Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis Archidiocesis Paulopolitana et Minneapolitana
The coat of arms of the archdiocese
Location
Country	United States
Ecclesiastical province	Saint Paul and Minneapolis
Statistics
Area
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2010) 3,177,207 825,000 (26%)
Parishes	216
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Established	July 19, 1850 (173 years ago)
Cathedral	Cathedral of Saint Paul (Saint Paul)
Co-cathedral	Basilica of Saint Mary (Minneapolis)
Patron saint	Saint Paul
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Apostolic Administrator	Bernard Hebda
Auxiliary Bishops	Andrew H. Cozzens
Emeritus Bishops	Harry Joseph Flynn John Clayton Nienstedt Lee A. Piché
Map
Website
www.archspm.org

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis (Latin: Archidioecesis Paulopolitana et Minneapolitana) is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the United States. It is led by the prelature of an archbishop which administers the archdiocese from the cities of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. The archbishop has both a cathedral and co-cathedral: the mother church, the Cathedral of Saint Paul in the city of Saint Paul and the co-cathedral, the Basilica of Saint Mary in the city of Minneapolis.

The archdiocese has 222 parish churches in twelve counties of Minnesota. It counts in its membership an approximate total of 750,000 people. It has two seminaries, the Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity and Saint John Vianney College Seminary. Its official newspaper is The Catholic Spirit.

History

See also: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore § History

Cathedral of St. Paul

Basilica of St. Mary

Prior to the founding of the diocese, the territory that made up the diocese at the time of its founding was under the jurisdiction of a number of different Catholic prelates. Most of these were purely academic as there was no Catholic presence in the area. Among the more notable of these was the Archdiocese of Saint Louis and the Dubuque Diocese. During this later period the church first came into the area with the arrival of missionaries and European settlers.

The original see was canonically erected by Pope Pius IX on July 19, 1850 as the Diocese of Saint Paul of Minnesota, a suffragan episcopal see of the Archdiocese of Saint Louis. The Diocese's territory was taken from that of Dubuque, and its authority spread over all of Minnesota Territory, which consisted of the area which now composes the states of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota and also comprises the modern archdiocese's ecclesiastical province. Its first Ordinary was Bishop Joseph Crétin, whose name, along with that of another notable early bishop, John Ireland, has since become embedded into the culture of the region.

In February 1875 it was transferred from the ecclesiastical province of St. Louis to that of Milwaukee. Pope Leo XIII elevated the see to the rank of archdiocese on May 4, 1888 and its name was changed to reflect this. Pope Paul VI once again instituted a name change for the see on July 11, 1966. Reflecting the growth of the Catholic Church in the region, it became the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, the name it retains today. His Excellency, the Most Reverend Archbishop John Clayton Nienstedt, succeeded to the post on the retirement of his predecessor, Archbishop Harry Flynn, on May 2, 2008. However, in an effort to help the Archdiocese recover from criticisms he had faced for the handling of cases of sexual abuse of minors, in particular, the case of a now-laicized priest, and in the wake of unproven accusations against him that were found to not be substantial enough to proceed to trial, he resigned, along with one of his Auxiliary Bishops, Lee Piche, on Monday, June 15, 2015. Coadjutor Archbishop Bernard Hebda of Newark was named as the Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese by Pope Francis the same day, while retaining his other duties, until the appointment of Archbishop Emeritus Nienstedt's successor by the Pope.

In January 2015, the archdiocese filed for bankruptcy.

Bishops of the Archdiocese

This is a list of the bishops who have served the Archdiocese through its history.

† = deceased

Ordinaries

Bishops of Saint Paul

• † Bishop Joseph Crétin (July 23, 1850 Appointed – February 22, 1857 Died)
• † Bishop Thomas Langdon Grace, O.P. (January 21, 1859 Appointed – July 31, 1884 Resigned)

Archbishops of Saint Paul

• † Archbishop John Ireland (July 31, 1884 Succeeded – September 25, 1918 Died) (was elevated to archbishop on May 4, 1888, when the Diocese was elevated to Archdiocese status)
• † Archbishop Austin Dowling † (January 31, 1919 Appointed – November 29, 1930 Died)
• † Archbishop John Gregory Murray (October 28, 1931 Appointed – October 11, 1956 Died)
• † Archbishop William Otterwell Ignatius Brady (October 11, 1956 Succeeded – October 1, 1961 Died)

Archbishops of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

• † Archbishop Leo Binz (December 16, 1961 Appointed – May 28, 1975 Retired)
• † Archbishop John Robert Roach (May 28, 1975 Appointed – September 8, 1995 Retired)
• Archbishop Harry Joseph Flynn (September 8, 1995 Succeeded – May 2, 2008 Retired)
• Archbishop John Clayton Nienstedt (May 2, 2008 Succeeded – June 15, 2015 Resigned)

