Former names: Apostolic Vicariate of Alabama and the Floridas (1825-1829), Diocese of Mobile (1829-1954; 1969-1980), Diocese of Mobile-Birmingham (1954-1969).
The Archdiocese of Mobile encompasses 22,969 square miles with 76 parishes and seven missions and a total Catholic population of approximately 108,000. It comprises the counties of Autauga, Baldwin, Barbour, Bullock, Butler, Choctaw, Clarke, Coffee, Conecuh, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale, Dallas, Elmore, Escambia, Geneva, Henry, Houston, Lee, Lowndes, Macon, Mobile, Monroe, Montgomery, Pike, Russell, Washington and Wilcox.
Name changes
The present day Archdiocese of Mobile has undergone several name changes over the past 200 years:
Vicariate Apostolic of Alabama and the Floridas (1825 to 1829)
In 1703, the first Catholic church in present-day Alabama, the Church of Fort Louis de la Louisiane, was founded by French explores at present-day Mobile. That next year, Henri Roulleaux De la Vente became the first resident priest in the new settlement, under the authority of the Diocese of Quebec.[2][3]
With the end of the French and Indian War in 1763, the British took control of the French colonies east of the Mississippi River, including Mobile. The British mandated that the French Catholic landowners in the colony swear allegiance to the Church of England. As a result, most of them migrated to New Orleans, now held by Catholic Spain. In 1790, during the American Revolution, the Spanish took Mobile from the British.[2] In 1793, the Vatican erected the Diocese of Louisiana and the Two Floridas centered in New Orleans to serve Catholics in the Spanish colonies.[4]
In 1813, American forces captured Mobile. Eight years later in 1821, Spain sold all of their American colonies to the United States.[5] Recognizing these changes, Pope Leo XII in 1825 erected the Vicariate Apostolic of Alabama and the Floridas.[1] The pope named Monsignor Michael Portier as the vicar apostolic.[6][3]
The new vicariate included all of Alabama, East and West Florida, and Arkansas. At the time of his accession, Portier was the only clergyman in the vicariate; he had two churches in Florida and one in Mobile, with an estimated Catholic population of 6,000.[3] Portier began his administration by riding through his vicariate, offering communion, preaching, and administering the sacraments.
1829 to 1859
Bishop Portier
In 1829, Pope Pius VIII erected the Diocese of Mobile, taking the Florida Territory and the new State of Alabama from the vicariate. Portier became the first bishop of Mobile.[1]
Portier's cathedral in Mobile was a small church twenty feet wide by fifty feet deep, his residence a still smaller two-roomed frame structure. In 1827, the cathedral was destroyed in a fire that ravaged the city.[3] In 1830, Portier established Spring Hill College in Mobile, the first institution of higher learning in Alabama.[7] That same year, Portier sent his priests into interiors part of Alabama to minister to small clusters of Catholics in the area.[3] In 1833, Portier brought a group of nuns from Georgetown Visitation Monastery in Washington, D.C. to establish the Convent and Academy of the Visitation for the education of girls in Mobile. St. Peter's Church in Montgomery, Alabama, the first Catholic church in that city, was constructed in 1834.[8]
Portier started construction of a new cathedral in Mobile in 1837. Saint John's Parish, the first Catholic parish in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, was established in 1844.[9] Portier brought the Brothers of the Sacred Heart from France to the diocese about 1847, and the Daughters of Charity from Emmitsburg, Maryland, to manage orphan asylums for boys and girls, respectively. In 1850, Portier consecrated the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mobile. That same year, Pope Pius IX erected the Diocese of Savannah and moved eastern Florida out of the Diocese of Mobile.[6] In Rome at this time, Portier returned to Mobile with another priest and several seminarians.[3]
In 1854, Know Nothing elements in Mobile forced the Daughters of Charity to leave the City Hospital, spreading false charges of mismanagement. In reaction, the Catholic community raised funds to start Providence Infirmary for the sisters. Within five years, the City Hospital had requested the sisters return to their facility to reverse its decline.[3]
1859 to 1896
Bishop Quinlan
After Portier died in 1859, Pope Pius IX named John Quinlan as the second bishop of Mobile.[3] When he took office, the Catholic population of Alabama was approximately 10,000. Unlike many other states, there were few immigrant Catholics in Alabama.[3] In 1860, Quinlan traveled to Ireland, France and Rome, hoping to raise funds and recruit more priests for the diocese. During the American Civil War, several priests from the diocese served as chaplains for the Confederate States Army. Quinlan himself was a strong supporter of the Confederacy. In 1861, several Sisters of Charity travelled to Pensacola, Florida, to work in a military hospital there.[3] When Mobile was occupied by the Union Army in 1865, Catholic churches and facilities did not suffer any damage.[3] Quinlan died in 1883.
