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Roman Catholic Diocese of Gary

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Latin Catholic ecclesiastical jurisdiction in Indiana, USA
Diocese of Gary
Dioecesis Gariensis
Cathedral of the Holy Angels
Coat of arms
Location
Country United States
TerritoryThe counties of Lake, LaPorte, Porter and Starke in Northwest Indiana
Ecclesiastical provinceIndianapolis
Statistics
Area1,807 sq mi (4,680 km)
Population
- Total
- Catholics		(as of 2021)
795,178
164,293 (20.7%)
Parishes64
Churches72
Schools22
Information
DenominationCatholic
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
EstablishedDecember 17, 1956 (68 years ago)
CathedralCathedral of the Holy Angels
Patron saintGuardian Angels
Secular priests83
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
BishopRobert John McClory
Metropolitan ArchbishopCharles C. Thompson
Map
Territory of the Diocese of Gary
Territory of the Diocese of Gary
Website
dcgary.org

The Diocese of Gary (Latin: Dioecesis Gariensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in northwest Indiana in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Indianapolis.

The mother church of the Diocese of Gary is the Cathedral of the Holy Angels in Gary, Indiana. The diocese was erected on December 17, 1956, by Pope Pius XII. The current bishop of the diocese is the Most Rev. Robert J. McClory.

Territory

The Diocese of Gary includes Lake, Porter, LaPorte, and Starke counties in Indiana.

History

1675 to 1800

During the 17th century, present day Indiana was part of the French colony of New France. The Diocese of Quebec, which had jurisdiction over the colony, sent French missionaries to the region. The first French Jesuit missionaries came to the Vincennes area around 1675. Historical records show that a Father Mermet arrived in Vincennes around 1712, but the length of his visit is unknown. The oldest Catholic Church in Vincennes is St. Francis Xavier. established around 1732.

After the British took control of New France in 1763, the Archdiocese of Quebec retained jurisdiction in the Indiana area. In 1776, the new United States claimed sovereignty over the area of Indiana. In 1787, Indiana became part of the Northwest Territory of the United States.

1800 to 1956

With the creation of the Diocese of Bardstown in Kentucky in 1810, supervision of the Indiana Territory shifted there. In 1827, the bishop of the Diocese of St. Louis assumed jurisdiction in the new state of Indiana. In 1834, Pope Gregory XVI erected the Diocese of Vincennes, which included both Indiana and Illinois. Pope Pius IX created the Diocese of Fort Wayne for Indiana only in 1857, including the Gary area. Gary would remain part of this diocese for the next 100 years.

St. Mary the Immaculate Conception parish, founded in 1867, was the first Catholic parish in Michigan City. The first Catholic parish in Gary was Holy Angels, established in 1906.

During the first half of the 20th century, many Catholic immigrants arrived in Indiana from Eastern Europe and Mexico to work in the region's growing steel industry. The Diocese of Fort Wayne founded several native language parishes near the steel mills to accommodate these immigrants.

1956 to 2000

In 1956, Pope Pius XII erected the Diocese of Gary, removing Lake, Porter, LaPorte, and Starke Counties from the Diocese of Fort Wayne. He named Reverend Andrew Grutka of the Diocese of Fort Wayne as the first bishop of Gary. Grutka selected Holy Angels church as his cathedral, renaming it as the Cathedral of the Holy Angels. The new diocese had 129 active diocesan priests, 77 parishes, 60 parish schools and 135,485 Catholics, about 25 percent of the population of the four counties. Grutka retired in 1984.

Pope John Paul II appointed Auxiliary Bishop Norbert Gaughan of the Diocese of Greensburg as the second bishop of Gary in 1984. During his tenure as bishop, Gaughan ordained three priests and started a diocesan newspaper, the Northwest Indiana Catholic. In 1986, he established the Catholic Services Appeal. Gaughan created the “We Can Change the Future” program for the creation of pastoral councils. After Gaughan suffered a stroke, the pope named Auxiliary Bishop Dale Melczek of the Archdiocese of Detroit in 1995 as coadjutor bishop to assist Gaughan. When Gaughan retired in 1996, Melczek automatically became bishop of Gary.

2000 to present

In 2002, Melczek published “The Many Faces of Our Church:  a Pastoral Letter on Cultural Diversity” to discuss the contributions of different races and cultural groups to the Catholic church. Melczek followed it up the next year with “Created in God’s Image:  a Pastoral Letter on the Sin of Racism and a Call to Conversion.”

