The Diocese of Helena ( la, Dioecesis Helenensis) is the

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 western

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

with 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 denominations ...

located in

Helena Helena may refer to: People *Helena (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Katri Helena (born 1945), Finnish singer *Helena, mother of Constantine I Places Greece * Helena (island) Guyana * H ...

. The diocese was created from the year-old Apostolic Vicariate of Montana on March 7, 1884, while Montana was still a territory. The Diocese of Helena 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 ...

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

Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon 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 t ...

, a province that encompasses

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Monta ...

, and Montana. The diocese covers 51,922 square miles of western and north central Montana, encompassing 21 counties and parts of two others. The diocese’s 57 parishes and 38 missions are structured into six deaneries: Bozeman, Butte, Conrad, Helena, Kalispell, and Missoula. Its diocesan church is the

Cathedral of St. Helena The Cathedral of Saint Helena is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena, Montana. Modeled by architect A.O. Von Herbulis after the Votivkirche in Vienna, Austria, the construction began on the cathedral in 1908, and held its first ...

, which was dedicated in 1914 and is located in Helena.

History

Cathedral of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary - Helena, Montana

Before becoming a diocese, this was the Apostolic Vicariate of Montana (covering the whole territory and then the state of Montana). For its first twenty years, the diocese served all of Montana. In 1904 the new Diocese of Great Falls (later renamed the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings) was formed to serve eastern Montana. The seat of the diocese is in the

in the state capital of Helena. It was completed in 1914.

Sexual abuse settlement and bankruptcy

On January 31, 2014, the Diocese of Helena filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as part of a $15 million settlement intended to go to 362 victims of sex abuse by clergy in the Diocese. The settlement, which was approved in 2015, covers Catholic churches in all or part of counties in western Montana.

Helena Synagogue Sale

The Diocese of Helena closed the deal with the Montana Jewish Project, a nonprofit organization, on August 25, 2022 and sold the Temple Emanu-El, which was built in 1891. The organization fundraised for nine months to make the purchase and intend to use the synagogue as Jewish community center to host events and celebrations. The synagogue was in Diocese's possession since 1981, and it is the oldest synagogue in Montana. Bishop Austin Vetter and his staff negotiated the sale with the Montana Jewish Project for months.

Bishops

Apostolic Vicar of Montana

# Jean-Baptiste Brondel (1883–1884)
- Augustin Ravoux, S.J. (appointed in 1868), incapacitated, so did not assume office

Bishops of Helena

# Jean-Baptiste Brondel (1884–1903) #

John Patrick Carroll John Patrick Carroll (February 22, 1864 – November 4, 1925) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Helena in Montana from 1904 until his death in 1925. Biography Early life Carroll was born on ...

(1904–1925) # George Joseph Finnigan (1927–1932) #

Ralph Leo Hayes Ralph Leo Hayes S.T.D. (September 21, 1884 – July 5, 1970) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Helena in Montana from 1933 to 1935, and as the fifth bishop of the Diocese of D ...

(1933–1935), appointed Rector of the

Pontifical North American College The Pontifical North American College (NAC) is a Roman Catholic educational institution in Rome, Italy, that prepares seminarians to become priests in the United States and elsewhere. The NAC also provides a residence for priests who are pur ...

and

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox a ...

and later Bishop of Davenport # Joseph Michael Gilmore (1935–1962) # Raymond Gerhardt Hunthausen (1962–1975), appointed Archbishop of Seattle # Elden Francis Curtiss (1976–1993), appointed Archbishop of Omaha # Alexander Joseph Brunett (1994–1997), appointed Archbishop of Seattle # Robert C. Morlino (1999–2003), appointed Bishop of Madison #

George Leo Thomas George Leo Thomas (born May 19, 1950) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church who has served as Archbishop of Las Vegas since 2023. He has been the ordinary of the diocese since 2018, when it was still a suffragan see. He previously ser ...

(2004–2018), appointed Bishop of Las Vegas # Austin Anthony Vetter (2019–present)

Other priests of this diocese who became Bishops

These bishops were priests in the diocese before consecration: * Jeffrey M. Fleming,

Coadjutor Bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co- ...

of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Great Falls–Billings The Diocese of Great Falls–Billings ( la, Dioecesis Magnocataractensis–Billingensis) is a Latin Church diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in eastern Montana in the United States. The Diocese of Great Falls was established in 1904; it becam ...

Diocesan College

* Carroll College, Helena

High schools

Butte Central Catholic High School Butte Central Catholic High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Butte, Montana. It is one of two high schools in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena, the other being Loyola Sacred Heart in Missoula. Their mascot is the Maroons. ...

Butte __NOTOC__ In geomorphology, a butte () is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from a French word me ...

Loyola Sacred Heart High School Loyola Sacred Heart High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Missoula, Montana. It is one of two high schools in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena, the other being Butte Central Catholic in Butte. It is affiliated with St. Jo ...

Missoula Missoula ( ; fla, label=Salish language, Séliš, Nłʔay, lit=Place of the Small Bull Trout, script=Latn; kut, Tuhuⱡnana, script=Latn) is a city in the U.S. state of Montana; it is the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, Missoula Cou ...

* St Andrew School, Helena

Elementary schools

* De La Salle Blackfeet School, Browning * Butte Central Elementary, Butte * St Andrew School, Helena * St Joseph Catholic School, Missoula * St Matthew Elementary, Kalispell

Notes

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena Official Site
{{authority control

Diocese of Helena The Diocese of Helena ( la, Dioecesis Helenensis) is the Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in western Montana with its cathedral located in Helena. The diocese was created from the year-old Apostolic Vicariate ...

Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2014

History

Sexual abuse settlement and bankruptcy

Helena Synagogue Sale

Bishops

Apostolic Vicar of Montana

Bishops of Helena

Other priests of this diocese who became Bishops

Diocesan College

High schools

Elementary schools

See also

Notes

External links