Diocese of Saginaw

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Diocese of Saginaw

Dioecesis Saginavensis
St. Mary Cathedral - Saginaw 02.jpg
Cathedral of Mary of the Assumption
Coat of arms of the Diocese of Saginaw.svg
Coat of arms
Location
CountryFlag of the United States.svg United States
TerritoryCounties of Arenac, Bay, Clare, Gladwin, Gratiot, Huron, Isabella, Midland, Saginaw, Sanilac and Tuscola.
Ecclesiastical province Detroit
Statistics
Area6,955 sq mi (18,010 km2)
Population
  • Total
  • Catholics
  • (as of 2017)
  • 804,885
  • 153,260 (19%)
Parishes56
Information
Denomination Catholic
Sui iuris church Latin Church
Rite Roman Rite
EstablishedFebruary 26, 1938 (87 years ago)
Cathedral Cathedral of Mary of the Assumption
Current leadership
Pope Leo XIV
Bishop Robert Dwayne Gruss
Metropolitan Archbishop Edward Weisenburger
Map
Diocese of Saginaw map 1.jpg
Website
saginaw.org
Bishop of Saginaw
Bishopric
catholic
Bishop Gruss at Ellsworth (cropped).jpg
Incumbent:
Robert Dwayne Gruss
Location
Ecclesiastical province Archdiocese of Detroit
Information
First holderWilliam Francis Murphy
Established1938
DioceseDiocese of Saginaw
CathedralCathedral of Mary of the Assumption (Saginaw, Michigan)
Website
http://www.saginaw.org

The Diocese of Saginaw (Latin : Dioecesis Saginavensis) is a diocese of the Catholic Church in Michigan in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Detroit. It was founded on February 26, 1938. The mother church of the diocese is Cathedral of Mary of the Assumption in Saginaw.

Contents

Map of the present diocesan boundaries with parishes indicated Saginaw Diocese.jpg
Map of the present diocesan boundaries with parishes indicated

Geography

The Saginaw Diocese is located in Central Michigan and The Thumb and consists of eleven counties, covering 6,955 square miles (18,010 km2). The population is roughly an even split between urban and rural. The three major urban centers are Saginaw, Bay City, and Midland.

History

1700 to 1930

During the 17th century, present-day Michigan was part of the French colony of New France. The Diocese of Quebec had jurisdiction over the region. In 1763, the Michigan area became part of the British Province of Quebec, forbidden from settlement by American colonists. After the American Revolution, the Michigan region became part of the new United States. For Catholics, Michigan was now under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, which then comprised the entire country.

In 1808, Pope Pius VII erected the Diocese of Bardstown in Kentucky, with jurisdiction over the new Michigan Territory. In 1821, the pope erected the Diocese of Cincinnati, taking the Michigan Territory from the Diocese of Bardstown. [1]

The first Catholic church in the Saginaw Valley was St. Joseph, dedicated in 1850 in Bay City. [2] St. Mary's Parish in Saginaw, the first in that community, was established in 1853 as a mission of St. Joseph. [3]

1930 to 1950

Pope Pius XI formed the Diocese of Saginaw in 1938 out of 16 Michigan counties that he separated from the Diocese of Grand Rapids and the Archdiocese of Detroit. The pope appointed William F. Murphy from Detroit as the first bishop of Saginaw.

The 1938 P.J. Kenedy Official Catholic Directory notes that the new diocese had a Catholic population of 77,705, with 81 parishes, 31 missions, 112 priests, 41 parishes with schools (of which 17 were high schools), two hospitals, a children's home and a residence for working girls.[ citation needed ]

1950 to 1970

After Murphy died in 1950, Auxiliary Bishop Stephen S. Woznicki from Detroit was made bishop of Saginaw that same year.

After World War II, the diocese underwent tremendous growth, with the diocese establishing new parishes and missions.

St. Paul's Seminary was founded in 1957 and James A. Hickey appointed as rector. The seminary opened in 1961 and closed in 1970. The building is now the diocesan headquarters and home to Nouvel Catholic Central High School.