After Melczek retired in 2013, Pope Francis in 2014 appointed Auxiliary Bishop Donald J. Hying of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee as the next bishop of Gary. In 2016, Hying called the first synod in Gary with the publication of his pastoral letter, “Go, Therefore, and Make Disciples of All Nations”. He began an initiative in 2017 to focus on evangelization, vocations and other topics within the diocese.

In 2019, Pope Francis named Hying bishop of the Diocese of Madison and appointed Monsignor Robert McClory of the Archdiocese of Detroit to succeed Hying. McClory is the 5th and current bishop of the Diocese of Gary.

Sex Abuse

In January 2005, the Diocese of Gary diocese was sued by an Orlando, Florida, man who claimed to have been sexually abused by Reverend Richard Emerson. Starting in 1978, Emerson served in the Diocese of Gary, then moved in 1986 to the Diocese of Orlando as a temporary assignment. The plaintiff stated that Emerson sexually abused him as a minor in Orlando during the late 1980s and early 1990s at St. Charles Borromeo Parish. In 1991, Orlando Bishop Norbert Dorsey sent Emerson back to Gary because Dorsey was concerned about Emerson's friendships with two boys. The Diocese of Gary removed Emerson from ministry in 2004 after learning about the accusation from Florida. At Emerson's request, the Vatican laicized him in 2006.

The plaintiff in the 2005 case claimed that the Diocese of Gary ignored earlier sexual abuse allegations against Emerson during his first residence in Indiana. The diocese was sued in 2008 by an Indiana man who claimed that Emerson sexually abused him as a minor in White County. In July 2010, a second Orlando man sued the diocese, claiming that he had been abused as a 15 year old by Emerson in Florida.

In December 2003, Melczek removed Monsignor Don Grass from ministry after he admitted to sexually abusing a preteen girl. The victim reported the incident to the diocese in November 2003, saying that the crime happened during the 1960's while Grass was assigned to Cathedral of the Holy Angels Parish. Grass was never returned to ministry.

The diocese in August 2018 published a list of ten priests with credible accusations of sexual abuse of minors.

Statistics

As of 2023, the Diocese of Gary had 77 priests, 70 permanent deacons, 12 religious brothers, and 56 religious sisters. The diocese had a Catholic population of 170,144 in 59 parishes. In 2012, four parishes in the diocese offered mass in Polish, two parishes in Croatian, one in Hungarian, and one in Lithuanian. Fourteen parishes offered mass in Spanish.

In 2023, the diocese had 17 elementary schools, three high schools, one college, and a Catholic student center at Valparaiso University. The diocese also supervised six hospitals or medical centers, three homes for the aged, three protective homes, three cemeteries, and Catholic Charities, Diocese of Gary.

Bishops

Bishops of Gary

Coadjutor bishop

Dale Joseph Melczek (1995–1996)

Other diocesan priest who became bishop

Carl Frederick Mengeling, appointed Bishop of Lansing

Education

The superintendent of Catholic schools for the Diocese of Gary from 2016 to 2023 was Dr. Joseph Majchrowicz. As of July 2023, the superintendent is Dr. Colleen Brewer.

Elementary schools

Closed schools

  • St. Catherine of Siena – Hammond
  • Holy Trinity
  • Holy Angels, which turned into Sr Thea Bowman
  • Blessed Sacrament
  • St Peter & Paul
  • St. Mark
  • Our Lady of Perpetual Help
  • St. Mary (East Chicago)
  • Indiana Harbor Catholic
  • Sacred Heart
  • Sr. Thea Bowman

Secondary schools

Operated by diocese

Independent

Colleges

Calumet College of St. Joseph – Whiting

Extraordinary Form

As of August 2017, the only mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite in the diocese is offered at the Carmelite Shrine in Munster. It was established in 1990 at the recommendation of Bishop Gaughan. Previously, a Traditional Latin Mass was available at St. Stanislaus in Michigan City on Sundays, but this mass was discontinued when the celebrant died. St. Joseph the Worker in Gary had a monthly mass that was a hybrid of the Extraordinary and Ordinary Forms.

In 2015, the NWI Latin Mass Community was founded by laity to support and promote the Extraordinary Form in the diocese In 2018, a Solemn High Mass was offered at the Cathedral of the Holy Angels by Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Perry from the Archdiocese of Chicago.

