (1956-1969) #

Michael Francis McAuliffe Michael Francis McAuliffe (November 22, 1920 - January 6, 2006) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the second bishop of the Diocese of Jefferson City in Missouri. Biography Early life Michael McAuliffe was born ...

(1969-1997) # John R. Gaydos (1997-2017) #

Shawn McKnight William Shawn McKnight (born June 26, 1968) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been serving as bishop of the Diocese of Jefferson City in Missouri since 2017. Biography Early life William Shawn McKnight was born Ju ...

(2018–present)

Other priest of this diocese who became bishop

Anthony Joseph O'Connell Anthony J. O'Connell (May 10, 1938 – May 4, 2012) was an Irish-born prelate of the Roman Catholic church. He served as the first of the Diocese of Knoxville in Tennessee from 1988 to 1998. He later served as the third bishop of the Dioce ...

, appointed Bishop of Knoxville in 1988

High schools

Helias High School Helias Catholic High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Jefferson City, Missouri, United States. History Helias High School opened for the 1956-57 school year. This interparish Catholic school became necessary when St. Peter High ...

, Jefferson City * Sacred Heart High School, Sedalia *

Father Tolton Regional Catholic High School Father Augustine Tolton Regional Catholic High School is the first private, Roman Catholic high school in Columbia, Missouri, built in 2010. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jefferson City. The school is named after Missouri nati ...

, Columbia

Newspaper

"''The Catholic Missourian''" is the official newspaper of the diocese. Copies of the current issue are available at parishes and on the diocesan website.

Alphonse J. Schwartze Memorial Catholic Center

The ''Alphonse J. Schwartze Memorial Catholic Center'' serves as the chancery offices for the diocese of Jefferson City. It is located adjacent to the Cathedral of Saint Joseph. It is the pastoral center and a headquarters for the diocese. The center is named in memory of Alphonse J. Schwartze, a philanthropist who was the primary benefactor. Schwartze was a parishioner of St. Joseph's Church in

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...

, Missouri. Groundbreaking for the center took place on April 1, 2004, with John R. Gaydos, Bishop of Jefferson City, presiding. Also, present was Schwartze's brother, Emil. Blessing of the completed center took place on October 7, 2007. Present for the blessing were Gaydos and bishops from neighboring dioceses in Missouri: Raymond L. Burke, Archbishop of St. Louis; Robert W. Finn, Bishop of Kansas City-Joseph; and John Joseph Leibrecht, Bishop of Springfield-Cape Girardeau; Robert J. Herman, Auxiliary Bishop of St. Louis.

History

The chancery for the diocese had several addresses prior to the current one. The first was a temporary one located at 505 Bolivar Street in Jefferson City. The first permanent chancery was at 312 East Capitol Avenue from 1957 until 1968. From 1968 until 2005, the chancery was located at 605 Clark Avenue in Jefferson City.

Features

The building is and contains 47 rooms of various sizes, including a chapel and meeting rooms.

St. Alphonsus Chapel

The Saint Alphonsus Chapel is dedicated to St.

Alphonsus Maria de Liguori Alphonsus Liguori, CSsR (27 September 1696 – 1 August 1787), sometimes called Alphonsus Maria de Liguori or Saint Alphonsus Liguori, was an Italian Catholic bishop, spiritual writer, composer, musician, artist, poet, lawyer, scholastic philosop ...

. It is dominated by an imported 4½ foot wooden image of Christ modeled after the Gero Crucifix of the Cathedral of St. Peter and the Virgin Mary in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The selection of this

crucifix A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (Lati ...

was made in order to link the occupation of the building with

World Youth Day World Youth Day (WYD) is an event for young people organized by the Catholic Church that was initiated by Pope John Paul II in 1985, sometimes nicknamed in later years as the "Catholic Woodstock". Its concept has been influenced by the Light-L ...

which was held in Cologne in 2005. The chapel seats 50 people.

Artwork

The walls of the center display various gifts from the clergy and laity of the diocese. The vast majority of the original paintings are by Louis Wellington McCorkle, who was a member of the

American Artists Professional League The American Artists Professional League (AAPL) is an American organization that promotes artists and their works. It was formed in 1928 in New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of Unite ...

. The Peruvian artwork is from the estate of the late Francis G. Gillgannon. Photographs are from the collection of historical archives of the diocese.

References

External links

Official Site
{{authority control

Christian organizations established in 1956

Buildings and structures in Jefferson City, Missouri Catholic Church in Missouri

History

Bishops

Other priest of this diocese who became bishop

High schools

Newspaper

Alphonse J. Schwartze Memorial Catholic Center

History

Features

St. Alphonsus Chapel

Artwork

See also

References

External links