Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Louis
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The Archdiocese of Saint Louis is the Roman Catholic archdiocese that covers the City of St. Louis as well as the following Missouri counties: Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, Perry, Saint Charles, Saint Francois, Ste. Genevieve, St. Louis, Warren, and Washington. It is currently led by Archbishop Raymond Burke.
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[edit] History
The area's first bishop was Louis William Valentine Dubourg, who on September 24, 1815 was appointed Bishop of Louisiana and the [East and West] Floridas by Pope Pius VII. DuBourg chose to set up his episcopal see in St. Louis. After his resignation and transfer to lead the diocese of Montauban, France, the Diocese of Saint Louis was erected on July 18, 1826 by Pope Leo XII. When founded, it included the state of Missouri, the western half of Illinois, and all American territory west of the Mississippi River and north of the state of Louisiana. It was the largest American diocese, equalling in extent all of the other nine dioceses.
Its first bishop, Joseph Rosati, led the Roman Catholic Church's expansion its presence in these areas, and built its first cathedral, now known as the Basilica of St. Louis, King of France.
On July 28, 1837, territory in Iowa, Minnesota, and the Dakotas was taken from the Diocese to form the Diocese of Dubuque, Iowa.
The Saint Louis Diocese was elevated to an Archdiocese on July 20, 1847 by Pope Pius IX.
Because of its strong Catholic identity and having been the mother diocese of many dioceses in the midwest, the archdiocese was often referred to as "the Rome of the west". It is dedicated to Saint Louis IX and has as its copatrons Saints Vincent de Paul and Rose Philippine Duchesne.
In January 1999, the archdiocese was host to a two-day visit from Pope John Paul II, the first time a pope had visited the city. It was not John Paul's first visit, since thirty years earlier, he had paid a visit when he was Cardinal Wojtyła, Archbishop of Kraków.
[edit] Residential bishops
The following is a list of the bishops and archbishops of Saint Louis and their terms of service.
- Bishop Joseph Rosati, C.M. (1827–1843)
- Archbishop Peter Richard Kenrick (1843–1895)
- Archbishop John Joseph Kain (1895–1903)
- Archbishop John Joseph Glennon (1903–1946)
- Archbishop Joseph Elmer Ritter (1946–1967)
- Archbishop John Joseph Carberry (1968–1979)
- Archbishop John L. May (1980–1992)
- Archbishop Justin Francis Rigali (1994–2003)
- Archbishop Raymond Leo Burke (2004–present)
[edit] Eastern Rites
There are three Eastern Rite churches within the archdiocese's boundaries:
- St. Raymond's Cathedral, Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles (Maronite)
- St. Louis Byzantine (Ruthenian) Church, Byzantine Eparchy of Parma
- St. Mary's Assumption Ukrainian Catholic Church, Eparchy of Saint Nicolas of Chicago for the Ukrainians
[edit] External links
- The Archdiocese of Saint Louis, including an archives section and the story of John Paul II's 1999 visit
- St. Louis Review, the weekly newspaper of the archdiocese
- Rome of the West, features photography of churches in the Archdiocese
- Eastern rites in the Archdiocese:
