Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane

Diocese of Spokane Dioecesis Spokanensis
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Location
Country	United States
Territory	Northern and Eastern Washington State
Ecclesiastical province	Province of Seattle
Population - Catholics	103,000 (13.0%)
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	December 17, 1913
Cathedral	Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes
Patron saint	Immaculate Conception
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Thomas Anthony Daly (elected)
Metropolitan Archbishop	J. Peter Sartain Archbishop of Seattle
Map
Website
dioceseofspokane.org

The Diocese of Spokane is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the U.S. state of Washington. Headquartered in Spokane, the diocese encompasses Okanogan, Ferry, Stevens, Pend Oreille, Lincoln, Spokane, Adams, Whitman, Franklin, Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield and Asotin Counties. Its cathedral 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 of the Archdiocese of Seattle; its metropolitan bishop is J. Peter Sartain.

Approximately 90,000 Catholics in Washington state are served by the Diocese. There are 82 parishes in the diocese.

History

Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes

The Catholic Church presence in the present-day state of Washington dates to the 1830s, when missionary priests traveled from Quebec to minister in what was then known as the Oregon Country. On December 1, 1843, the Holy See established the Vicariate Apostolic of the Oregon Territory. In 1846 Pope Gregory XVI established an ecclesiastical territory in the region, and the apostolic vicariate was split into three dioceses: Oregon City, Vancouver Island, and Walla Walla.

The Whitman massacre in 1847 and the ensuing Cayuse War increased tensions between Christians and the native population of the Oregon Territory, 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 created the Diocese of Nesqually out of the defunct Walla Walla diocese. The episcopal see was subsequently moved to Seattle, and the diocese was renamed the Diocese of Seattle in 1907.

With a growing population in Spokane and other areas of Eastern Washington, church leadership in Seattle realized that a new diocese needed to be formed, and the Diocese of Spokane was canonically erected by Pope St. Pius X on December 17, 1913. The diocese's first bishop was Augustine Francis Schinner, the bishop emeritus of the Diocese of Superior in Wisconsin, of which he was also the inaugural bishop. On June 23, 1951, the diocese lost territory when the Diocese of Yakima was formed.

Bankruptcy

In December 2004, the diocese declared bankruptcy, to protect it from claims of people allegedly 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.

Bishops of the Diocese of Spokane

The list of bishops and their years of service:

1. Augustine Francis Schinner (1914 - 1925); resigned
2. Charles Daniel White (1926 - 1955)
3. Bernard Joseph Topel (1955 - 1978); retired
4. Lawrence Harold Welsh (1978 - 1990); resigned; later was auxiliary bishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
5. William S. Skylstad (1990 - 2010); retired
6. Blase J. Cupich (2010 - 2014); Appointed Archbishop of Chicago
7. Thomas Anthony Daly (2015 - present)

High schools

• Desales Catholic High School, Walla Walla
• Gonzaga Preparatory School, Spokane
• Tri-Cities Prep, Pasco

Colleges

• Gonzaga University, Spokane

Province

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

See also

• Catholic Church by country
• Catholic Church in the United States
• Ecclesiastical Province of Seattle
• Global organisation of the Catholic Church
• List of Roman Catholic archdioceses (by country and continent)
• List of Roman Catholic dioceses (alphabetical) (including archdioceses)
• List of Roman Catholic dioceses (structured view) (including archdioceses)
• List of the Catholic dioceses of the United States

External links

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane Official Site