Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Illinois

Diocese of Springfield in Illinois Dioecesis Campifontis in Illinois
Location
Country	United States
Territory	28 counties across south central Illinois
Ecclesiastical province	Province of Chicago
Metropolitan	Springfield, Illinois
Population - Catholics	161,325
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Rite	Latin Rite
Established	July 29, 1853 as the Diocese of Quincy; January 9, 1857 as the Diocese of Alton; October 26, 1923 as the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois
Cathedral	Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Patron saint	Mary, the Immaculate Conception
Current leadership
Pope	Benedict XVI
Bishop	Thomas J. Paprocki Bishop of Springfield in Illinois
Metropolitan Archbishop	Francis George, OMI Cardinal Archbishop of Chicago
Emeritus Bishops	Daniel L. Ryan, J.C.L. Bishop Emeritus of Springfield in Illinois
Map
The Diocese of Springfiled (shown in white) within the Ecclesiastical Province of Chicago
Website
dio.org

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Illinois is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the south central Illinois region of the United States. The prelate is a bishop serving as pastor of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

A diocese of the Metropolitan Province of Chicago, the metropolitan bishop of Springfield in Illinois is the Archbishop of Chicago. The see, until recently, had been vacant; on July 24, 2009, the Reverend Monsignor Carl A. Kemme was elected Diocesan Administrator. The Bishop of the Diocese of Springfield was formerly Bishop George Lucas; he was named Archbishop-elect of Omaha, Nebraska by Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday, June 3, 2009. The Bishop Emeritus is Daniel L. Ryan. On 20 April 2010, Pope Benedict named Thomas J. Paprocki as the ninth Bishop of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, replacing Archbishop Lucas. Bishop Paprocki had previously been an Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago under Cardinal George since 2003.

The Diocese of Springfield in Illinois comprises the Counties of Adams, Bond, Brown, Calhoun, Cass, Christian, Clark, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, Douglas, Edgar, Effingham, Fayette, Greene, Jasper, Jersey, Macon, Macoupin, Madison, Menard, Moultrie, Montgomery, Morgan, Pike, Sangamon, Scott, and Shelby.

The Diocese of Springfield in Illinois was established on July 29, 1853 as the Diocese of Quincy. Its name was changed to the Diocese of Alton on January 9, 1857, and its current name came into being on October 26, 1923.

Statistics

As of 2007:

• 151,601 Catholics
• 132 parishes
• 87 active priests; 62 religious order priests
• 122 diocesan priests (including retired and serving outside the diocese)
• 6 Catholic hospitals

Parishes

St. Paul - Highland, IL

Sts. Peter and Paul-Alton, IL

Catholic schools

• 1 seminary
• 44 elementary schools

6 high schools

• Marquette Catholic High School, Alton, Illinois
• Quincy Notre Dame High School, Quincy, Illinois
• Routt Catholic High School, Jacksonville, Illinois
• Sacred Heart-Griffin High School, Springfield, Illinois
• St. Anthony High School, Effingham, Illinois
• St. Teresa High School, Decatur, Illinois

This does not count Ursuline Academy, closed in 2007.

1 college

• Springfield College

1 university

• Quincy University

Ordinaries

• Bishop Henry Damian Juncker, former Bishop of the Diocese of Alton (now Springfield in Illinois): named as first bishop of the diocese by Pope Pius IX in 1857; installed 1857-04-28. Born in Fénétrange, France, 1809-08-22. Ordained a priest 1834-03-16. Died 1868-10-02.

• Bishop Peter Joseph Baltes, former Bishop of the Diocese of Alton (now Springfield in Illinois): named as second bishop of the diocese by Pope Pius IX in 1869; installed 1870-01-23. Born in Ensheim, Germany, 1827-04-07. Ordained a priest 1853-05-21. Died 1886-02-15.

• Bishop James Ryan, former Bishop of the Diocese of Alton (now Springfield in Illinois): named as third bishop of the diocese by Pope Leo XIII in 1888; installed 1888-05-01. Born in Farnaybridge, Thurles, Ireland, 1848-06-17. Ordained a priest 1871-12-24. Died 1923-07-02.

• Bishop James Aloysius Griffin, former Bishop of the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois: named as fourth bishop of the diocese by Pope Pius XI in 1923; installed 1924-02-25. Born in Chicago, Illinois, 1883-02-27. Ordained a priest 1909-07-04. Died 1948-08-05.

• Bishop William Aloysius O'Connor, former Bishop of the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois: named as fifth bishop of the diocese by Pope Pius XII in 1948; installed 1949-03-07. Born in Chicago, Illinois, 1903-12-27. Ordained a priest 1927-09-24. Resigned 1975-07-22. Died 1983-11-14.

• Bishop Joseph Alphonse McNicholas, former Bishop of the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois: named as sixth bishop of the diocese by Pope Paul VI in 1975; installed 1975-07-22. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, 1923-01-13. Ordained a priest 1949-06-07. Consecrated Bishop of Scala (Titular see) 1969-03-25. Died 1983-04-17.

• Bishop Daniel L. Ryan, J.C.L., Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois: named as seventh bishop of the diocese by Pope John Paul II in 1983; installed 1984-01-18. Born in Mankato, Minnesota, 1930-09-28. Elementary education in Mankato, Minneapolis and Springfield; one year of high school at Cathedral Boys High School (now Sacred Heart-Griffin High School) in Springfield before going to Passionist Preparatory Seminary. Ordained a priest 1956-05-03. Named titular bishop of Surista and auxiliary bishop of Joliet in Illinois by Pope John Paul II in 1981; installed as auxiliary bishop 1981-09-30.

• Bishop George J. Lucas, Bishop of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois: named as eighth bishop of the diocese by Pope John Paul II on 1999-10-19; installed 1999-12-14. At the time of his appointment, Lucas was president-rector of Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis.

• Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki (22 June 2010 - ) named as ninth bishop of the diocese by Pope Benedict XVI. Installed 22-06-2010.

External links

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Illinois — official site