History Roman Catholic Diocese of Evansville

st. benedict s cathedral



basilica of st. francis xavier (old cathedral), vincennes

the diocese of evansville founded on october 21, 1944, @ time included 5 deaneries (evansville, jasper, vincennes, princeton, , washington), 63 parishes , missions, 49,737 catholics, , 75 diocesan priests. henry grimmelsman, priest of archdiocese of cincinnati , rector of pontifical college josephinum in suburban columbus, ohio, named first bishop, , assumption church in downtown evansville named cathedral. diocese purchased john augustus reitz home daughters of isabella use chancery , bishop’s residence.

the catholic population of diocese grew rapidly in post-war years , 12 new parishes founded between 1944 , 1962 among suburban areas of evansville , jasper , small towns of fort branch , bloomfield, while mission churches in new harmony , oakland city elevated parish status. population growth necessitated building of new schools well, , 3 high schools in evansville – mater dei on west side, rex mundi on north side, , magister noster, high school seminary – founded, along high schools in ferdinand, loogootee, , vincennes, , college operated sisters of st. benedict in ferdinand. catholic social institutions experienced growth founding of memorial hospital, sponsored sisters of little company of mary, in jasper, , construction of new facility on evansville’s east side st. mary’s medical center, sponsored daughters of charity.

in contrast other areas of diocese, population of downtown evansville experiencing decline, , assumption cathedral closed in 1965. buildings razed , land sold use in construction of new government complex (the federal building stands on former assumption site). holy trinity church, downtown, , home of chancery since 1957, named pro-cathedral, or temporary cathedral. although church lost status cathedral, old cathedra remains prominent feature within oratory.

1965 brought retirement of bishop grimmelsman. paul leibold, auxiliary bishop in cincinnati, appointed lead evansville diocese. bishop leibold left diocese on 3 years later, though, when appointed archbishop of cincinnati. francis shea of diocese of knoxville named evansville’s third bishop in 1969.

a new mission church opened in growing town of santa claus in 1967, , in 1970, st. francis xavier church in vincennes, oldest parish in indiana, named basilica. although 2 nursing homes in diocese, st. john home in evansville , providence home in jasper, both built expanded facilities in 1970s, strong growth of diocesan institutions abated in decade. opened high schools in ferdinand , loogootee sold local public school districts. rex mundi , magister noster high schools in evansville closed; rex mundi sold ivy tech community college, , chancery moved holy trinity church former magister noster building. st. benedict college in ferdinand closed, , high schools in vincennes consolidated. in sullivan county, 2 mission churches, st. ann in shelburn , our lady of perpetual in dugger, closed in 1978 , 1982, respectively.

bishop shea retired in 1989, , gerald gettelfinger, vicar general of archdiocese of indianapolis, appointed diocese’s fourth bishop. several parishes built new churches in 1990s, , mission in santa claus, last in diocese, became parish. number of priests in diocese began decline , population shifted rural areas suburban areas, 3 rural parishes in daviess county, st. patrick in corning, st. mary in barr township, , st. michael, north of montgomery, closed in 1997. st. patrick , st. mary became chapels, while st. michael razed. in 1999, bishop gettelfinger named st. benedict, largest church building in evansville, new cathedral diocese, had not had permanent cathedral since assumption closed in 1965.

recognizing influx of latin american catholics diocese, hispanic ministry center opened in 2000. although number of priests continued decrease, diocese began ordain several large classes of permanent deacons. in 2008, st. mary , st. simon parishes in washington merged become our lady of hope parish, , st. mary church closed , razed. faced declining number of priests , demographic shifts, diocese began formal planning process beginning in 2009 allocate resources future. new high school, named john paul great, opened in jasper in 2009; school closed @ end of 2011/12 school year due low enrollment. in 2011, charles thompson, vicar general of archdiocese of louisville appointed fifth bishop of diocese, replacing retiring bishop gettelfinger.

on july 1, 2014, decree bishop thompson merged several parishes, since population no longer demanded many parishes did during mid-20th century. @ same time, diocese returned enforcing long-waived rule no priest may mass more 3 times on sunday (including evening vigil on saturday), meaning churches in newly merged parishes have no sunday masses @ all.