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Diocese of Fort Worth Diœcesis Arcis-Vorthensis
St. Patrick Cathedral
Coat of arms
Location
Country	United States
Territory	28 counties of North Central Texas
Ecclesiastical province	San Antonio
Statistics
Area	23,950 sq mi (62,000 km)
Population - Total - Catholics	3,260,246 1,101,236 (33.8%)
Parishes	92
Schools	17
Information
Denomination	Catholic
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	August 9, 1969
Cathedral	St. Patrick Cathedral
Patron saint	St. Patrick
Secular priests	155
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Michael F. Olson
Metropolitan Archbishop	Gustavo Garcia-Siller Archbishop of San Antonio
Map
Website
fwdioc.org

The Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth is a Latin Church diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in North Texas in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese of the metropolitan Archdiocese of San Antonio.

The Diocese of Fort Worth was erected on August 9, 1969. As of 2023, the current bishop is Michael Fors Olson.

Description

The Diocese of Fort Worth contains the following counties with a total area of 23,950 mi

Archer, Baylor, Bosque, Clay, Comanche, Cooke, Denton, Eastland, Erath, Foard, Hardeman, Hill, Hood, Jack, Johnson, Knox, Montague, Palo Pinto, Parker, Shackelford, Somervell, Stephens, Tarrant, Throckmorton, Wichita, Wilbarger, Wise, and Young.

As of 2011, the diocese had a Catholic population over 1,200,000 in 92 parishes, served by 132 priests, 106 deacons, and 48 sisters.

History

1847 to 1890

In 1847, soon after the Republic of Texas joined the United States, Pope Pius IX erected the Diocese of Galveston, covering the entire state. During the 1860's, the diocese would periodically send priests to visit the small, but growing, town of Fort Worth. In 1870, Reverend Vincent Perrier of the Society of Mary started visiting Fort Worth twice a year. By 1875, the population growth of Fort Worth had persuaded Bishop Claude Marie Dubuis of Galveston to send Perrier and another priest to the town every month.

After 1875, Irish Catholics workers started arriving in Fort Worth to work on the railroads, prompting the diocese to send a resident priest there. He established St. Stanislaus Kostka, the first Catholic Church in Fort Worth.The first Catholic school opened in Denton in 1874.

In 1879, Father Thomas Loughrey, pastor of St. Stanislaus, opened a boys' school at the church. Weatherford had its first Catholic school in 1880. In 1885, the Sisters of Saint Mary of Namur established Saint Ignatius Academy in Fort Worth and Xavier Academy in Denison. St. Joseph's Infirmary opened in 1885 in Fort Worth.

1890 to 1969

In 1890, Pope Leo XIII established the Diocese of Dallas, taking its territory from the Diocese of Galveston. The Fort Worth area would remain part of this new diocese for the next 79 years. In 1892, the new St. Patrick's Church in Fort Worth was dedicated by Bishop Thomas Brennan of Dallas. The following Catholic schools opened during this time period:

• Gainesville (1892)
• Muenster (1890 and 1895),
• Pilot Point (1893)
• Cleburne (1896)

In 1910 Our Lady of Victory College opened in Fort Worth. In 1953 Pope Pius XII renamed the Diocese of Dallas as the Diocese of Dallas–Fort Worth, and elevated Saint Patrick's Church in Fort Worth to a co-cathedral.

1969 to 2000

On August 22, 1969, Pope Paul VI suppressed the Diocese of Dallas-Fort Worth, erecting the Diocese of Fort Worth and the Diocese of Dallas. He named Auxiliary Bishop John Joseph Cassata of Dallas-Fort Worth as the first bishop of Fort Worth. When Cassata became bishop, the Catholic population of the new diocese was 67,000. Cassata retired in 1981.

The second bishop of Fort Worth was Reverend Joseph P. Delaney of the Diocese of Brownsville, appointed by Pope John Paul II in 1981. In 1985, St. Patrick Cathedral, St. Ignatius Church and the St. Ignatius rectory were added to the National Register of Historic Places. By 1986, the Catholic population of the diocese had grown to 120,000. The diocese had 14 primary schools, three secondary schools, the Cassata Learning Center and a new Catholic Center.

2000 to present

In May 2005, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Monsignor Kevin Vann of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois as coadjutor bishop in Fort Worth to assist Delaney. However, one day before Vann's consecration, Delaney died in his sleep. The next day, July 13th, Vann was consecrated as bishop instead of coadjutor bishop. Seven years later Vann was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Orange in 2012.

As of 2023, the current bishop of the Diocese of Fort Worth is Michael Fors Olson, named by Pope Francis in 2013.

On May 24, 2021, six seminarians were ordained priests by Olson at Vietnamese Martyrs Church in Arlington. This was the largest ordination class of priests in diocese history.

Sex abuse

In 2018, the Diocese of Fort Worth published a list of 17 clergy from the diocese with credible accusations of sexual abuse of minors since the 1960's.

Bishops

Bishops of Fort Worth

1. John Joseph Cassata (1969–1980)
2. Joseph Patrick Delaney (1981–2005)
3. Kevin William Vann (2005–2012), appointed Bishop of Orange
4. Michael Fors Olson (2013–present)

Coadjutor bishop

Kevin William Vann (2005), but wasn't consecrated as such before Bishop Delaney died, so became bishop of the diocese immediately upon consecration

Other diocesan priest who became bishop

Stephen Jay Berg, appointed Bishop of Pueblo in 2014

Churches

Cathedral

• St. Patrick Cathedral

Parishes

Education

University and college communities

• University Catholic Community University of Texas at Arlington
• Catholic Campus Center Midwestern State University
• St. John Paul II Parish University of North Texas, Texas Woman's University
• TCU Catholic Texas Christian University
• Catholic Campus Ministry Tarleton State University

High schools

• Cassata Catholic High School, Fort Worth
• Nolan Catholic High School, Fort Worth
• Sacred Heart Catholic School, Muenster

See also

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

References

1. "Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth - Statistics". Archived from the original on April 4, 2011. Retrieved March 30, 2011.
2. ^ "Diocese History". fwdioc.org. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
3. Kurkowski-Gillen, Joan (May 24, 2021). "Bishop Olson ordains six men to priesthood, largest class in diocesan history". North Texas Catholic. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
4. Burk, Jarred (2018-10-10). "Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth releases names of alleged sexual abusers in the church, some with ties to Texoma". https://www.newschannel6now.com. Retrieved 2023-05-01. {{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help)

External links

• Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth Official Site
• Map of every Catholic church in the Fort Worth Diocese Archived 2006-10-13 at the Wayback Machine

v t e Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth
Ordinaries	Bishops John Joseph Cassata Joseph Patrick Delaney Kevin Vann Michael Fors Olson
Churches	Cathedral St. Patrick Cathedral
Schools	Cassata High School, Fort Worth Nolan Catholic High School, Fort Worth Sacred Heart Catholic High School, Muenster Closed Notre Dame Catholic School, Wichita Falls
Texas portal Catholicism portal

v t e Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of San Antonio
Archdiocese of San Antonio Diocese of Amarillo Diocese of Dallas Diocese of El Paso Diocese of Fort Worth Diocese of Laredo Diocese of Lubbock Diocese of San Angelo
Catholicism portal

32°45′26.5″N 97°19′59.5″W / 32.757361°N 97.333194°W / 32.757361; -97.333194

• Roman Catholic dioceses in the United States
• Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of San Antonio
• Christian organizations established in 1969
• Organizations based in Fort Worth, Texas
• Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century
• 1969 establishments in Texas