Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend

Fort Wayne–South Bend Dioecesis Wayne Castrensis–South Bendensis
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Fort Wayne
Coat of arms
Location
Country	United States
Territory	Northeastern Indiana, Michiana
Ecclesiastical province	Indianapolis
Statistics
Area	5,792 km2 (2,236 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2006) 1,247,850 159,888 (12.8%)
Parishes	84
Information
Denomination	Catholic
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	January 8, 1857 (167 years ago)
Cathedral	Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (Fort Wayne)
Co-cathedral	Saint Matthew Cathedral (South Bend)
Patron saint	Immaculate Conception
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Kevin C. Rhoades
Metropolitan Archbishop	Charles C. Thompson
Bishops emeritus	John Michael D'Arcy
Map
Website
diocesefwsb.org

St. Matthew Cathedral in South Bend

The Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend (Latin: Dioecesis Wayne Castrensis–South Bendensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in north-central and northeastern Indiana. The Most Reverend Kevin C. Rhoades was appointed diocesan bishop by Pope Benedict XVI on November 14, 2009, and was installed on January 13, 2010. The Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend encompasses 14 Indiana counties: Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Elkhart, Huntington, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Marshall, Noble, Steuben, St. Joseph, Wabash, Wells, and Whitley. The diocese has a co-cathedral setup with the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Fort Wayne as the primary cathedral and Saint Matthew's Cathedral in South Bend as the associate cathedral.

History

The Northwest Territory, first explored by French fur traders, was initially under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Quebec, until the establishment in 1789 of the Diocese of Baltimore. Rev.John Francis was vicar-general in the West from 1798 until his death in 1804. In 1808, the area came under the newly established Diocese of Bardstown. In 1832, Stephen Badin established a mission at South Bend, Indiana.

In 1834, the Diocese of Vincennes was created, encompassing all of Indiana and the eastern third of Illinois. Simon Bruté of Mount St. Mary's College in Emmitsburg, Maryland, was named the first bishop. In 1835 Bruté was at South Bend in the course of a 600 mile vistation of the diocese. Rev. M. Ruff, from Metz, was assigned to St. Mary's Church in Fort Wayne. Ruff was fluent in English, French, and German. St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church in Lagro was first constructed in 1838, as was St. Vincent de Paul in Logansport and St. Charles Borromeo in Peru.

Célestin Guynemer de la Hailandière, Bruté's coadjutor and successor, offered land at South Bend to Edouard Sorin of the Congregation of Holy Cross, to build a college. Sorin arrived at the site in November 1842, and began the school using Badin's old log chapel, and thus began the University of Notre Dame. In 1840, Rev. Julian Benoit purchased the land for the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Rev. Benoit routinely covered over a dozen mission stations by canal boat or horseback.

Diocese

In 1857, the Diocese of Fort Wayne (Dioecesis Wayne Castrensis) was erected as suffragan to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati, from territory formerly part of the Diocese of Vincennes. John Luers was appointed the first bishop. St. Patrick's in Chesterton was founded in 1858, as well as St. Paul's in Valparaiso. In 1863, due to the large German-speaking population in the diocese, he invited the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ, a German religious order, to come to the diocese. He established an orphanage in Rensselaer, Indiana for children who had lost their parent during the American Civil War. He also founded the Catholic Clerical Benevolent Association of the Diocese of Fort Wayne for the support of aged and inform priests.

The Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth came to the diocese in 1902 to work inn parochial schools. The Sisters of St. Francis of Maryville arrived in 1906; they had charge of the Wabash Railway hospital at Peru, known as St. Ann's Hospital. The Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart opened Sacred Heart Hospital in Garrett, Indiana in 1901; it later became Garrett Community Hospital.

In 1944 it became suffragan to the newly elevated Archdiocese of Indianapolis. In 1944 and 1956 it lost territory to the newly formed dioceses of Lafayette and Gary, respectively. In 1960 its name was changed to the Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend.

Bishops

Bishops of Fort Wayne

1. John Henry Luers (1857–1871)
2. Joseph Gregory Dwenger (1872–1893)
3. Joseph Rademacher (1893–1900)
4. Herman Joseph Alerding (1900–1924)
5. John F. Noll (1925–1956) – elevated to Archbishop ad personam in 1953

Bishops of Fort Wayne–South Bend

1. Leo Aloysius Pursley (1956–1976) (diocese name changed in 1960)
2. William Edward McManus (1976–1985)
3. John Michael D'Arcy (1985–2009)
4. Kevin Carl Rhoades (2009–present)

Auxiliary bishops

• Leo Aloysius Pursley (1950-1955)
• Joseph Robert Crowley (1971-1990)
• John Richard Sheets, S.J. (1991-1997)
• Daniel R. Jenky, C.S.C. (1997-2002), appointed Bishop of Peoria

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

• John George Bennett, appointed Bishop of Lafayette in Indiana in 1944
• Andrew Gregory Grutka, appointed Bishop of Gary in 1956

