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Diocese of Wichita Dioecesis Wichitensis
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Coat of arms
Location
Country	United States
Territory	25 counties in southeast Kansas
Ecclesiastical province	Kansas City in Kansas
Statistics
Area	20,021 sq mi (51,850 km)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2010) 979,000 120,527 (12.8%)
Parishes	90
Information
Denomination	Catholic
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	August 2, 1887 (137 years ago)
Cathedral	Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Patron saint	Immaculate Conception
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Carl A. Kemme
Metropolitan Archbishop	Joseph Fred Naumann
Map
Website
catholicdioceseofwichita.org

The Diocese of Wichita (Latin: Dioecesis Wichitensis) is a Latin Catholic ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in Kansas in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas.

Territory

The Diocese of Wichita covers the following Kansas counties:

Allen, Bourbon, Butler, Chase, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Cowley, Crawford, Elk, Greenwood, Harper, Harvey, Kingman, Labette, Marion, McPherson, Montgomery, Morris, Neosho, Reno, Rice, Sedgwick, Sumner, Wilson, and Woodson counties in south central and southeast Kansas.

The diocese is home to 112,549 Catholics in 90 parishes.

History

1540 to 1850

The earliest Catholic presence in present-day Kansas was during the 1540s, when Reverend, Juan de Padilla, the Spanish missionary priest, accompanied the Spanish explorer Francisco Vázquez de Coronado on his expedition through the region.

During the 18th century, Kansas was under the jurisdictions of Spain and France. The few Catholics in the area were governed by the Diocese of Louisiana and the Two Floridas, based in New Orleans. After the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, Kansas became part of the United States.

The Vatican in 1826 erected the Diocese of St. Louis, which included Kansas and the vast Missouri Territory. During the early 1800s, Catholic missionaries started building chapels for their Native American converts. In 1847, Jesuit priests established the St. Mary's Mission in St. Marys in eastern Kansas, along the Oregon Trail, to evangelize the Potawatomi people.

1850 to 1870

Pope Pius IX in 1850 erected the Vicariate Apostolic of Indian Territory East of the Rocky Mountains. This huge jurisdiction contained the present-day states of Kansas, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. The pope named Reverend John Miège from St. Louis as the vicar apostolic.

Miège arrived in 1851 at an Potawatomi encampment on the Kansas River. At that time, his vicariate contained five churches, eight priests, and 5,000 Catholics. He then moved to the Jesuit mission at St. Marys. Miège conducted extensive pastoral visitations throughout the vicariate, visiting Native American villages, forts, trading posts, and towns. He celebrated mass at these stops on the rear end of his wagon.

In 1855, Miège moved his episcopal see in Leavenworth in eastern Kansas in order to better minister to the growing number of Catholic European settlers there.By this time, the vicariate had a Catholic population of 5,000, with 3,000 Native American converts. It was served by eight priests in 11 missions and 18 stations.

In 1857, the Vatican suppressed the Vicariate of the Indian Territory, creating instead the Vicariate of Kansas, including all of Kansas. Miège was named vicar of the new vicariate. Miège erected an episcopal residence in Leavenworth in 1863.

1870 to 1900

The first Catholic church in Wichita, St. Mary's, was dedicated in 1872. That same year, the first Catholic parish was organized in Hutchinson, holding its services in a granary. The first resident pastor within the Wichita area was appointed in 1873.

The Diocese of Leavenworth, covering all of Kansas, was erected in 1877 by Pius IX. He named Reverend Louis Fink as its first bishop. Kansas grew so rapidly over the next ten years that Fink petitioned the Vatican to establish two new dioceses in the western part of the state.

In 1887, Pope Leo XIII erected the Diocese of Wichita, taking southwestern Kansas from the Diocese of Leavenworth. The pope named Reverend James O'Reilly as the first bishop of Wichita, but he died before his consecration.

In 1888, Leo XIII appointed Reverend John J. Hennessy of the Diocese of St. Louis to replace O'Reilly. Hennessy found a struggling new diocese, missionary in nature. The first census in 1889 showe a Catholic population of 8,000 with 16 priests. In 1890, Hennessy persuaded the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother to take over management of St. Francis Hospital in Wichita. In 1898, he convened the first diocesan synod.

