The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Cincinnati () is a

Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...

ecclesiastical jurisdiction, or

archdiocese 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 associated ...

, 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 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

that covers all of the dioceses in the State of Ohio. As of 2025, the archbishop of Cincinnati is Robert Casey. The mother church is the Cathedral Basilica of St. Peter in Chains in Cincinnati.

Geography

The Archdiocese of Cincinnati encompasses 230

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

es in 19 counties. Cincinnati is the ''metropolis'' of the

Ecclesiastical Province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consist ...

of Cincinnati, which contains all of

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. The province contains the archdiocese and its five

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 Alexandr ...

s: *

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

* Columbus * Steubenville * Toledo *

Youngstown Youngstown is a city in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, 11th-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 60,068 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Mahoning ...

The archdiocese is bordered by: * the Diocese of Toledo to the north * the Diocese of Columbus to the east * the Diocese of Covington to the south * the Archdiocese of Indianapolis and Diocese of Lafayette to the west

History

1700 to 1800

During the 17th century, present day Ohio was part of the French colony of

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...

. The Diocese of Quebec had jurisdiction over the region. However, unlike other parts of the future

American Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern c ...

, French missionaries made no attempts to found Catholic missions in Ohio. In 1763,

Ohio Country The Ohio Country (Ohio Territory, Ohio Valley) was a name used for a loosely defined region of colonial North America west of the Appalachian Mountains and south of Lake Erie. Control of the territory and the region's fur trade was disputed i ...

became part of the British

Province of Quebec Quebec is Canada's largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...

, forbidden from settlement by American colonists. After the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

ended in 1783,

Pope Pius VI Pope Pius VI (; born Count Angelo Onofrio Melchiorre Natale Giovanni Antonio called Giovanni Angelo or Giannangelo Braschi, 25 December 171729 August 1799) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 to hi ...

erected in 1784 the Prefecture Apostolic of the United States, encompassing the entire territory of the new nation. In 1787, the Ohio 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 part of the unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolution. Established ...

of the United States. Pius VI created the Diocese of Baltimore, the first diocese in the United States, to replace the prefecture apostolic in 1789.

1800 to 1847

In 1808,

Pope Pius VII Pope Pius VII (; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823) was head of the Catholic Church from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. He ruled the Papal States from June 1800 to 17 May 1809 and again ...

erected the Diocese of Bardstown in Kentucky, with jurisdiction over the new state of Ohio along with the other midwest states. Cincinnati's first Catholic church, Christ Church, was organized in 1819, just beyond the city boundaries. The first Catholic church in Dayton, Emmanuel Church, opened in 1837. Soon additional parishes were formed in Hamilton and St. Martin, Brown County. Reverend Emmanuel Thienpont pioneered many parishes in the archdiocese.

erected the Diocese of Cincinnati on June 19, 1821, taking all of Ohio from the Diocese of Bardstown. The pope named the missionary Reverend Edward Fenwick as the first bishop of Cincinnati. Fenwick travelled to Europe in 1823 to raise funding for the new diocese. He returned in 1826 with resources to begin construction of the cathedral and parochial schools He also founded convents for the

Sisters of Charity Many religious communities have the term Sisters of Charity in their name. Some ''Sisters of Charity'' communities refer to the Vincentian tradition alone, or in America to the tradition of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton (whose sisters are also of ...

and the first community of Dominican women in the United States, the Dominicans of St. Catharine. In 1829, Fenwick established St. Francis Xavier Seminary in Cincinnati. It is the oldest seminary west of the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

in the United States. In 1831, Fenwick initiated publication of '' The Catholic Telegraph'' newspaper. That same year, he opened the Athenaeum in Cincinnati to educate lay workers. After Fenwick died in 1832,

Pope Gregory XVI Pope Gregory 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 June 1846. He had adopted the name Mauro upon enteri ...

named Reverend John Purcell as the second bishop of Cincinnati. At the time of his installation, the diocese had only one Catholic church to serve thousands of new Catholic German and Irish Immigrants. Purcell founded

Holy Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, three ...