Coadjutor archbishop (who did not become archbishop)

• † Archbishop Leo Christopher Byrne (June 30, 1967 Appointed – October 21, 1974 Died)

Auxiliary bishops

• † Bishop John J. Lawler (February 8, 1910 - January 29, 1916) appointed Bishop of Lead
• † Bishop James J. Byrne (May 10, 1947 - June 16, 1956) appointed Bishop of Boise, Archbishop of Dubuque (1962)
• † Bishop Leonard P. Cowley (November 28, 1957 - August 18, 1973) died
• † Bishop Gerald F. O'Keefe (May 5, 1961 - October 20, 1966) appointed Bishop of Davenport
• † Bishop James P. Shannon (February 8, 1965 – November 22, 1968) resigned
• † Bishop John R. Roach (July 12, 1971 - May 28, 1975) appointed Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
• † Bishop Raymond A. Lucker (September 8, 1971 – December 23, 1975), appointed Bishop of New Ulm
• † Bishop Paul V. Dudley (November 9, 1976 - November 6, 1978) appointed Bishop of Sioux Falls
• Bishop John J. Kinney (November 9, 1976 - June 28, 1982) appointed Bishop of Bismarck, Bishop of Saint Cloud (1995)
• Bishop William H. Bullock (June 3, 1980 - February 10, 1987) appointed Bishop of Des Moines, Bishop of Madison (1993)
• † Bishop James R. Ham, M.M. (October 7, 1980 - October 30, 1990) retired
• Bishop Robert J. Carlson (January 11, 1984 – January 13, 1994), appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Sioux Falls (succeeded 1995), Bishop of Saginaw (2004), Archbishop of St. Louis (2009)
• Bishop Joseph L. Charron, C.Pp.S. (January 25, 1990 - January 21, 1994) appointed Bishop of Des Moines
• † Bishop Lawrence H. Welsh (November 5, 1991 - January 13, 1999) died
• Bishop Frederick F. Campbell (May 14, 1999 – October 14, 2004), appointed Bishop of Columbus
• Bishop Richard Pates (December 22, 2000 – April 9, 2008), appointed Bishop of Des Moines
• Bishop Lee A. Piché (June 29, 2009 – June 15, 2015) resigned
• Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens (December 9, 2013 – present)

High schools

• Academy of Holy Angels, Richfield
• Benilde-St. Margaret's, St. Louis Park
• Bethlehem Academy, Faribault
• Convent of the Visitation School, Mendota Heights
• Cretin-Derham Hall, St. Paul
• Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, Minneapolis
• DeLaSalle High School, Minneapolis

• Hill-Murray School, Maplewood
• Holy Family Catholic High School, Victoria
• Providence Academy, Plymouth
• Saint Agnes High School, St. Paul
• Saint Thomas Academy, Mendota Heights
• Totino-Grace High School, Fridley

Independent Catholic school

• Chesterton Academy, Edina

Seminaries

• St. John Vianney College Seminary
• Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity

Significant parishes

• Cathedral of Saint Paul, Saint Paul, MN, Mother Church of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
• Basilica of Saint Mary, Minneapolis, MN, First American Basilica
• Church of the Assumption, Saint Paul, MN, First German Parish
• Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, the oldest church building in continuous use in Minneapolis
• Saint Michael's, West St. Paul, MN, Archbishop Ireland's first parish
• Saint Peter's, Mendota, MN, Oldest active parish

Ecclesiastical Province of St. Paul and Minneapolis

Diocesan map of the Province of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.

Suffragan sees:

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Bismarck
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Crookston
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Duluth
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Fargo
• Roman Catholic Diocese of New Ulm
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Rapid City
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint Cloud
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Sioux Falls
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Winona

See also

• Catholic Church and politics in the United States
• Catholic Church by country
• Catholic Church in the United States
• Ecclesiastical Province of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
• Father H. Timothy Vakoc (a priest of the archdiocese and an Army chaplain, who died from wounds received in the Iraq War)
• Global organisation of the Catholic Church
• History of Roman Catholicism in the United States
• List of Roman Catholic archdioceses (by country and continent)
• List of Roman Catholic dioceses (alphabetical) (including archdioceses)
• List of Roman Catholic dioceses (structured view) (including archdioceses)
• List of the Catholic bishops of the United States
• List of the Catholic cathedrals of the United States
• List of the Catholic dioceses of the United States
• Plenary Councils of Baltimore
• Roman Catholicism in the United States

External links

• Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis Official Site
• Cathedral of Saint Paul
• The Catholic Spirit, the Archdiocese's official newspaper
• Information and population statistics kept by www.catholic-hierarchy.org (Unofficial)