1900 to 1950

Hennessy broke ground for the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Wichita in 1906 and laid the cornerstone the following October; it was dedicated by Cardinal James Gibbons in 1912. By the early 1900s, the Catholic population had reached 32,000 in 97 parishes, most with schools. Bishop of Wichita for 32 years, Hennessy died in 1920.

In 1921, Monsignor Augustus Schwertner of the Diocese of Cleveland was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Wichita by Pope Benedict XV. When Schwertner arrived in Wichita, the diocese contained 110 priests, 81 parishes, 49 parochial schools, and eight hospitals to serve a Catholic population of 36,905. By his final year as bishop in 1939, the diocese had 56,248 Catholics, 155 priests, 97 parishes, 65 parochial schools, and 13 hospitals. Sacred Heart Junior College in Wichita was established in 1933.

After Schwertner died in 1939, Pope Pius XII named Auxiliary Bishop Christian Winkelmann of St. Louis as the next bishop of Wichita. Winkelmann died in 1946. Pius XII then appointed Monsignor Mark Carroll from St. Louis as Winkelmann's replacement. In 1948, Carroll called for the repeal of the state prohibition law against alcohol sales, calling it "an unwarrantable infringement" on "reasonable liberty". He was an outspoken proponent of ecumenism and of the use of vernacular in the Mass. Winkelmann also supported the American Civil Rights Movement, and stated that his self-confessed mission was "to preach equality of man and dignity and worth."

1950 to present

In 1951, Pope Pius XII erected the new Diocese of Dodge City from the western counties of the Diocese of Wichita. After Carroll retired in 1967, Pope Paul VI appointed Auxiliary Bishop David Maloney of the Archdiocese of Denver as the new bishop of Wichita. In 1977, Maloney publicly declared that he would defy a city ordinance that prohibited discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations based on sexual orientation. Maloney retired in 1982.

The next bishop of Wichita was Bishop Eugene Gerber from the Diocese of Dodge City, named by Pope John Paul II in 1982. In 1999, Thomas Olmsted of the Diocese of Lincoln was appointed coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Wichita by Pope John Paul II to assist Gerber. When Gerber retired in 2001, Olmsted automatically became the new bishop. In 2003, after only two years in Wichita, John Paul II named Olmsted as bishop of the Diocese of Phoenix.

John Paul II appointed Monsignor Michael Jackels of the Diocese of Lincoln as bishop of Wichita in 2005. He was active in promoting Catholic education, and helped establish the Drexel Fund, which aided financially strapped Catholic schools within the diocese. The diocese had 48 seminarians during his tenure. In 2013, Pope Francis named Jackels as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Dubuque.

The current bishop of the Diocese of Wichita is Carl A. Kemme from the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois. He was named by Francis in 2014. In 2018, the diocese announced that it had ordained ten seminarians as priests for the second year in a row. Ascension Via Christi St. Francis hospital in Wichita was sued in July 2023 by three female patients who had been raped by an intruder, accusing the Catholic hospital of lax security. The alleged rapist, Miguel Rodela, was captured immediately after the third attack.

Sex Abuse

A Wichita man sued the Diocese of Wichita in 1995, claiming that he had been sexually assaulted by Reverend Robert D. Blanpied. The alleged attacks started in 1965, when the plaintiff was ten years old, and continued for four years. A court ruled in 1997 that the statute of limitations on the case had expired. In a 1994 meeting with Bishop Arthur Tafoya of the Diocese of Pueblo regarding sexual abuse allegations in Colorado, Blanpied admitted to abusing two boys in Wichita. Tafoya permanently removed Blanchid from ministry that year.

In November 2000, Reverend Robert Larson, the former head of Catholic Charities for the diocese, was charged with sexually abusing four altar boys at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Newton in the 1980s. He pleaded guilty in February 2001 to one count of indecent liberties with a child and three counts of sexual battery and was sentenced to three to 10 years in prison. Diocesan records would later show as many as fifteen accusations to the diocese of sexual abuse against Larson going back to 1981. In June 2001, the diocese reached a financial settlement with several of Larson's victims.