Parish in Cincinnati in 1834, the first German language church in the diocese. It was followed in 1842 by the dedication of St. Mary's Church, the oldest existing parish in Cincinnati. Purcell began construction of Saint Peter in Chains Cathedral, which was consecrated in 1846. Seeking a larger seminary to replace St. Francis Xavier, Purcell in 1851 constructed Mount St. Mary's of the West Seminary on Price Hill in Cincinnati. To staff the new seminary and school, Purcell invited the Jesuit Fathers into the diocese. He also established two orphan asylums: St. Aloysius's for German-speaking children and St. Peter's for English-speaking children.

1847 to 1900

Portrait of archbishop william henry elder thomas eakins

In 1847,

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

erected the Diocese of Cleveland, taking northeastern Ohio from the Diocese of Cincinnati However, the border line set by the Vatican line cut through multiple counties. To simplify administration of these counties, Purcell and Bishop Louis Rappe of Cleveland, decided that:

...the counties of Mercer, Auglaze, Hardin, Marion, Morrow, Knox, Tuscarawas, Carroll, Jefferson, which belong to the diocese of Cincinnati shall constitute the northern boundary of the diocese of Cincinnati. And that all the counties north of those just named, shall compose the diocese of Cleveland. Holmes county, which is for the greater part south of the line above traced, is by mutual consent, assigned to the diocese of Cleveland.

In 1850,

elevated the Diocese of Cincinnati to an

with the dioceses of

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

, Detroit, and

as its suffragans. Purcell became the first archbishop of Cincinnati. In 1853, Purcell alienated some of Cincinnati's Protestants by arguing that Catholics should not be taxed to support public schools. Later that year, he created controversy when he invited Cardinal Gaetano Bedini, the emissary of

, to visit Cincinnati. Many German Protestant " Forty-Eighters", who had fled Europe after the failed

revolutions of 1848 The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...

, saw Bedini as a symbol of oppression due to his role in putting down a revolution in the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...

in 1849. They organized a protest march to Purcell's residence, where Bedini was staying, on Christmas Day 1853. When the demonstrators clashed with police, several were injured and one died. The Vatican in 1868 erected the Diocese of Columbus from the archdiocese, taking "the territory from the Ohio River to the Scioto River ... together with the Counties of Franklin, Delaware and Morrow." The end of Purcell's long tenue as bishop and archbishop was marked by scandal. Many parishioners in the archdiocese, distrustful of banks after the

Panic of 1873 The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered an economic depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 to 1877 or 1879 in France and in Britain. In Britain, the Panic started two decades of stagnation known as the "L ...

, had begun depositing funds with the archdiocese for safekeeping. These funds ultimately amounted to $3.6 million. However, the archdiocese fund was hit with a

bank run A bank run or run on the bank occurs when many Client (business), clients withdraw their money from a bank, because they believe Bank failure, the bank may fail in the near future. In other words, it is when, in a fractional-reserve banking sys ...

in 1877, rendering it insolvent and unable to pay back all the depositors. In 1880, Bishop William Elder of the Diocese of Natchez was appointed coadjutor archbishop in Cincinnati by

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

to assist Purcell. After Purcell died in 1883, Elder automatically became archbishop. Elder became archbishop when the archdiocese was facing severe financial problems. Elder systematically organized the administration of the diocese. He reopened Mount Saint Mary Seminary in 1887, which had been closed since 1879. He instituted the office of chancellor of the diocese and insisted on annual reports from clergy and parishes in order to bring the diocese out of great debt. In 1891, after 14 years of litigation, a court found that the archdiocese owed $140,000 to parishioners who had lost money during the 1877 bank run. Elder accepted the

verdict In law, a verdict is the formal finding of fact made by a jury on matters or questions submitted to the jury by a judge. In a bench trial, the judge's decision near the end of the trial is simply referred to as a finding. In England and Wales ...

in 1892 and assessed parishes to replay the debt in full.

