The Diocese of Colorado Springs ( la, Dioecesis Coloratensium Fontium) 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 Jo ...

ecclesiastical territory or

diocese 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 associ ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

in central

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

. St. Mary's Cathedral is the seat of the diocese and is located in

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

. The diocese was established on November 10, 1983 and covers in ten counties of the central and eastern portions of the state, viz. Chaffee,

Lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

Park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. ...

, Teller,

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...

, El Paso, Elbert,

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 ...

Kit Carson Christopher Houston Carson (December 24, 1809 – May 23, 1868) was an American frontiersman. He was a fur trapper, wilderness guide, Indian agent, and U.S. Army officer. He became a frontier legend in his own lifetime by biographies and ...

and

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enr ...

. The Diocese of Colorado Springs 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 Alexandri ...

in the

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of sev ...

of the

metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

Archdiocese of Denver The Archdiocese of Denver ( la, Archidiœcesis Denveriensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church that encompasses northern Colorado. It is part of the XIII Conference Region and includes 113 parishes, ...

History

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 ...

created the Diocese of Colorado Springs from territory separated from the

and

Diocese of Pueblo The Diocese of Pueblo ( la, Dioecesis Pueblensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in southern Colorado. The diocese was created on November 15, 1941. It encompasses the southern half of Colorado, fro ...

in 1983. The territory includes 39 parishes with approximately 176,000 Catholics in a total population of 1,102,775. Bishop Richard Hanifen created the diocesan arms which features a snow-capped purple mountain on a blue (azure) field that represents Pikes Peak. Below the mountain are green hills, and a blue and silver representing the spring for which the area and diocese are named. In the waters of the lower portion of the shield are three gold interlocked rings which represent the

Holy Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God th ...

. On October 16, 2020, it was revealed that all three of Colorado's Catholic Dioceses, including the Diocese of Colorado Springs, had paid $6.6 million in compensation to 81 victims of clergy sex abuse within the past year, regardless of how long ago the abuse happened. On December 1, 2020, it was revealed that at least two priests were accused of committing acts of sex abuse while they were serving in the Diocese of Colorado Springs.

Coat of arms

Bishop Robert C. Hannifen, the first bishop of the diocese, designed its coat of arms, shown in the right sidebar at the top of this article, upon its erection in 1984,Right sidebar o
"About" Page
of diocesan web site. The coat of arms features a shield divided vertically into three regions. * The purple mountain, snowcapped in ''argent'' (silver or white), on a blue and green background in the upper region represents Pike's Peak, a focal point of the physical topography of the diocese. Spiritually, it represents the "mountain of the Lord" of the prophet Isaiah signifying the presence of a faithful, loving God as a rock of refuge and strength. * The blue and ''argent'' ripples spanning the middle region are the heraldic representation of water, signifying the springs that gave their name to the diocesan see. Spiritually, these ripples signify the saving waters of baptism through which people of diverse cultures profess belief in "one body, one spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all who is over all and works through all and is in all." (Ephesians 4:4-5). * Three interlocking circles of ''or'' (gold or yellow) on a blue background in the lower region reflect the concepts of mutuality, community, and prophecy calling the People of God to be a sign and sacrament of the reign of God growing within them and to announce the good news of Christ's presences.

Diocesan Bishops

# Richard Charles Patrick Hanifen (1983-2003) #

Michael John Sheridan Michael John Sheridan (March 4, 1945 – September 27, 2022) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church who served as bishop of the Diocese of Colorado Springs in Colorado from 2003 to 2021. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop for ...

(2003–2021) # James R. Golka (2021-present)

Coadjutor Bishop

(2001–2003)

References

External links

Diocese of Colorado Springs Official Site
Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Denver Catholic Church in Colorado Religion in Colorado Springs, Colorado Christian organizations established in 1983