Woznicki died in 1968, and was succeeded by Bishop Francis Reh, previously rector of the Pontifical North American College in Rome.

1970 to 1980

Reh began to implement changes mandated by the Second Vatican Council in the diocese. A new tenure policy limited priests' assignments to nine years. The former four-deanery division of the diocese was multiplied into 12 vicariates. In 1975, the Cathedral Church of St. Mary was renovated. A liturgy office, a finance board, Latin American affairs department, Black Catholic concerns department, and a human services council were developed.

In 1971, the new Diocese of Gaylord was erected, taking the northern part of the Diocese of Saginaw. Although Clare County and Isabella County were added to the Diocese of Saginaw territory, the re-alignment reduced the diocese from 16 to 11 counties.

1980 to 2020

Archbishop Carlson (2010) Archbishop-robert-carlson.jpg
Archbishop Carlson (2010)

After Reh retired in 1980, Kenneth E. Untener, rector of St. John's Provincial Seminary in Plymouth, became the fourth bishop of Saginaw. In 1982, Untener initiated a Come Home program at Christmas time to invite alienated Catholics back to the church. He has also worked to re-establish the traditional practices of Lent. In the 1990s, established a commission for women, a diocesan Office for Stewardship and Development, a Catholic Schools Foundation, and a new Center for Ministry which is located next to the diocesan offices. Untener died of leukemia in 2004. [4]

In 2004, John Paul II appointed Bishop Robert J. Carlson of the Diocese of Sioux Falls as the fifth bishop of Saginaw. Carlson emphasized vocations, liturgical renewal, and evangelization within the diocese. The number of seminarians increased from four in 2004 to 12 in 2005, and to 19 in 2006. [5] The first permanent deacon in over 25 years was ordained in 2006, [6] and two men were ordained to the transitional diaconate in that same year. The diocese has also implemented a series of Saint Andrew dinners to invite young men to an informal meal and discussion on vocations.

In 2007 the diocese began an evangelization initiative to reach out to all families in the diocese through the Faith Saginaw magazine. [7] A group of 230 people took part in the March for Life in Washington, D.C., [8]

In 2009, Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Cistone, of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, was transferred to Saginaw to be its new bishop. [9]

In March 2018, Saginaw police executed a search warrant at Cistone's residence along with the chancery and cathedral rectory. They had been dissatisfied with the cooperation they had been receiving from Cistone in the investigation of sexual abuse allegations against Robert DeLand. [10] Cistone served until his death from lung cancer in 2018. [11] Bishop Robert Gruss of the Diocese of Rapid City succeeded him.

2020 to present

Bishop Gruss (2010) Bishop Gruss at Ellsworth (cropped).jpg
Bishop Gruss (2010)

Early in 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, Bishop Gruss suspended mass throughout the diocese. By the summer of 2021, the diocese permitted parishioners who had received COVID-19 vaccination to attend mass without masks.

Sex abuse

Megan Winans, a Central Michigan University student, sued the Diocese of Saginaw in February 2016. She claimed that Reverend Denis Heames had misused counseling sessions to draw her into a sexual relationship. Heames was parochial administrator at St. Mary University Parish in Mount Pleasant until the diocese removed him in July 2015 for "boundary violations". [12] Soon after Winans filed her lawsuit, the diocese verified that Heames had sexually harassed her. [13]

Robert DeLand was indicted on criminal sexual conduct in March 2018 by a 17-year-old male and a 21-year-old male. The two accusers said that the priest showed them pornography and inappropriately touched them. After the indictment, more alleged victims came forward. [14] Also in March 2018, DeLand's teenage victim sued the diocese. [15] DeLand was acquitted of charges in his first trial but pleaded no contest in a second separate trial in March 2019 on criminal sexual conduct. [16] He was sentenced to two to 15 years in prison. [17] DeLand was laicized by the Vatican in November 2022. [18]

In November 2018, the diocese released a list of 18 deceased priests with credible accusations of sexual abuse of a minor. [19]

