Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis (Latin: "Archidioecesis Pauloplitana et Minneapolitana") is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman 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 is concurrently pastor of the mother church, Cathedral of Saint Paul in the city of Saint Paul and its co-cathedral, Basilica of Saint Mary in the city of Minneapolis. Its official newspaper is "The Catholic Spirit".

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.

History

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. The Diocese's territory was taken from the Dubuque diocese, 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, which consist the modern archdiocese's ecclesiastical province. The Diocese was originally erected as a suffragan see of the Archdiocese of Saint Louis. 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 Roman Catholic Church in the region, it became the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, the name it retains today. The present Ordinary of the Archdiocese is His Excellency, the Most Reverend Archbishop John Nienstedt, who succeeded to the post on the retirement of his predecessor, Archbishop Harry Flynn, on May 2, 2008. [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dstpa.html]

Ordinaries of the Archdiocese

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

Bishops of Saint Paul

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

Archbishops of Saint Paul

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

Archbishops of Saint Paul and Minneapolis

*Archbishop Leo Binz † (16 December 1961 Appointed - 28 May 1975 Retired)
*Archbishop John Robert Roach † (28 May 1975 Appointed - 8 September 1995 Retired)
*Archbishop Harry Joseph Flynn (8 September 1995 Succeeded - 2 May 2008 Retired))
* Archbishop John Clayton Nienstedt (2 May 2008 Succeeded- Present).

Auxiliary Bishops

*Bishop Robert J. Carlson (January 11, 1984 - January 13, 1994)
*Bishop Frederick F. Campbell (May 14, 1999 - October 14, 2004)
* Bishop Richard Pates (December 22, 2000 - April 9,2008).

Affliated Bishops

*Leo Christopher Byrne, Coadjutor Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.
*James P. Shannon, Only U.S. Bishop to resign and leave the priesthood in response to the encyclical of Pope Paul VI, Humanae Vitae.

Vicar General

*Fr. Lee Piche

Suffragan sees of the Ecclesiastical Province of St. Paul and Minneapolis

*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

High schools

* Academy of Holy Angels, Richfield
* Benilde-St. Margaret's, St. Louis Park
* Bethlehem Academy, Faribault
* Convent of the Visitation, 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 Bernard's High School, St. Paul
* Saint Thomas Academy, Mendota Heights
* Totino-Grace High School, Fridley

eminaries

*Saint John Vianney College Seminary
*Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity

ignificant 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

External links

* [http://www.archspm.org/ Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis home]
* [http://www.cathedralsaintpaul.org/ Cathedral of Saint Paul]
* [http://www.thecatholicspirit.com/ The Catholic Spirit, the Archdiocese's official newspaper]
* [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dstpa.html Information and population statistics kept by www.catholic-hierarchy.org (Unofficial)]

Notes