In February 2019, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) announced that it had been investigating sex abuse allegations against all the Catholic dioceses in Kansas since November 2018. On August 14, 2020, Melissa Underwood, KBI spokeswoman, referring to the entire State of Kansas, stated, "As of Aug. 7, we have had 205 reports of abuse and have opened 120 cases." In September, 2019, Bishop Kemme published a list of 15 diocesan priests that faced credible accusations of sexual abuse of minors. Eleven of the priests were deceased and the others were no longer in ministry.

In November 2021, Kemme placed Reverend Michael Schemm from Resurrection Parish in Bel Aire on suspension pending investigation. The diocese had received sexual abuse allegations again Schemm dating back to the 1990s. The diocese forwarded the allegations to local police. In March 2022, Schemm was returned to ministry. Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett reported that the statute of limitations for this case had expired. The diocese concluded that there was insufficient evidence to the allegations against Schemm.

The diocese instituted "Virtus Training" for all individuals serving in the diocese;

"Members of the clergy, religious, employees and each volunteer who has regular contact with a minor is required to attend a live awareness session called Protecting God's Children for Adults. This session, provided by certified VIRTUS Facilitators, gives participants an awareness of the signs of child sexual abuse, the methods and means by which abusers commit abuse and 5 concrete steps to create safe environments and to prevent abuse."

Bishops

Bishops of Wichita

1. James O'Reilly (1887); died before being consecrated bishop
2. John Joseph Hennessy (1888–1920)
3. Augustus John Schwertner (1921–1939)
4. Christian Herman Winkelmann (1939–1946)
5. Mark Kenny Carroll (1947–1967)
   - Leo Christopher Byrne (coadjutor bishop 1961–1967), appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis before succession
6. David Monas Maloney (1967–1982)
7. Eugene John Gerber (1982–2001)
8. Thomas J. Olmsted (2001–2003), appointed Bishop of Phoenix
9. Michael Owen Jackels (2005–2013), appointed Archbishop of Dubuque
10. Carl A. Kemme (2014–present)

Other diocesan priests who became bishops

• John Henry Tihen, appointed Bishop of Lincoln in 1911 and later Bishop of Denver in 1917
• Ignatius Jerome Strecker, appointed Bishop of Springfield-Cape Girardeau in 1962 and later Archbishop of Kansas City in Kansas in 1969
• Eugene John Gerber, appointed Bishop of Dodge City in 1976 and later returned to this diocese as Bishop of Wichita in 1982
• Ronald Michael Gilmore, appointed Bishop of Dodge City in 1998
• Paul Stagg Coakley, appointed Bishop of Salina in 2004 and later Archbishop of Oklahoma City in 2010
• James Douglas Conley, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Denver in 2008 and later Bishop of Lincoln in 2012
• John Balthasar Brungardt, appointed Bishop of Dodge City in 2010
• Shawn McKnight, appointed Bishop of Jefferson City in 2017

Notable people

Reverend Emil Kapaun (1916–1951), US Army chaplain, a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, and a candidate for canonization

Education

The Thomas B. Fordham Institute in 2008 published a study on urban catholic schools in the United States. It cited the Wichita Catholic Schools as one of six best examples of urban catholic schools. As of 2023, the diocese had 34 primary schools and one pre-school.

High schools

• Bishop Carroll Catholic High School – Wichita
• Kapaun Mt. Carmel High School – Wichita
• St. Mary's-Colgan Jr/Sr High School – Pittsburg
• Trinity Catholic Jr/Sr High School – Hutchinson

See also

• Catholic Church by country
• Catholic Church hierarchy
• List of the Catholic dioceses of the United States