1900 to 1970

Bishop Henry K. Moeller of Columbus was named coadjutor archbishop in Cincinnati by

Pope Pius X Pope Pius 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 Modernism in the Catholic Church, modern ...

in 1903. When Elder died in 1904, Moeller succeeded him as the fourth archbishop of Cincinnati. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Moeller successfully petitioned Rome for an end to national parishes and permission to formulate parish boundaries. In 1921, Moeller condemned several forms of dancing (including the

shimmy A shimmy or shoulder shakes is a dance move in which the body is held still, except for the shoulders, which are quickly alternated back and forth. When the right shoulder goes back, the left one comes forward. United States In 1917, a dance ...

and camel walk) as well as bare female shoulders at social functions. He died in 1925. Bishop John T. McNicholas of the Diocese of Detroit was appointed the fourth archbishop of Cincinnati by

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...

in 1925. During the 1928 presidential election, which featured the first Catholic to win a major party nomination in the person of Alfred E. Smith, McNicholas addressed concerns that Smith would take orders from the Church hierarchy in Rome pertaining to policy affecting the nation by declaring that "we, as American Catholics, owe no civil allegiance to the Vatican State." In 1944, the Vatican erected the Diocese of Steubenville from portions of the Diocese of Columbus and simultaneously transferred the eastern counties from the Archdiocese of Cincinnati to the Diocese of Columbus. After McNicholas died in 1950,

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

named Bishop Karl Alter of Toledo as the next archbishop of Cincinnati. During his administration, Alter established 98 churches, 94 elementary schools, 14 high schools, 79 rectories, and 55 convents. He also instituted a priests' senate and an archdiocesan school board composed of lay members, and encouraged the formation of parish councils. Alter undertook a restoration of Saint Peter in Chains Cathedral. He discontinued

first grade First grade (also 1st Grade or Grade 1) is the first year of formal or compulsory education. It is the first year of elementary school, and the first school year after kindergarten. Children in first grade are usually 6–7 years old. Examples ...

in the parochial schools in 1964 because of high costs and overcrowded classrooms. Alter retired in 1969.

1970 to present

Bishop Paul Leibold of the Diocese of Evansville succeeded Alter as archbishop, being named by Pope Saint Paul VI in 1969. Leibold strengthened the priests' senate, the pastoral council, and the parish councils. He also launched the archdiocese's sixth synod, Synod '71. In 1958, Sister Mary Ephrem Neuzil, an Ohio nun, claimed to have seen apparitions of

Mary, mother of Jesus Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

and messages from St. Joseph. Leibold, who had previously acted as a spiritual advisor to Neuzil, allowed her to publish two pamphlets about her experiences. He also commissioned a wooden plaque with an image of Our Lady of America, a title of Mary, for display at the New Riegel convent. In 1971, Leibold criticized composer Leonard Bernstein's theatrical work ''

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

,'' terming it as offensive. After Leibold died in 1972, Paul VI appointed Bishop Joseph Bernardin, general secretary of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, as the next archbishop of Cincinnati. During his tenure, Bernardin worked to improve relations between Catholics and

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

and strove for better understanding between the Catholic Church and

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

denominations. He became archbishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1982. To replace Bernardin in Cincinnati,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

selected Auxiliary Bishop Daniel Pilarczyk of Cincinnati in 1982. In 2008,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

named Bishop Dennis Schnurr of the Diocese of Duluth as coadjutor archbishop in Cincinnati to assist Pilarczyk. When he retired in 2009, Schnurr automatically replaced him. In 2010, Schnurr revoked archdiocese permission for a "Violence Against Women" event at Seton High School in Cincinnati because one of the speakers supported

abortion rights Abortion-rights movements, also self-styled as pro-choice movements, are movements that advocate for legal access to induced abortion services, including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their p ...

for women. The sponsors disinvited the speaker, but the archdiocese still denied its support for the event. In May 2020, Schnurr decided not to renew the contract of Jim Zimmerman, a teacher at Archbishop Alter High School in

Kettering Kettering is a market town, market and industrial town, industrial town in the North Northamptonshire district of Northamptonshire, England, west of Cambridge, England, Cambridge, southwest of Peterborough, southeast of Leicester and north- ...

