Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane
Encyclopedia
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, and its present bishop
is Blase Joseph Cupich.
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.
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.
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
of the Roman Catholic Church in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Washington. Headquartered in Spokane
Spokane, Washington
Spokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...
, the diocese encompasses Okanogan, Ferry, Stevens, Pend Oreille, Lincoln, Spokane
Spokane County, Washington
Spokane County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington, named after the Spokane tribe. As of the 2010 census the population was 471,221, making it the fourth most populous county in Washington state. The largest city and county seat is Spokane, the second largest city in the state,...
, Adams, Whitman
Whitman County, Washington
Whitman County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2010 census, the population was 44,776, with the majority living in its largest city, Pullman, home to Washington State University, the state's land-grant university. The county seat is at Colfax.Whitman County was...
, Franklin, Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield and Asotin Counties. Its cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
is the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes in Spokane, and its present bishop
Bishop (Catholic Church)
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....
is Blase Joseph Cupich.
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
Suffragan Diocese
A suffragan diocese is a diocese in the Catholic Church that is overseen not only by its own diocesan bishop but also by a metropolitan bishop. The metropolitan is always an archbishop who governs his own archdiocese...
of the Archdiocese of Seattle
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle
The Archdiocese of Seattle is an archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the U.S. state of Washington. Headquartered in Seattle, the archdiocese encompasses all counties in the state west of the Cascade Range. Its cathedral is St. James Cathedral, and its present archbishop is J...
; its metropolitan bishop
Metropolitan bishop
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...
is J. Peter Sartain.
Approximately 90,000 Catholics in Washington state are served by the Diocese. There are 82 parishes in the diocese.
History
The Catholic Church presence in the present-day state of Washington dates to the 1830s, when missionaryMissionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
priests
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
traveled from Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
to minister in what was then known as the Oregon Country
Oregon Country
The Oregon Country was a predominantly American term referring to a disputed ownership region of the Pacific Northwest of North America. The region was occupied by British and French Canadian fur traders from before 1810, and American settlers from the mid-1830s, with its coastal areas north from...
. On December 1, 1843, the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
established the Vicariate Apostolic
Apostolic vicariate
An apostolic vicariate is a form of territorial jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church established in missionary regions and countries that do not have a diocese. It is essentially provisional, though it may last for a century or more...
of the Oregon Territory. In 1846 Pope Gregory XVI
Pope Gregory XVI
Pope Gregory XVI , born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari, named Mauro as a member of the religious order of the Camaldolese, was Pope of the Catholic Church from 1831 to 1846...
established an ecclesiastical territory in the region, and the apostolic vicariate was split into three dioceses: Oregon City
Oregon City, Oregon
Oregon City was the first city in the United States west of the Rocky Mountains to be incorporated. It is the county seat of Clackamas County, Oregon...
, Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
, and Walla Walla
Walla Walla, Washington
Walla Walla is the largest city in and the county seat of Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. The population was 31,731 at the 2010 census...
.
The Whitman massacre
Whitman massacre
The Whitman massacre was the murder in the Oregon Country on November 29, 1847 of U.S. missionaries Dr. Marcus Whitman and his wife Narcissa Whitman, along with eleven others. They were killed by Cayuse and Umatilla Indians. The incident began the Cayuse War...
in 1847 and the ensuing Cayuse War
Cayuse War
The Cayuse War was an armed conflict that took place in the Northwestern United States from 1847 to 1855 between the Cayuse people of the region and the United States Government and local Euro-American settlers...
increased tensions between Christians and the native population of the Oregon Territory
Oregon Territory
The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. Originally claimed by several countries , the region was...
, 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
Pope Pius IX
Blessed Pope Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed papal...
created the Diocese of Nesqually out of the defunct Walla Walla diocese. The episcopal see
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
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
Eastern Washington
Eastern Washington is the portion of the U.S. state of Washington east of the Cascade Range. The region contains the city of Spokane , the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the Hanford Nuclear Reservation and the fertile farmlands of the Yakima Valley and the...
, 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
Pope Pius X
Pope Saint Pius X , born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was the 257th Pope of the Catholic Church, serving from 1903 to 1914. He was the first pope since Pope Pius V to be canonized. Pius X rejected modernist interpretations of Catholic doctrine, promoting traditional devotional practices and orthodox...
on December 17, 1913. The diocese's first bishop
Bishop (Catholic Church)
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....
was Augustine Francis Schinner
Augustine Francis Schinner
Augustine Francis Schinner was a Roman Catholic bishop.-Biography:...
, the bishop emeritus of the Diocese of Superior
Roman Catholic Diocese of Superior
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Superior is in northern Wisconsin. It comprises the city of Superior and the counties of Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Iron, Lincoln, Oneida, Price, Polk, Rusk, Sawyer, St. Croix, Taylor, Vilas, and Washburn in Wisconsin, with an area of...
in Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, of which he was also the inaugural bishop. On June 23, 1951, the diocese lost territory when the Diocese of Yakima
Roman Catholic Diocese of Yakima
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Yakima is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the central region of the state of Washington in the United States...
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.Bishops of the Diocese of Spokane
- Augustine Francis SchinnerAugustine Francis SchinnerAugustine Francis Schinner was a Roman Catholic bishop.-Biography:...
(1914 - 1925) - Charles Daniel WhiteCharles Daniel WhiteCharles Daniel White was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Spokane from 1927 until his death in 1955.-Biography:...
(1926 - 1955) - Bernard Joseph TopelBernard Joseph TopelBernard Joseph Topel was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Spokane from 1955 to 1978.-Early life and education:...
(1955 - 1978) - Lawrence Harold WelshLawrence Harold WelshLawrence Harold Welsh was the fourth Roman Catholic Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane from 1978-1989.-Life:Born in Winton, Wyoming, Welsh was ordained a priest on March 26, 1962...
(1978 - 1990) - William S. SkylstadWilliam S. SkylstadWilliam Stephen Skylstad is an American Roman Catholic Bishop. He is Bishop Emeritus of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane in Washington retiring June 30, 2010...
(1990 - 2010) – retired on June 30, 2010 - Blase Joseph Cupich (2010 - )
High schools
- Desales Catholic High SchoolDesales Catholic High School (Walla Walla, Washington)Desales Catholic High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Walla Walla, Washington. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane.-Background:...
, Walla Walla - Gonzaga Preparatory SchoolGonzaga Preparatory SchoolGonzaga Preparatory School located in Spokane, Washington is a private Catholic high school in the Inland Northwest. As a Jesuit institution, "G-Prep" has been recognized for its college preparation education, and community service.- History :...
, Spokane - Tri-Cities PrepTri-Cities Prep (Pasco, Washington)Tri-Cities Prep, a Catholic High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Pasco, Washington. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane.-Background:...
, Pasco