During the 17th century, the territory of modern Michigan was part of the French colony of New France, and subject to the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Quebec. In 1763, the territory of modern Michigan became part of the British Province of Quebec, and settlement by American colonists was forbidden. After the American Revolution, the territory became part of the new United States, and the territory was now subject to the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Baltimore, whose territory consisted of the whole nation.
1800 to 1970
In 1808, Pope Pius VII erected the Diocese of Bardstown in Kentucky and transferred jurisdiction of the newly organized Territory of Michigan from the Diocese of Baltimore to the Diocese of Bardstown. In 1821 he erected the Diocese of Cincinnati and transferred jurisdiction of the Territory from the Diocese of Bardstown to the Diocese of Cincinnati,[2] which, after modern Michigan was separated from it, became an archdiocese.
On 22 May 1937 all the counties of the State of Michigan that would later compose the Diocese of Kalamazoo were transferred from the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Detroit to the Diocese of Lansing, which was erected the same day as a suffragan to the new metropolitan Archdiocese of Detroit. On 26 February 1938, two of the counties that would later be included in the Diocese of Kalamazoo, namely Allegan and Barry Counties, were transferred from the Diocese of Lansing to the Diocese of Grand Rapids,[5] also part of the Province of Detroit.
1970 to present
Diocesan Pastoral Center, Kalamazoo, Michigan (2023)
On December 19, 1970, Pope Saint Paul VI erected the Diocese of Kalamazoo by transferring to it jurisdiction of the Counties of Allegan and Barry from the Diocese of Grand Rapids and the Counties of Berrien, Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Kalamazoo, Saint Joseph, and Van Buren from the Diocese of Lansing,[6] and Saint Augustine Church in the City of Kalamazoo was designated as its cathedral. The new Diocese was made suffragan to the metropolitan Archdiocese of Detroit, and thus its constituent counties remained part of the Province of Detroit. The Pope named Reverend Paul V. Donovan of the Diocese of Lansing as the first bishop of Kalamazoo. Bishop Donovan resigned in 1994 after serving for 23 years.
In 1994, Pope Saint John Paul II appointed Auxiliary Bishop Alfred J. Markiewicz from the Diocese of Rockville Centre as the second bishop of Kalamazoo.[7] He died in 1997 after only three years in office. That same year, John Paul II named Reverend James A. Murray of the Diocese of Lansing to replace Bishop Markiewicz. in 2006, Bishop Murray released the “Diocesan Pastoral Plan for Hispanic Latino Ministry.” He also established the diocesan Trauma Recovery Program for victims of childhood trauma. He resigned in 2009.
Bishop Bradley resigned in May 2023. His successor is Edward M. Lohse from the Diocese of Erie, who was installed on July 25, 2023.
Sexual abuse
In 2018, Bishop Bradley proposed a ten-step plan for overhauling church policies on the reporting of sexual abuse allegations.[9] In January 2019, Bradley assigned Archbishop Emeritus John Nienstedt, of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, to assist for several months at a parish in Battle Creek. Many parishioners in Battle Creek did not want Nienstadt due to his failure to report sexual abuse claims as archbishop. After two weeks, Nienstadt left the parish.[10]
In May 2019, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced that Jacob Vellian had been indicted on two charges of rape. The priest was accused of sexually assaulting a 15 year old girl between 1973 and 1974 at St. John the Evangelist church. As Vellian was living in India, prosecutors were attempting to extradite him to the United States.[11]
In February 2020, the diocese announced that an individual was claiming that Richard Fritz, who faced embezzlement charges in 2017, had sexually abused them during the late 1970s and early 1980s.[12] In March 2020, the diocese determined that the allegations against Fritz were credible.[13]
Statistics
The Diocese of Kalamazoo consists of 46 parishes and 13 missions, with 75 priests, and 36 deacons. The diocese operates three high schools, two middle schools and 17 grade schools, serving more than 3,000 students. The diocese also has two parish-run preschools.
The coat of arms also contains an open book displaying the Latin phrase Tolle Lege (Take and Read). The book represents the bible and the quote comes from a story by Augustine of Hippo, patron saint of the diocesan cathedral. According to Augustine, he was meditating on the bible under a tree when he was a young man, He heard a small child tell him "Tolle lege" (take and read).
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