In 2018, the Institute of Christ the King began an apostolate at St. Joseph parish in Hammond, offering the Extraordinary Form on a weekly basis. St. Joseph parish in Dyer also held a monthly mass in the Extraordinary Form.

See also

Portals:

References

  1. "Catholic Diocese of Gary website, Bishop's Office - Brief History of the Diocese page, Retrieved 10 March 2012".
  2. "Catholic Diocese of Gary website, Bishop's Office - Gary Diocese Statistical Data page, Retrieved 10 March 2012".
  3. "History of the Diocese: Memorable Dates". Catholic Diocese of Evansville. 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  4. Kennedy, p. 8.
  5. "St. Mary the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church | Michigan City". St. Mary NWI. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
  6. "Cathedral of the Holy Angels". GCatholic. Retrieved 2011-09-27.
  7. "Holy Angel Parish, Gary Imdiana". Cathedral of the Holy Angels. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2011-09-28.
  8. Alicea, Marisa (June 1, 1994). "The Latino Immigration Experience: The Case of Mexicanos, Puertorriqueños, and Cubanos". In Padilla, Félix M. (ed.). Handbook of Hispanic Cultures in the United States: Sociology, Volume 3. Arte Publico Press. pp. 38. ISBN 1558851011.
  9. "Most Reverend Norbert F. Gaughan, D.D., Ph.D." Diocese of Gary. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
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  13. "Rinunce e Nomine, 26.09.2019" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. November 26, 2019. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  14. Associated Press. "Pope appoints Michigan priest to be next bishop of Gary". www.wilx.com. Retrieved Apr 5, 2021.
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  16. Smith, Kelley (August 31, 2018). "Ex-La Porte County priests on list of child abusers". Associated Press. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  17. "ORLANDO MAN SUES PRIEST, BISHOPS, CHARGING NEGLIGENCE, SEX ABUSE". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  18. "New Complaint Lodged against Former Priest, by Deborah Sederberg, The News-Dispatch, December 9, 2008". www.bishop-accountability.org. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
  19. Mermelstein & Horowitz, P.A. "New Clergy Sex Abuse Lawsuit Filed Against Diocese of Orlando and Indiana Bishop" (Press release). PR Newswire. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  20. "New Clergy Sex Abuse Lawsuit Filed against Diocese of Orlando and Indiana Bishop, PRNewswire, July 7, 2010". www.bishop-accountability.org. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
  21. "Gary Bishop Removes Monsignor over Sex Abuse during the 1960s Priest Has Admitted Committing Misconduct with Minor, Statement from Diocese Says". www.bishop-accountability.org. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  22. "Quiet Shock at St. Mary Rev Patrick Kalich Named Parish Administrator, by Jim Stinson, Post-Tribune (Merrillville, IN), December 22, 2003". www.bishop-accountability.org. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
  23. "Catholic Diocese of Gary publishes list of alleged 'predator priests'". ABC7 Chicago. Retrieved 2023-07-30.
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  33. "Home". sjbcatholicparish.org.
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  35. "St. Mary of Griffith". www.smgriffith.org. Retrieved Apr 5, 2021.
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  37. "St. Michael School :: Schererville, Indiana". Archived from the original on 2016-07-09. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
  38. "St. Patrick Catholic Community". St. Patrick Catholic Community. Retrieved Apr 5, 2021.
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  41. McCollum, Carmen (2009-05-30). "Students, staff, parents mourn closing of longtime Catholic school". NWI Times. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
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  46. "Latin Mass Fills Pews at Munster Monastery". NWI Times. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  47. "Gary Diocese Latin Mass". NWI Latin Mass Community. Retrieved 11 December 2016.

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Gary
Bishops
Andrew Gregory Grutka
Norbert Felix Gaughan
Dale Joseph Melczek
Donald J. Hying
Robert John McClory
Churches
Cathedral
Cathedral of the Holy Angels
Parishes
St. John the Evangelist Church, St. John
Education
Higher education
Calumet College of St. Joseph
High schools
Bishop Noll Institute, Hammond
La Lumiere School, La Porte
Andrean High School, Merrillville
Marquette Catholic High School, Michigan City
Sacred Heart Apostolic School, Rolling Prairie
Priests
Carl Frederick Mengeling
Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Indianapolis

41°34′51″N 87°20′44″W / 41.58083°N 87.34556°W / 41.58083; -87.34556

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