The third bishop of Mobile was Dominic Manucy, named by Pope Leo XIII in January 1884.[10] However, he resigned in September 1884 due to poor health. The pope then appointed Jeremiah O'Sullivan.[11] O'Sullivan was successful in restoring the financial status of the diocese.[12] He also established several new churches, chapels, and schools, and oversaw the addition of two towers to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.[12] O'Sullivan died in 1896.
1896 to 1954
Bishop Allen
In 1897, Reverend Edward Allen from the Archdiocese of Boston was appointed the fifth Bishop of Mobile by Leo XIII.[13] During Allen's administration, the Catholic population of the diocese increased from 18,000 to 48,000, and the number of priests more than doubled.[12] He also established several new churches, hospitals, orphanages, and schools.[12] The diocese was devastated by a major hurricane in 1906; many churches were either totally or partially destroyed, but were rebuilt or repaired under Allen's direction.[12] Deeply concerned for the African American community, he invited the Josephite Fathers to direct the black missions in the diocese, founded St. Joseph's College in order to "educate young colored men to be catechists and teachers," and sanctioned the establishment of the Knights of Peter Claver.[12] Allen died in 1926.
Pope Pius XI in 1927 selected Thomas Toolen to be the next bishop of Mobile.[14] In connection with the centennial celebration of the diocese, he erected Allen Memorial Hospital in honor of his predecessor Allen in December 1929.[15] In 1941, Toolen prohibited Catholic parents who sent their children to public schools from receiving the sacraments.[16] He explained,
"The Catholic system of education has been the greatest boon this country has ever known. We are prepared to take care of our children from the first grade to the university...Catholic parents must send their children to the Catholic school. Parents who do not obey are rebellious and should be treated as such."[16]
1954 to 1968
Bishop Toolen
In 1954, Pope Pius XII renamed the Diocese of Mobile as the Diocese of Mobile-Birmingham to reflect the growth of Birmingham, Alabama. Toolen opened several new churches, orphanages, hospitals, and other institutions that were meant to minister exclusively to African Americans, leading opponents to call him "the nigger bishop".[17][18] In 1950, he oversaw construction of St. Martin de Porres Hospital in Mobile, which was the first hospital in Alabama where African American doctors could work alongside their white colleagues.[17] He also persuaded a local hospital to become the first one in Alabama to accept pregnant African American women.[18] In 1948, however, he denied the request of Joseph Howze, an African-American to be accepted as a seminarian for the diocese.[18]
"After much prayer, consultation and advice, we have decided to integrate all the schools of the diocese. I know this will not meet with the approval of many of our people, but in justice and charity, this must be done. I ask all of our people to accept this decision as best for God and country."[20]
However, Toole publicly denounced the methods of civil rights activists, favoring a less confrontational approach to civil rights.[17] In 1965, Toolen ordered the Society of Saint Edmund to remove Maurice Ouellet from his post as pastor in Selma. Ouellet had allowed his rectory to serve as a headquarters for participants in the Selma to Montgomery marches.[21]
1968 to 1980
