Roman Catholic Diocese of Belleville

Diocese of Belleville Dioecesis Bellevillensis
Location
Country	United States
Ecclesiastical province	Archdiocese of Chicago
Metropolitan	Belleville, Illinois
Statistics
Population - Total	111,000
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Rite	Latin Rite
Established	January 7, 1887
Cathedral	St. Peter's Cathedral
Patron saint	Immaculate Heart of Mary
Current leadership
Pope	Benedict XVI
Bishop	Bishop Edward Braxton
Metropolitan Archbishop	Francis Eugene Cardinal George
Map
Website
diobelle.org

The steeple of St. Peter's Cathedral

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Belleville is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the southern Illinois region of the United States. It comprises the southern counties of the state of Illinois and is administered from the City of Belleville. The prelate is a bishop serving as pastor of the mother church, the Cathedral of Saint Peter. Its current bishop is Bishop Edward Braxton.

The Diocese of Belleville was created on January 7, 1887.

There are 111,000 Catholics in the Diocese today.

In October 2009, the diocese agreed to settle a lawsuit from a former altar boy over allegations that he had been sexually abused by priest Raymond Kownacki of Dupo, Illinois.^[1][2]

Bishops

• John Janssen (1888–1913)
• Henry J. Althoff (1913–1947)
• Albert Rudolph Zuroweste (1947–1976)
• William Michael Cosgrove (1976–1981)
• John Nicholas Wurm (1981–1984)
• James Patrick Keleher (1984–1993)
• Wilton Daniel Gregory (1993–2004)
• Edward Kenneth Braxton (2005 - )

High schools

• Althoff Catholic High School, Belleville
• Gibault Catholic High School, Waterloo
• Mater Dei High School, Breese

References

1. ^ Pawlaczyk, George (October 24, 2009). "Diocese pays $1.2 million to former altar boy to settle sex abuse lawsuit". Bellville News-Democrat. http://www.bnd.com/news/crime/story/977583.html. Retrieved 2009-11-05. ^{[dead link]}
2. ^ "Belleville, Ill., diocese pays $1.2M in abuse case". The Washington Post. October 23, 2009. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/23/AR2009102301234.html. Retrieved 2009-11-05. ^{[dead link]}

External links

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Belleville
• Catholic-Hierarchy.org