# Roman Catholic Diocese of Owensboro

The Diocese of Owensboro (Latin: Dioecesis Owensburgensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in western Kentucky in the United States. As of 2020, the diocese contained 78 parishes and two Newman Centers in 32 counties. The Diocese of Owensboro is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Louisville.
The current bishop, William Medley, was the pastor of Saint Bernadette Parish of the Archdiocese of Louisville prior to his consecration which took place February 10, 2010.

## History
### 1785 to 1937

The first Catholic immigrants to the Kentucky area came from Maryland in 1785. By 1796, approximately 300 Catholic families were living in the new state of Kentucky. Among the early missionaries was Stephen Badin who set out on foot for Kentucky on September 3, 1793, sent by Bishop John Carroll of the Diocese of Baltimore. For the next 14 years Badin traveled on foot, horseback and boat between widely scattered Catholic settlements in Kentucky and the Northwest Territory. For three years, Badin was the only priest in the whole of Kentucky.
In 1808, Pope Pius VII erected the Diocese of Bardstown, covering Kentucky and most of the Northwest Territory. In 1841, Pope Leo suppressed the Diocese of Bardstown, which by this time encompassed only Kentucky. In its place, he created the Diocese of Louisville, with jurisdiction over Kentucky. The Owensboro region would remain part of the Diocese of Louisville for the next 96 years.
In 1925, the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph founded Saint Joseph Junior College for Women in Maple Mount.

### 1937 to 1961

Pope Pius XI erected the Diocese of Owensboro in territory taken from the Diocese of Louisville in 1937. The pope also elevated the Diocese of Louisville to an archdiocese and made the new Diocese of Owensboro as one of its suffragans. Pius XI named Reverend Francis Cotton as the first bishop of Owensboro. Cotton had first planned to establish his cathedral in Henderson, Kentucky at Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church, but then changed it to Owensboro. The diocese's cathedral is named after St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr.
After his consecration, Cotton embarked on visits to the parishes in the new diocese. He brought the Catholic Students' Mission Crusade, a national organization for helping the poor, to the diocese. In early 1940, Cotton began the collection of relief supplies for refugees from World War II in Europe. By 1942, the diocese had collected over $1 million in supplies for distribution in Europe and China. In February 1943, Cotton held a synod in the diocese to set its laws and constitution. Contemporary reports said that Cotton strictly enforced these rules in the diocese, but personally was a kind individual. Cotton died in 1960.
After 1945, the Ursuline Sisters opened a second, coed campus of Saint Joseph Junior College in Owensboro. The two campuses were combined in Owensboro in 1950 under the name of Brescia College. It is today Brescia University.

### 1961 to present

In March 1961, Reverend Henry Soenneker of the Diocese of St. Cloud was appointed the second bishop of the Diocese of Owensboro by Pope John XXIII. After Soenneker retired in 1982, Pope John Paul II named Monsignor John McRaith of the Diocese of New Ulm as his replacement. He established the diocesan newspaper, The Western Kentucky Catholic, in 1984. McRaith retired in 2009.
The current bishop of the Diocese of Owensboro is William Medley from the Archdiocese of Louisville. He was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009.
In December 2021, 74 people died in Western Kentucky after a series of tornadoes hit the region. Medley released this comment.
   “Though no one but the Lord can heal the broken hearts of those who have lost loved ones, I am humbled by the outpouring of support coming to us from around the country and the world.”
\In November 2023, Medley visited Nigeria to thank the families of Nigerian priests serving in his diocese. He had made similar trips to India, Myanmar and Mexico to thank the families of priests from those nations.

### Sexual abuse

Reverend Louis Piskula was arrested on sodomy and sexual abuse of a minor charges in February 2011. The victim had approached the diocese in 2010 and was told to notify the police. After pleading guilty, Piskula was sentenced to five years in prison in 2014. He died in prison in 2018.
In October 2018, the diocese permanently removed Reverend Gerald Baker from active ministry after determining that sexual abuse accusations against him were credible. He had been accused by three minors in 2016 when he was serving at St. Mary of the Woods Parish in Whitesville; at that point, the diocese put Baker on temporary suspension.
In March 2019, the diocese temporarily suspended Reverend Ed Bradley after he was accused of sexual abuse of a minor. The incidents allegedly occurred during the 1980s when Bradley was volunteering as a chaplain at Owensboro Catholic High School. In May 2019, the diocese permanently removed Bradley be permanently from public service. In 2021, the Vatican removed Bradley's suspension, allowing him to perform priestly functions. However, noting his "imprudent behavior", the Vatican banned him from assignment to schools for the next five years.
In April 2019, the diocese released a list of 15 priests who were accused of sexually abusing children while serving in the diocese.

## Bishops
### Bishops of Owensboro

* Francis Ridgley Cotton (1937–1960)
* Henry Joseph Soenneker (1961 – 1982)
* John Jeremiah McRaith (1982 – 2009)
* William Francis Medley (2009 – present)

## Education
### High schools

* Owensboro Catholic High School – Owensboro
* St. Mary High School – Paducah
* Trinity High School – Whitesville

### University

Brescia University – Owensboro