Pope Paul VI in 1968 erected the Diocese of St. Augustine, removing all of Florida from the Diocese of Mobile-Birmingham.[1] In June 1969, the pope erected the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama, separating northern Alabama from what became again the Diocese of Mobile.[1] Toolen resigned as bishop in September 1969. Paul VI named Auxiliary Bishop John L. May of Chicago as the bishop of the second Diocese of Mobile. .[22] During his 10-year-long tenure in Mobile, May established eight parishes and two deaneries, dedicated twelve churches, founded two schools, and erected a convent.[12] He also dedicated several other institutions, including parish centers, elderly homes, and a new wing and intensive-care unit at Providence Hospital.[12]
May continued to implement the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council, authorizing the laity to distribute communion, the reception of communion in the hand, and a new rite for the Sacrament of Penance.[12] He founded an Office of Youth Ministry, Diocesan Pastoral Council, and Diocesan Board of Catholic Education. May also established a retirement program for all lay church employees, a new health insurance program, a marriage preparation program, and anti-abortion programs. In 1977, he imposed a term limit of six years for parish priests in the diocese.[12] He ordained the diocese's first class of permanent deacons in 1979.[12] In 1980, May became archbishop of St. Louis.
1980 to present
Archbishop Lipscomb
On November 16, 1980, Pope John Paul II erected the Archdiocese of Mobile.[1] He designated the Dioceses of Birmingham, Biloxi and Jackson as suffragan dioceses of the new archdiocese. The pope appointed Oscar Lipscomb as the first archbishop of Mobile.[23]
In 1993, David Trosch, an archdiocesan priest in Magnolia Springs, started advocating the theory of justifiable homicide as a justification for killing medical professionals providing abortion services to women.[24] Trosch then attempted to place an advertisement in the Mobile Press-Register newspaper with a cartoon showing a man pointing a gun at a doctor holding a knife over a pregnant woman.[25] The Press-Register did not published the ad. Lipscomb offered Trosch "the alternative of publicly abiding by the [Archbishop's] judgment on this erroneous teaching or relinquishing his public position in the church."[25] Lipscomb removed Trosch from his pastoral assignments in August 1993, allowing him to continue celebrating mass but banning him from any "...public persona in the Church".[24]
When Lipscomb retired in 2008, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Bishop Thomas Rodi of Biloxi that same years as the next archbishop of Mobile. As of 2023, Rodi is the current archbishop of Mobile.
Reports of sexual abuse
In 2004, Linda Ledet, a parishioner in the archdiocese, sued the archdiocese, claiming it broke an agreement regarding Paul Zoghby, a high-profile priest. In 1997, Ledet had reported to the archdiocese that Zoghby was making unwanted sexual advances and exposing himself to her. According to Ledet, the archdiocese agreed to pay for her counseling and to send Zoghby away for treatment. However, the archdiocese instead just transferred Zoghby to a different parish in Foley.[26] The archdiocese and Ledet settled the lawsuit in 2007.[27]
In December 2018, Archbishop Rodi released the names of 29 priests and religious order clergy with credible accusations of sexual abuse of minors while serving in the Archdiocese of Mobile, dating back to 1950.[28] At least two Catholic clergy on this list were convicted, with one other being sued.[29] Rodi also issued an apology and asked for forgiveness.[28]
In November 2019, Amal Samy, an archdiocesan priest from Mt. Vernon, was charged with lewd conduct towards a masseuse while receiving a massage on the Carnival Cruise ship Fantasy.[30] Samy denied the charges.