References

1. ^ "Metropolitan Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas". GCatholic. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
2. "New Orleans (Archdiocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
3. "ST. MARY'S MISSION RECORDS Historical Note/Scope and Content Note // Archives // Raynor Memorial Libraries // Marquette University". www.marquette.edu. Retrieved 2023-06-17.
4. "Kansas City in Kansas (Archdiocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2023-06-17.
5. ^ "Leavenworth". Catholic Encyclopedia.
6. ^ "Transactions of the Kansas State Historical Society". Kansas State Historical Society.
7. Clarke, Richard Henry. "RIGHT REV. JOHN BAPTISTE MIEGE, D.D.". Lives of the Deceased Bishops of the Catholic Church in the United States.
8. Willging, Eugene P.; Hatzfeld, Herta (1963). "Catholic Serials of the Nineteenth Century — Kansas". Records of the American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia. 74 (4): 233–250. ISSN 0002-7790.
9. "Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas". Catholic-Hierarchy.org.
10. Jirak, Al. "Catholicism in Hutchinson". Church of the Holy Cross - Catholic Church and School. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
11. "Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception - Wichita, Kansas". www.kansastravel.org. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
12. "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Leavenworth". www.newadvent.org.
13. "Bishop John Joseph Hennessy [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
14. Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother, St. Clare of Assisi Region
15. ^ "History: 1912-2002". Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Archived from the original on 2008-12-27.
16. "Bishop Augustus John Schwertner". Catholic-Hierarchy.org.
17. The Official Catholic Directory. New York: P. J. Kenedy. 1921. p. 647.
18. The Official Catholic Directory. New York: P. J. Kenedy. 1939. p. 613.
19. "Bishop Christian Herman Winkelmann [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
20. "BISHOP SERVED HIS CHURCH FOR 62 YEARS". The Wichita Eagle. 1985-01-13.
21. ^ Schaefer, Tom (1985-01-13). "WICHITA'S CARROLL DIES AT 88 OUTSPOKENESS MARKED CAREER". The Wichita Eagle.
22. "Diocese of Wichita". GCatholic.org. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
23. "Bishop David Monas Maloney [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
24. Shideler, Karen (1995-02-17). "BISHOP MALONEY LED WITH FIRM HAND INTELLECT, LOYALTY WERE HIS STRENGTHS". The Wichita Eagle.
25. "Bishop Eugene John Gerber [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
26. "Bishop Thomas James Olmsted [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
27. Jackels' Curriculum Vitae, ibid.
28. "Bishop Carl Alan Kemme [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
29. CNA. "What's the secret sauce in Wichita's vocations boom?". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
30. KWCH Staff (2023-07-17). "2nd lawsuit filed against Ascension Via Christi after man charged, accused of raping patients". KWCH. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
31. "Man Cant Sue Diocese, Judges Say Wichitans Lawsuit Claiming Sexual Abuse Is Barred by Statute of Limitations, Associated Press, carried in Wichita Eagle, July 4, 1997". www.bishop-accountability.org. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
32. "Roman Catholic Clergy Sexual Abuse of Children in Colorado from 1950 to 2019 - Special Master's Report" (PDF). Office of the Colorado Attorney General. October 22, 2019. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
33. "Bishop Accountability". www.bishop-accountability.org. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
34. "Bishop Accountability". www.bishop-accountability.org. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
35. "Bishop Accountability". www.bishop-accountability.org. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
36. "Newly released KBI report identifies 400+ victims of child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy in Kansas". KSHB 41 Kansas City News. 2023-01-07. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
37. "Catholic Diocese of Wichita names 15 priests accused of child sexual abuse". www.kwch.com. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
38. KWCH Staff. "Wichita-area priest placed on leave, accused of sexually abusing minor". www.kwch.com. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
39. "Wichita priest returns to public ministry after allegations of child exploitation". www.kake.com. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
40. "A Pledge to Heal". Diocese of Wichita. 2020.
41. Hamilton, Scott W. (2008). Who Will Save America's Urban Catholic Schools? (Report). Thomas B.
42. ^ "Catholic Schools - Catholic Diocese of Wichita Schools". Catholic Diocese of Wichita. Retrieved 2023-08-01.

External links

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Wichita Official Site

37°41′32″N 97°20′14″W / 37.69222°N 97.33722°W / 37.69222; -97.33722

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Wichita
• Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Kansas City
• Christian organizations established in 1887
• Culture of Wichita, Kansas
• Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 19th century
• Catholic Church in Kansas
• Roman Catholic dioceses in the United States
• 1887 establishments in Kansas