Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus
The Diocese of Columbus () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church covering 23 counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The episcopal see of the diocese is situated at Columbus. The diocese was erected on March 3, 1868, by Pope Pius IX out of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. On October 21, 1944, the diocese lost territory when Pope Pius XII erected the Diocese of Steubenville. The Diocese of Columbus is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Cincinnati. History. Foundations. The diocese is home to  the first Catholic chapel built in the state of Ohio, a log structure built in Perry County, which was dedicated and placed under the patronage of Saint Joseph on December 6, 1818, by then-Fr. Edward Fenwick, O.P.. The Dominicans of Bardstown, Kentucky were the first missionary and pastoral workers to care for the needs of the residents of what was then the Northwest Territory. The Diocese of Cincinnati, the first in the state and that from which Columbus was eventually separated, was formed in 1821, with now-bishop Fenwick as its leader. The visit of Fenwick's successor, bishop  John Purcell, to central Ohio in June 1836, began the activity of the Catholic Church in the city of Columbus. After saying Mass in a house on Canal Street on June 5, Purcell asked the Catholic men in attendance to meet regarding the construction of a church. A plan was developed to build a church on a lot already owned by the Catholics of the area—where Holy Cross Church now stands. In 1837, the Columbus area was sent a dedicated pastor, Fr. Henry Juncker, who also attended to the Catholics of Chillicothe. He set to building a church at  the existing site, and by the 29th of April, 1838 a Sung Mass was offered by Juncker in the building, who dedicated the building to Saint Remigius. By 1843, the congregation had grown to the point of needing multiple Masses on Sundays, and a parish school was soon to be built. Establishment of the Diocese. At the close of the Second Plenary Council of Baltimore in 1866, the bishops of the United States decided to petition Pope Pius IX to establish a new Diocese with its seat in Columbus. On March 3, 1868, the Diocese of Columbus was formally established , and bishop Sylvester Horton Rosecrans, formerly auxiliary of Cincinnati, was appointed its bishop. At the time, there were only three churches in the city—Holy Cross, St. Patrick's, and St. Mary's. The diocese was mostly agricultural, having been settled first by Maryland and Pennsylvania residents who had moved west, and then later German and Irish immigrants. Rosecrans established the Catholic Columbian, a newspaper for the diocese, in addition to St. Aloysius Seminary and St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum, and saw the construction of St. Joseph Cathedral to its consecration on October 20, 1878, before dying the following morning . Bishop Watterson. Pope Leo XIII appointed Fr. John Watterson as the second bishop of Columbus on March 14, 1880, and was consecrated a bishop on August 8, 1880, by bishop William Elder of Cincinnati. The major challenge facing the new leader of the diocese was the debt accrued by the construction of the new cathedral. During his 19-year-long tenure, Watterson increased the number of priests and schools in the diocese, oversaw the building of two hospitals and the Pontifical College Josephinum, and erected many new missions and parishes. Bishop Moeller. On April 6, 1900, Henry K. Moeller, Chancellor  of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, was appointed the third Bishop of Columbus by Pope Leo XIII and consecrated a bishop on August 25. During his episcopacy, the diocesan debt was split among the parishes and nearly eliminated in three years and a diocesan synod was convened. Moeller also established missions, parishes, and schools to serve the increasing immigrant population of the Diocese. Moeller became the Coadjutor bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati in 1903. Bishop Hartley. Moeller's replacement, Fr. James Hartley, was appointed on December 10, 1903, and consecrated a bishop February 25 of the following year. He was  formally installed as bishop in St. Joseph Cathedral on March 1, 1904. During his tenure, Hartley oversaw a significant growth of the Diocese of Columbus. In 1905, he erected his first parishes, Holy Rosary and St. Aloysius. In 1906, he retired the debt on St. Joseph Cathedral. Within the first five years of his episcopate, Hartley had begun or dedicated more than 25 churches, schools, and chapels. Hartley also established St. Charles Seminary, St. Joseph Cemetery, St. Ann Hospital, Mercy Hospital in Portsmouth, Good Samaritan Hospital in Zanesville, Mercy Hospital in Mount Vernon, and St. Therese Shrine, and renovated St.  Joseph Cathedral. Toward the end of his term as bishop he consecrated Edward Gerard Hettinger as the first auxiliary bishop of the Columbus diocese. Parish groupings. In December 2020, then-bishop Robert J. Brennan announced the "Real Presence Real Future" strategic planning initiative, aiming at "increasing the presence of Christ throughout its 23 counties over the next three years and upholding the Faith for future generations." The initiative is in the process of releasing draft models grouping parishes and resources together due in part to the shortage of Catholic priests. According to Brennan, the process likely will result in some  parishes closing. Museum of Catholic Art and History. The Diocese is also home to the Museum of Catholic Art and History, the largest institution of its kind in the United States according to Cardinal Francesco Marchisano. Originally founded in 1998 as the Jubilee Museum, it occupies the site of the first Wendy's restaurant, which is now owned by the diocese. Bishops. Other priests of this diocese who became bishops. These bishops were priests in the diocese before consecration: Parishes. As of 2020, the Diocese of Columbus comprises 103 parishes and two missions. The parishes are divided into the following  deaneries: The following list are the closed hospitals of the Diocese, which stopped operations due to high costs and other factors: Religious institutes. The Diocese of Columbus has many religious institutes of men and women serving in parishes, schools, colleges, and hospitals. Religious priests and brothers. Congregation of Clerics Regular of the Divine Providence (Theatines) Order of Preachers (Dominicans) Heralds of the Good News Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest (ICKSP) Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy (Mercerdarians) Society of the Catholic Apostolate (Pallottines) Paulist Fathers Precious Blood Fathers Sons of the Immaculate Conception Congregation Clergy abuse  scandal. On March 1, 2019, the Diocese released a list of 36 of its clergy that had sexually abused children, and updated the liist to number nearly 50 in September of the same year Groups that support survivors of clergy child rape and sexual molestation expressed skepticism that the list was complete. I.  Clergy incardinated in the Diocese of Columbus against whom a credible allegation of sexual abuse of a minor within the Diocese was made and investigated while the clergy was living. II.  Clergy incardinated in the Diocese of Columbus against whom a credible allegation of sexual abuse of  a minor within the Diocese was made after the clergy's death. III.  Clergy incardinated in the Diocese of Columbus against whom a credible allegation of sexual abuse of a minor at a location outside the Diocese was made and investigated while the cleric was living. IV.  Extern or religious clergy (clergy from other dioceses or religious orders) who served in the Diocese of Columbus who were credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors (alleged conduct occurred in the Diocese of Columbus). V.  Extern or religious clergy who served in the Diocese of Columbus that were credibly accused of sexual  abuse of minors elsewhere (alleged conduct occurred outside the Diocese of Columbus).   Settlement. On August 26, 2020, the Diocese of Columbus agreed to settle one sex abuse lawsuit by paying $1 million to alleged victim Kevin Heidtman. Heidtman who is by then in his 30s, said in the lawsuit that longtime St. Charles Preparatory School teacher Monsignor Thomas Bennett, who is deceased, sexually abused him and others and the diocese knowingly let it. Counselor. Until 2020, the Diocese of Columbus was one of only three Catholic dioceses in the nation to have a priest serve as victim assistance coordinator . Victim advocates criticized this practice, saying it can re-traumatize survivors and discourage the reporting of abuse. An outside licensed counselor was hired in 2020, coinciding with the formation of a Safe Enviornment Task Force by then-bishop Brennan.