In July 2023, Alexander (Alex) Crow,[31] a 30-year-old priest of the archdiocese who had been ordained in 2021, abandoned his clerical duties and run away to Europe.[32][33] On 26 July, the Archdiocese released statement on Twitter:
Fr. Alex Crow abandoned his assignment in the Archdiocese. His behavior is totally unbecoming of a priest. He has been informed by the archbishop that he may no longer exercise ministry as a priest, nor to tell people he is a priest, nor to dress as a priest. In addition, due to the circumstances of his departure, we have reported this to the district attorney.[34][35]
It was reported to the government authority because Crow was accompanied by an 18-year-old girl who had just graduated from the McGill-Toolen Catholic High School.[36] Crow was immediately removed from his position as the Parochial Vicar at Corpus Christi Parish.[37] There were initial speculations that they went to Spain to perform exorcism.[38] Crow had a degree in exorcism and demonology from the College of Sant'Anselmo in Rome, and had often indicated interest in demonic possessions and exorcism in Mobile.[32][39] On 28 July, the girl's family located the two in Italy, and said that their daughter left on "her own free will". Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch also announced from the family's report that there were no intimate relationship between the two.[40][41] The girl's family then raised a concern that Crow might be involved with other girls earlier.[42]
Previous letters from Crow were investigated and the police found out the nature of the run away.[31] Crow had planned the trip and had sent love letters to the girl on Valentine's Day,[42] asserting: "Now, we are in love and we are married!"[43]
In April 2024, Archdiocese of Mobile priest Rev. David Tokarz was arrested on two misdemeanor sexual misconduct charges.[44] He was released on bail three hours after he was booked.[44] His accuser was an adult woman.[44]
The Archdiocese of Denver is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in northern Colorado in the United States.
The Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in western Oregon in the United States.
The Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception is a cathedral serving Roman Catholics in the U.S. city of Mobile, Alabama. It is the seat of the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile. The cathedral is named for Mary, mother of Jesus, under her title, Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing property to the Church Street East Historic District and Lower Dauphin Street Historic District and is listed on the Historic Roman Catholic Properties in Mobile Multiple Property Submission
John Lawrence May was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago in Illinois from 1967 to 1969, as bishop of the Diocese of Mobile in Alabama from 1969 to 1980 and as archbishop of the Archdiocese of St. Louis in Missouri from 1980 to 1992.
Joseph Aloysius Durick was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Nashville in Tennessee from 1969 to 1975. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Mobile-Birmingham in Alabama from 1954 to 1963 and as coadjutor bishop of Nashville from 1963 to 1969.
Michael Portier was an American Catholic bishop who served as the first Bishop of Mobile from 1829 until his death in 1859.
Thomas Joseph Toolen was an American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Mobile from 1927 to 1969, and was given the personal title of Archbishop in 1954.
Oscar Hugh Lipscomb was an American bishop of the Catholic Church. He served the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile, Alabama, for 28 years. Lipscomb attended high school in Mobile, before studying for the priesthood in Rome. He was ordained a priest in 1956 and served in the Archdiocese of Mobile as a parish priest and teacher. He became chancellor of the archdiocese in 1966, and was consecrated as a bishop fourteen years later. He retired as bishop in 2008. He was the first archbishop of Mobile and its eighth bishop.
Dominic Manucy was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the first Vicar Apostolic of Brownsville from 1874 until his death in 1885, and also served as the third Bishop of Mobile for a few months in 1884.
The Diocese of Biloxi is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church that encompasses 17 counties in southern Mississippi in the United States. The diocese was erected on March 1, 1977, when it was split from the Diocese of Jackson. The Diocese of Biloxi is a suffragan diocese of the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Mobile, though for its first three years the diocese was in the province of the Archdiocese of New Orleans.
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The Diocese of Duluth is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in northeastern Minnesota in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.
The Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory. or diocese, of the Catholic Church that encompasses the northern 39 counties of Alabama in the United States. It was erected on December 9, 1969, with territory from what is now the Archdiocese of Mobile. The Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Mobile.
Thomas John Rodi is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He has been serving as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Mobile in Alabama since 2008, having previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Biloxi in Mississippi from 2001 to 2008.
William Russell Houck was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served in the Diocese of Jackson in Mississippi, as an auxiliary bishop and then as bishop from 1979 to 2003.
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