, because Zimmerman was part of a

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

. A teacher at the school for 23 years, Zimmerman had been open about his marriage with school officials, other faculty and students. According to Zimmerman, his principal told him that a community member had alerted Schnurr about the marriage. Zimmerman's supporters accused Schnurr of

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...

, which he strongly denied. In July 2021, Schnurr said that he disapproved of a town hall being held by President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

at Mount Saint Joseph University in Cincinnati, but admitted he had no power to block it. Schnurr did not explain his reasoning. Schnurr said that he would have never approved this event on archdiocese property. In October 2021, Schnurr announced a plan for the restructuring of the archdiocese that could close 70% of its churches. Parishes were to be grouped into "parish families" overseen by a single pastor. In the long term, each parish family was expected to merge its parishes into a single parish. Reorganization plans were scheduled to be finalized in 2022. Pope Francis accepted Schnurr's resignation on February 12, 2025 and named Bishop Robert G. Casey as the archbishop of Cincinnati. Schnurr was appointed by Pope Francis to serve as Apostolic Administrator until Casey's installation.

Sexual abuse scandals

Reverend Thomas Brunner was removed in 1985 from his post as chaplain at Mount Notre Dame High School in Cincinnati after admitting to accusations of

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment based on the sex or gender of a victim. It can involve offensive sexist or sexual behavior, verbal or physical actions, up to bribery, coercion, and assault. Harassment may be explicit or implicit, wit ...

from two female students. After counseling, he was assigned to a different parish. In 1989, a woman accused Brunner of sexually abusing her when she was in high school. Brunner passed a psychological evaluation and was kept in ministry. In September 2003, while his background was being reviewed by the child protection review board, Brunner abruptly resigned his pastoral post at St. Patrick Parish in

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

. In 1991, Reverend George Cooley from Guardian Angels Church in Mount Washington, pleaded guilty to sexually molesting four boys during the 1980s. The parents of two of Cooley's victims complained to the archdiocese, but nothing happened. They finally reported Cooley to the police in 1990. Cooley served three months in jail, then 15 more months after violating his

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offence (law), offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incar ...

. He was laicized by the Vatican soon after his conviction.In November 2003, following a sexual abuse scandal and two-year investigation by the Hamilton County prosecutor's office, Archbishop Pilarczyk entered a

plea In law, a plea is a defendant's response to a criminal charge. A defendant may plead guilty or not guilty. Depending on jurisdiction, additional pleas may be available, including '' nolo contendere'' (no contest), no case to answer (in the ...

of ''

nolo contendere ''Nolo contendere'' () is a type of legal plea used in some jurisdictions in the United States. It is also referred to as a plea of no contest or no defense. It is a plea where the defendant neither admits nor disputes a Criminal charge, charg ...

'' regarding five

misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than admi ...

charges of failure to report allegations of child molestation from the 1970s and 1980s. The court fined archdiocese $10,000. The diocese in 2013 started receiving complaints about the conduct of Reverend Geoff Drew, then posted at Maximilian Kolbe Parish in Liberty Township. Witnesses reported seeing Drew give back rubs and make inappropriate remarks to teenage boys. Auxiliary Bishop Joseph R. Binzer received the complaints, but did not forward them to Archbishop Schnurr or take any actions against Drew. Binzer received more complaints about Drew in 2015, but did nothing. When Drew transferred to St. Ignatius of Loyola Parish in Green Township in early 2018, Binzer did not tell the parish or its school about the previous accusations. In July 2018, Drew was accused of sending inappropriate

text messages Text messaging, or texting, is the act of composing and sending electronic messages, typically consisting of alphabetic and numeric characters, between two or more users of mobile phones, tablet computers, smartwatches, desktop computer, des ...