Bishops

Bishops of the Diocese of Saginaw Saginaw Bishops.jpg
Bishops of the Diocese of Saginaw

Bishops of Saginaw

  1. William Francis Murphy (1938–1950)
  2. Stephen Stanislaus Woznicki (1950–1968, retired)
  3. Francis Frederick Reh (1968–1980, retired)
  4. Kenneth Edward Untener (1980–2004)
  5. Robert James Carlson (2005–2009), appointed Archbishop of Saint Louis
  6. Joseph Robert Cistone (2009–2018)
  7. Robert Dwayne Gruss (2019–present)

Auxiliary bishop

James Aloysius Hickey (1967–1974), appointed Bishop of Cleveland and later Archbishop of Washington (elevated to cardinal in 1988)

Other diocesan priests who became bishop

Coat of arms

The coat of arms for the Diocese of Saginaw shows a cross in red on a silver field. There are four flames which symbolize the tongues of fire of Pentecost. The name "Saginaw" means the "Place of the Sauk," who were known to the first Europeans as "Gens de Feu" (People of the Fire). Also, because the cathedral is dedicated to St. Mary and her Assumption, in the center of the cross is a six-pointed star. In addition to symbolizing that the Virgin Mary is the House of David, the six pointed star is also one of the heraldic attributes used to indicate the Assumption of Mary.

References

  1. Shearer, Donald (June 1933). "Pontificia Americana: A Documentary History of the Catholic Church in the United States 1784-1884". Franciscan Studies. 11 (11): 343. JSTOR   41974134.
  2. "St Joseph". www.stjudethaddeus.org. Retrieved 2023-07-15.
  3. "Cathedral History". Diocese of Saginaw. Archived from the original on 2014-01-08. Retrieved 2014-01-15.
  4. McClory, Robert (April 9, 2004). "Bishop Untener dies at 66". National Catholic Reporter .
  5. Mercer, Joshua (December 10, 2006). "A 'Culture of Vocations' Brings Vitality to the Saginaw Diocese". National Catholic Register . Retrieved 2016-03-18.
  6. Treadwell, M. (August 15, 2006) "Deacon Ordination First in 25 Years", Press Release.
  7. Ford-Mitchell, D. (January 27, 2007) "'Faith' Comes as a Gift to the Flock" Saginaw News.
  8. Ford-Mitchell, D. (January 18, 2007) "Catholics Fight Abortion in D.C." Saginaw News.
  9. "Rinunce e Nomine: Nomina del Vescovo di Saginaw (U.S.A.)" [Waivers and Nominations: Appointment of the Bishop of Saginaw (U.S.A.)](PDF). Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office. May 20, 2009.
  10. CNA. "Saginaw diocesan employee alleges retaliation after reporting abuse". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  11. "Bishop Cistone Dies at Home". www.saginaw.org.
  12. Hoag, Andy (2016-02-11). "CMU student's lawsuit against former Catholic priest alleges sexual relationship". mlive. Retrieved 2023-07-15.
  13. "Internal investigation finds priest sexually harassed student, by Sydney Smith, Central Michigan Life (February 15, 2016)". www.bishop-accountability.org. Retrieved 2023-07-15.
  14. "Teen accuses Saginaw priest of 'grooming' him". The Detroit News. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  15. "Lawsuit: Priest charged with sex crimes groped teen". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  16. Carmody, Steve (2019-03-27). "Prosecutors welcome 'no contest' plea from Saginaw Catholic priest". Michigan Radio. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  17. Holloway, Caleb (2021-04-27). "Former Saginaw priest released from prison after criminal sexual conduct charges". WEYI. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  18. Waterman, Cole (2022-11-30). "Saginaw Catholic priest, sex offender Father Bob DeLand returned to lay state by Pope Francis". mlive. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  19. Ciak, Joel Feick/Madeline (2018-11-21). "Saginaw Catholic Diocese releases list of dead priests accused of sexually abusing minors". WEYI. Retrieved 2023-07-14.

43°25′31″N83°56′12″W / 43.42528°N 83.93667°W / 43.42528; -83.93667