Schools

Colleges and universities

• Ancilla Domini College, Donaldson
• Holy Cross College, Notre Dame
• Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame
• University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame
• University of Saint Francis, Fort Wayne

High schools

• Bishop Dwenger High School, Fort Wayne
• Bishop Luers High School, Fort Wayne
• Marian High School, Mishawaka
• Saint Joseph High School, South Bend

Grade schools

• Christ the King, South Bend
• Corpus Christi, South Bend
• Holy Cross, South Bend
• Holy Family, South Bend
• Huntington Catholic, Huntington
• Most Precious Blood, Fort Wayne
• Our Lady School, Fort Wayne
• Our Lady of Hungary, South Bend
• Queen of Angels, Fort Wayne
• Queen of Peace, Mishawaka
• Sacred Heart, Warsaw
• Saint Adalbert, South Bend
• Saint Aloysius, Yoder
• Saint Anthony de Padua, South Bend
• Saint Bavo, Mishawaka
• Saint Bernard, Wabash
• Saint Charles Borromeo, Fort Wayne
• Saint John the Baptist, Fort Wayne
• Saint John the Baptist, New Haven
• Saint John the Baptist, South Bend
• Saint John the Evangelist, Goshen
• Saint Joseph, Garrett
• Saint Joseph, Mishawaka
• Saint Joseph, South Bend
• Saint Joseph (St. Mary of the Assumption), Decatur
• Saint Joseph (St. Rose of Lima), Monroeville
• Saint Joseph (Hessen Cassel), Fort Wayne
• Saint Joseph-St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (St. Joseph, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton), Fort Wayne
• Saint Jude, Fort Wayne
• Saint Jude, South Bend
• Saint Louis (Besançon), New Haven
• Saint Mary of the Assumption, Avilla
• Saint Mary of the Assumption, South Bend
• Saint Matthew Cathedral School, South Bend
• Saint Michael, Plymouth
• Saint Monica, Mishawaka
• Saint Pius X, Granger
• Saint Therese, Fort Wayne
• Saint Thomas the Apostle, Elkhart
• Saint Vincent de Paul, Elkhart
• Saint Vincent de Paul, Fort Wayne

Arms

Coat of arms of Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend

Notes Arms was designed and adopted when the diocese was erected Adopted 1960 Escutcheon The arms of the diocese are composed of a crescent moon at the top, with a fortified wall below it. On the wall three Bottony crosses are found. Below the wall is a river bend flowing diagonally with a fleur-de-lis on it. Between the riven and the wall a six-winged seraph is present. Symbolism The crescent moon represents the Virgin Mary, mother of Christ, "clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet." As the Immaculate Conception, she is patroness of the Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend, and its cathedral in Fort Wayne. The three crosses represent the Blessed Trinity. The Father sent the Son into the world; the Son sent the Spirit. It was this mission of Son and Spirit through missionaries that brought this diocese into being. The crosses replace swords on the family crest of General Anthony Wayne, the founder of the fort that grew into the See City of Fort Wayne. The fortified wall represents Fort Wayne. The six-winged seraph symbolizes the inspired word of God. St. Matthew is one of the inspired evangelists who recorded this Word. Thus the angel identifies the patron of the cathedral in South Bend. The river bend is expressed in heraldry by a wavy line. This represents the See City of South Bend. The fleur-de-lis is the lily, symbol of purity and of the chaste foster father of Christ, St. Joseph. It indicates the locale of the See City — the St. Joseph River and valley, and St. Joseph County. As the lily of France, it recalls the colonization of this region by French Catholics.

Catholic radio within the diocese

• WRDF "Redeemer Radio" 106.3 FM in Fort Wayne
• WRDI "Redeemer Radio" 95.7 FM in South Bend

Reports of sex abuse

In 2003, a partial list which had been released under Bishop John D'Arcy included the names of 16 priests who were credibly accused of sexually abusing 33 children. On August 17, 2018, Bishop Rhoades announced that he would release the full list of clergy in the Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend who were credibly accused of sexual abuse "in a matter of weeks." Rhoades noted that he previously listed the names of three priests who he removed from the Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend during his tenure as Bishop due to allegations of sex abuse. On September 18, 2018, Rhoades fulfilled this promise and released the list which revealed the names of 18 priests and deacons who previously served the Diocese and were credibly accused of sexually abusing minors.

Ecclesiastical Province of Indianapolis

See: List of the Catholic bishops of the United States#Province of Indianapolis

See also

• Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (Fort Wayne, Indiana)

Further reading

• Alerding, Herman Joseph. The Diocese of Fort Wayne, 1857-September 1907, Fort Wayne, Indiana., Archer Print Company, 1907
• Blanchard, Charles. History of the Catholic Church in Indiana, A. W. Bowen & Company, 1898

External links

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend Official Site