to a 17-year-old boy. It was at this junction that Schnurr allegedly became aware of Drew's background. In August 2019, Schnurr removed Binzer from his position as head of priest personnel. In May 2020, the Vatican accepted Binzer's resignation as auxiliary bishop in Cincinnati. In August 2019, police arrested Drew and charged him with nine counts of sex abuse while serving as a music teacher at St. Ignatius School. He pleaded guilty in December 2021 and was sentenced to seven years in prison.

Religious orders and congregations

Members of religious orders and congregations staff schools and parishes in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and serve in a variety of social service roles. Sarah Peter, a prominent Catholic convert and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

, helped finance the relocation of many religious sisters from Europe to Cincinnati during the 19th century. These are the women's religious orders: *

* Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia * Precious Blood Sisters *

Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur (Congregationis Sororum a Domina Nostra Namurcensi) is a Catholic Church, Catholic Religious institute (Catholic), institute of religious sisters, founded to teaching order, provide education to the poor. The i ...

Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute for women in the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. In 2019, the institute had about 6,200 Religious sister, sisters worldwide, organized into a number ...

* Little Sisters of the Poor *

Ursulines The Ursulines, also known as the Order of Saint Ursula (post-nominals: OSU), is an enclosed religious order of women that in 1572 branched off from the Angelines, also known as the Company of Saint Ursula. The Ursulines trace their origins to th ...

* Sisters of St. Joseph These are the men's congregations and religious orders: * Order of Preachers (Dominicans) * Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans) * Society of Jesus (Jesuits) *

Missionaries of the Precious Blood The Missionaries of the Precious Blood () is a Catholic community of priests and brothers. The society was founded by Saint Gaspar del Bufalo in 1815. The name "Missionaries of the Precious Blood" is a shortened English translation of the La ...

Society of Mary (Marianists) The Society of Mary (, abbreviated S.M.) is a clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men ( brothers and priests) commonly known as the Marianists or Marianist Brothers and Priests. Members append the post-nominal letters "S.M ...

* Comboni Missionaries * Glenmary Home Missioners * Holy Ghost Fathers (Spiritans)

Churches

Bishops

Bishops of Cincinnati

# Edward Fenwick (1822–1832) # John Baptist Purcell (1833–1850), elevated to

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Metropolitan Archbishops of Cincinnati

# John Baptist Purcell (1850–1883) # William Henry Elder (1883–1903; coadjutor archbishop 1880–1883) # Henry K. Moeller (1903–1925; coadjutor archbishop 1903)
- Joseph Chartrand (Appointed 1925, did not take effect) # John Timothy McNicholas (1925–1950) # Karl Joseph Alter (1950–1969) # Paul Francis Leibold (1969–1972) # Joseph Bernardin (1972–1982), appointed Archbishop of Chicago (

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

in 1983) # Daniel Edward Pilarczyk (1982–2009) #

Dennis Marion Schnurr Dennis Marion Schnurr (born June 21, 1948) is an Catholic Church in the United States, American Catholic prelate who served as Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Metropolitan Archbishop of Cincinnati in Ohio from 2009 to 2025. He was Rom ...

(2009–2025; coadjutor archbishop 2008–2009) # Robert Gerald Casey (2025-present)

Former auxiliary bishops

* Sylvester Horton Rosecrans (1861–1868), appointed Bishop of Columbus * Joseph H. Albers (1929–1937), appointed Bishop of Lansing * George John Rehring (1937–1950), appointed

Bishop of Toledo The Archdiocese of Toledo () is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in Spain.

