The Diocese of Spokane 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

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. Headquartered in

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...

, the diocese encompasses Okanogan,

Ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

, Stevens, Pend Oreille,

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

, Adams, Whitman,

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...

Walla Walla Walla Walla can refer to: * Walla Walla people, a Native American tribe after which the county and city of Walla Walla, Washington, are named * Place of many rocks in the Australian Aboriginal Wiradjuri language, the origin of the name of the town ...

, Columbia,

Garfield ''Garfield'' is an American comic strip created by Jim Davis. Originally published locally as ''Jon'' in 1976, then in nationwide syndication from 1978 as ''Garfield'', it chronicles the life of the title character Garfield the cat, his human ...

and Asotin Counties. 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 ...

is the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes in Spokane. On March 12, 2015, the Holy See announced Thomas Anthony Daly, the first auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of San José, to be the seventh Bishop of Spokane. Canonically erected on December 17, 1913, the territories of the diocese were taken from what was then known as Diocese of Seattle. The diocese 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 Seattle; its

metropolitan bishop In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan (alternative obsolete form: metropolite), pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis. Originally, the term referred to the b ...

Paul Etienne Paul Dennis Étienne (born June 15, 1959) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been serving as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Seattle in Washington State since 2019. Previously, Etienne was bishop of the Diocese of Chey ...

. Approximately 90,000 Catholics in Washington state are served by the Diocese.US Church offers abuse settlement
2007-1-5
BBC News
Retrieved 2007-6-30 There are 82 parishes in the diocese.

History

The

presence in the present-day state of

dates to the 1830s, when

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

priests A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in p ...

traveled from

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

to minister in what was then known as the

Oregon Country Oregon Country was a large region of the Pacific Northwest of North America that was subject to a long dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States in the early 19th century. The area, which had been created by the Treaty of 1818, co ...

. On December 1, 1843, the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

established the Vicariate Apostolic of the Oregon Territory. In 1846

Pope Gregory XVI Pope Gregory XVI ( la, Gregorius XVI; it, Gregorio XVI; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in 1 June 1846. He h ...

established an ecclesiastical territory in the region, and the apostolic vicariate was split into three dioceses: Oregon City,

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...

, and

. The

Whitman massacre The Whitman massacre (also known as the Walla Walla massacre and referred to as the Tragedy at Waiilatpu by the National Park Service) was the killing of the Washington missionaries Marcus Whitman and his wife Narcissa, along with eleven others, ...

in 1847 and the ensuing

Cayuse War The Cayuse War was an armed conflict that took place in the Northwestern United States from 1847 to 1855 between the Cayuse people of the region and the United States Government and local American settlers. Caused in part by the influx of disease ...

increased tensions between Christians and the native population of the

Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. Ori ...

, and as a result by 1850 the Diocese of Walla Walla was abandoned and its territory administered from Oregon City. On May 31, 1850,

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 ...

created the Diocese of Nesqually out of the defunct Walla Walla diocese. The

episcopal see An episcopal see is, in a practical use of the phrase, the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, mak ...

was subsequently moved to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, and the diocese was renamed the Diocese of Seattle in 1907. With a growing population in Spokane and other areas of

Eastern Washington Eastern Washington is the region of the U.S. state of Washington located east of the Cascade Range. It contains the city of Spokane (the second largest city in the state), the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the Hanfor ...

, church leadership in Seattle realized that a new diocese needed to be formed, and the Diocese of Spokane was canonically erected by

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 ...

on December 17, 1913. The diocese's first

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

was

Augustine Francis Schinner Augustine Francis Schinner (May 1, 1863 – February 7, 1937) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first bishop of the Diocese of Superior in Wisconsin from 1905 to 1913 and as the first bishop of the Diocese ...

, the bishop emeritus of the

Diocese of Superior The Diocese of Superior ( la, Dioecesis Superiorensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church that encompasses the city of Superior and the counties of Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Iron, L ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, of which he was also the inaugural bishop. On June 23, 1951, the diocese lost territory when the

Diocese of Yakima The Diocese of Yakima is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the central region of the U.S. state of Washington. Headquartered in Yakima, the diocese comprises Benton, Chelan, Douglas, Grant, Kittitas, ...

was formed.

Sex abuse and bankruptcy

In December 2004, the diocese declared bankruptcy, to protect it from claims from people abused by clergy. The diocese, as part of its bankruptcy, agreed to pay at least $48 million as compensation. The money for the settlement would come from insurance companies, the sale of church property, contributions from Catholic groups and from the diocese's parishes. In May 2012, an arrangement was made with mediators and litigants that settles outstanding claims, eliminates the need for further trials or appeals for all sides, and lessens the amount the Diocese must pay out to each of the parties, enabling the Diocese to avoid foreclosure on many of its parishes. In 2015, the Diocese was able to reach a settlement with its former legal firm during the bankruptcy process, thus avoiding trial.

Bishops

Bishops of Spokane

(1914–1925) # Charles Daniel White (1926–1955) #

Bernard Joseph Topel Bernard Joseph Topel (March 31, 1903 – October 22, 1986) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diopcese of Spokane in Washington State from 1955 to 1978. Biography Early life Bernard Topel was born on M ...

(1955–1978) #

Lawrence Welsh Lawrence Harold Welsh (February 1, 1935 – January 13, 1999) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis in Minnesota from 1991 to 1999. He previo ...

(1978–1990), resigned; later appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis in 1991 #

William S. Skylstad William Stephen Skylstad (born March 2, 1934, in Omak, Washington (U.S. state), Washington) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic church, Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane, Diocese of Sp ...

(1990–2010) #

Blase J. Cupich Blase Joseph Cupich ( ; March 19, 1949) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, a cardinal who serves as Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Cupich was ordained a priest there in 1975. He was named ...

(2010–2014), appointed Archbishop of Chicago (

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

in 2016) # Thomas Anthony Daly (2015–present)

Other priest of this diocese who became bishop

# William Joseph Condon, appointed Bishop of Great Falls in 1939

High schools

* Chesterton Academy of Notre Dame, Spokane * Desales Catholic High School, Walla Walla *

Gonzaga Preparatory School Gonzaga Preparatory School in Spokane, Washington, is a private, Catholic high school in the Inland Northwest. As a Jesuit institution, "G-Prep" has been recognized for its college preparation education and community service. History Gonzaga Hig ...

, Spokane * Tri-Cities Prep, Pasco

Colleges

Gonzaga University Gonzaga University (GU) () is a private Jesuit university in Spokane, Washington. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Founded in 1887 by Joseph Cataldo, an Italian-born priest and Jesuit missionary, the univ ...

, Spokane

Province

:''See: List of the Catholic bishops of the United States#Province of Seattle''

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane Official Site
{{Coord, 47, 39, 32, N, 117, 25, 30, W, source:plwiki, display=title 1913 establishments in Washington (state) Christian organizations established in 1913

Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2004