* Clarence George Issenmann (1954–1957), appointed Bishop of Columbus * Paul Francis Leibold (1958–1966), appointed Bishop of Evansville and later Archbishop of Cincinnati (see above) * Edward Anthony McCarthy (1965–1969), appointed Bishop of Phoenix and later Coadjutor Archbishop and Archbishop of Miami * Nicholas Thomas Elko (1970–1985) * Daniel Edward Pilarczyk (1974–1982) appointed Archbishop of Cincinnati (see above) * James Henry Garland (1984–1992) appointed Bishop of Marquette * Carl Kevin Moeddel (1993–2007) * Joseph R. Binzer (2011–2020)

Other diocesan priests who became bishops

John Martin Henni John Martin Henni (June 15, 1805 – September 7, 1881) was a Swiss-born Catholic prelate who served as the first Archbishop of Milwaukee from 1843 until his death in 1881. Biography Early life and education John Henni was born on June 15, 1805 ...

, Bishop and later

Archbishop of Milwaukee The Archdiocese of Milwaukee () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church in southeast Wisconsin in the United States. The Archdiocese of Milwaukee is the Metropolis (religious jurisdiction), metropolitan s ...

(1829–1843) * Henry Damian Juncker, Bishop of Alton (1834–1857) * Joshua Maria Young, Bishop of Erie (1838–1853) * John Baptist Lamy, Vicar Apostolic of New Mexico and later Bishop and Archbishop of Santa Fe (1838–1850) * James Frederick Bryan Wood, Coadjutor Bishop and later Bishop and Archbishop of Philadelphia (1844–1857) * John Henry Luers, Bishop of Fort Wayne (1846–1857) * Caspar Henry Borgess, Coadjutor Bishop and later Bishop of Detroit (1848–1870) * Richard Gilmour, Bishop of Cleveland (1852–1872) * John Quinlan, Bishop of Mobile (1852–1859) *

Augustus Toebbe Augustus Maria Bernard Anthony John Gebhard Toebbe (January 15, 1829 – May 2, 1884) was a German-born American prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the second Roman Catholic Diocese of Covington, Bishop of Covington, serving from 1869 unti ...

, Bishop of Covington (1854–1869) * Joseph Gregory Dwenger, Bishop of Fort Wayne (1859–1867) * Henry Richter, Bishop of Grand Rapids (1865–1883) * Francis Beckman, appointed

Bishop of Lincoln The Bishop of Lincoln is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury. The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of Nort ...

and later Archbishop of Dubuque (1902–1923) * Urban John Vehr, Bishop and later Archbishop of Denver (1915–1931) * Francis Augustine Thill, Bishop of Salina (1920–1938) (He became Bishop of Concordia in 1938, and was still in office there when the diocese name was changed from Concordia to Salina in 1944.) * Anthony John King Mussio, Bishop of Steubenville (1935–1945) * Christopher Cardone, Bishop of Auki later Archbishop of Honiara (1986–1988) * John Joseph Kaising, Auxiliary Bishop for the Military Services, USA (1962–2000) * Robert Daniel Conlon, Bishop of Steubenville and later Bishop of Joliet (1977–2002) * Earl K. Fernandes, Bishop of Columbus (2022–present)

Education

The archdiocese administers 110 associated

parochial school A parochial school is a private school, private Primary school, primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathem ...

s and diocesan

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

s. As of 2021, over 73,000 students were enrolled in the archdiocese's 115 schools, making it the sixth largest Catholic school system in the United States. In Hamilton County, where most private schools were run by the archdiocese, nearly a quarter of students (36,684 as of 2007) attended private schools, a rate only second to St. Louis County in Missouri. The 23 Catholic

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

s in the region operated under varying degrees of archdiocesan control. Several were owned and operated by the archdiocese, while other ''interparochial'' schools were run by groups of parishes under archdiocesan supervision. Most of the interparochial and non-archdiocesan high schools were operated by

religious institute In the Catholic Church, a religious institute is "a society in which members, according to proper law, pronounce public religious vows, vows, either perpetual or temporary which are to be renewed, however, when the period of time has elapsed, a ...

s. Most of the schools' athletic teams belonged to the Greater Catholic League, which consisted of a co-ed division, the Girls Greater Cincinnati League, and a division for all-male schools. The archdiocese also included 92 parochial and diocesan elementary schools, with a combined enrollment of 30,312, as of 2011 . These schools were in the urban and suburban areas of Cincinnati and Dayton, as well as some of the smaller towns within the archdiocesan boundaries. Each parochial school is owned and operated by its parish, rather than by the archdiocese's Catholic Schools Office. In March 2011, the archdiocese announced its intention of eventually unifying the schools under one school system. , the interim superintendent of Catholic Schools was Susie Gibbons. The archdiocese sponsors the Athenaeum of Ohio – Mount St. Mary's Seminary of the West seminary in Cincinnati.

Superintendents

* Carl J. Ryan (1941–1964) * Herman H. Kenning (1970–1974) * Kathryn Ann Connelly (1983–2002) * Joseph Kamis (2002–2010) * Jim Riggs (2010–2015) * Susie Gibbons (2015–2023) * Matthew J. Daniels (2024-Present)

Media

Publications

The Archdiocese of Cincinnati publishes a monthly magazine, '' The Catholic Telegraph''. Founded as a weekly newspaper in 1831, it is the oldest diocesan newspaper and second oldest Catholic newspaper in the United States. The ''Telegraph'' converted to a magazine format in 2020. Its defunct sister newspaper, '' Der Wahrheitsfreund'', was the first German Catholic newspaper in the country. The national magazine ''

St. Anthony Messenger ''St. Anthony Messenger'' is a national Roman Catholic family magazine published by the Franciscan Friars (O.F.M.) of St. John the Baptist Province, Cincinnati, Ohio in the United States, with the explicit ecclesiastical approval of the Archbi ...

'' is published in Cincinnati by the

Franciscan Friars The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest contem ...

with the archdiocese's ecclesiastical approval.

Radio stations

Several area Catholic radio stations, owned by separate entities, serve the archdiocese: * WNOP 740 AM Licensed to

Newport, Kentucky Newport is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city in Campbell County, Kentucky, United States. It is at the confluence of the Ohio River, Ohio and Licking River (Kentucky), Licking rivers across from Cincinnati. The population was 14,150 ...

. "Sacred Heart Radio" plus a sister station * WHSS 89.5 FM in Hamilton, a repeater of WNOP. *

WULM WULM (1600 AM broadcasting, AM) is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Springfield, Ohio, United States, and features a Catholic Church in the United States, Catholic-oriented Christian radio, Christian format as a full-time owned-and-op ...

1600 AM located in Springfield " Radio Maria" (based at KJMJ in Alexandria, Louisiana) serving portions of the Dayton area: a fifty-mile radius in the daytime. (ten mile radius at night) plus a sister station: * WHJM 88.7 FM licensed in Anna, transmitting from Botkins with a live studio located in Minster. It serves a forty-mile radius within the Upper Miami Valley and southern portions of the Lima area. Radio Maria also streams on the internet * WLRU-LP 106.9 FM in Hillsboro. Other stations reach into portions of the archdiocese: * WVSG 820 AM located in Columbus "St. Gabriel Radio" (the former

WOSU (AM) WVSG (820 kHz, " St. Gabriel Radio") is a non-commercial AM radio station in Columbus, Ohio. It airs local Catholic talk programming in addition to the EWTN Global Catholic Radio Network. WVSG's schedule is simulcast on WSGR, 88.3 FM in ...

). * WRDF 106.3 FM licensed in Columbia City, Indiana with studio in

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 census ...

, as "Redeemer Radio" plus an audio stream.

References

External links

Archdiocese of Cincinnati Official Site
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Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

Christianity in Cincinnati

1821 establishments in Ohio