Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston

Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston Archidioecesis Galvestoniensis Houstoniensis
Location
Country	United States
Territory	Counties of Galveston, Harris, Austin, Brazoria, Fort Bend, Grimes, Montgomery, San Jacinto, Walker, and Waller
Ecclesiastical province	Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston
Metropolitan	Southeastern Texas
Coordinates	29°45′33″N 95°21′38″W / 29.75917°N 95.36056°W / 29.75917; -95.36056Coordinates: 29°45′33″N 95°21′38″W / 29.75917°N 95.36056°W / 29.75917; -95.36056
Population - Catholics	1,045,030[1]
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	May 4, 1847[2]
Cathedral	St. Mary Cathedral Basilica [2]
Patron saint	Mary, the Immaculate Conception
Current leadership
Pope	Benedict XVI
Archbishop	Daniel Cardinal DiNardo Archbishop of Galveston-Houston
Auxiliary Bishop	George A. Sheltz
Emeritus Bishops	Most Rev. Joseph A. Fiorenza (Archbishop)
Map
Website
archgh.org

St. Mary Cathedral Basilica, mother church of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston (Latin: Archidioecesis Galvestoniensis Houstoniensis) encompasses 8,880 square miles (23,000 km²) of ten counties in the southeastern area of Texas: Galveston; Harris; Austin; Brazoria; Fort Bend; Grimes; Montgomery; San Jacinto; Walker; and Waller.

The chancery of the archdiocese is located in Downtown Houston.^[3] The archdiocese's original cathedral church is St. Mary Cathedral Basilica in Galveston^[2] with a co-cathedral, the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, located in Downtown Houston. The co-cathedral is used for all major archdiocesan liturgies.

History

The archdiocesan history began with the erection of the prefecture apostolic of Texas in 1839, thus making Galveston the "Mother Church of Texas". The prefecture was elevated to a vicariate apostolic on July 10, 1841. On May 4, 1847, the vicariate became the Diocese of Galveston in the Province of New Orleans and St. Mary Cathedral Basilica was designated the cathedral.^[4]

In 1926, the then-diocese was placed in the newly created Province of San Antonio.

After the devastating Galveston Hurricane of 1900, the city of Houston began to expand after the Port of Houston was completed. At the request of the Most Reverend Wendelin J. Nold, fifth bishop of Galveston, Pope John XXIII permitted the construction of a co-cathedral of convenience in Houston, and on July 25, 1959, the name of the diocese was changed to the Diocese of Galveston-Houston. Sacred Heart, a parish church located in downtown Houston, was named the co-cathedral of the diocese. This change made Houston an Episcopal See city as well, and permitted full episcopal ceremonies to be held in both Galveston and Houston.^[5]

In 1979, Pope John Paul II recognized the importance the diocese's cathedral played in the development of Texas and the western United States and elevated the status of St. Mary Cathedral by naming it a minor basilica.^[5]

By the end of the 20th century, the diocese had become one of the largest in the United States with its episcopal see cities becoming internationally important. Recognizing this, in December, 2004, Pope John Paul II created the new Ecclesiastical Province of Galveston-Houston and elevated the See of Galveston-Houston to a Metropolitan See. Bishop Joseph Fiorenza, who had led the diocese for 20 years, became the first Archbishop of Galveston-Houston, and Bishop Daniel DiNardo became Coadjutor Archbishop.^[6]

The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston oversees the following suffragan dioceses: Austin, Beaumont, Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Tyler, and Victoria in Texas.

Within the archdiocese, many famous landmarks are contained. Most prominent is St. Mary Cathedral Basilica, the motherchurch of Texas, and one of the few buildings and only church to survive the 1900 Galveston Storm. Other landmarks include the 1887 Bishop's Palace, the former 1912 Sacred Heart Co-Cathedral, and Annunciation Church, one of the oldest churches in Texas.^[7]

Bishops

The current Archbishop of Galveston-Houston is Daniel Cardinal DiNardo. He became archbishop on February 28, 2006, upon Pope Benedict XVI's acceptance of Joseph Fiorenza's retirement.

On October 17, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI designated Archbishop DiNardo a cardinal. He was elevated at a consistory ceremony in Rome on November 24, 2007, becoming the first cardinal representing a diocese from the American South. The current auxiliary bishop is George A. Sheltz.

The following are the former and current ordinaries of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston:

• Prefecture Apostolic of Texas
  • Prefects:
    • John Timon: (1840–1847)

• Vicariate Apostolic of Texas
  • Vicar Apostolic:
    • Jean Marie Odin: (1841–1847)

• Diocese of Galveston
  • Bishops:
    • Jean Marie Odin: (1847–1861)
    • Claude Marie Dubuis: (1862–1892)
    • Nicolaus Aloysius Gallagher: (1892–1918)
    • Christopher Edward Byrne: (1918–1950)
    • Wendelin Joseph Nold: (1950–1959)

• Diocese of Galveston-Houston (name changed in 1959)
  • Bishops:
    • Wendelin Joseph Nold: (1959–1975)
    • John Louis Morkovsky: (1975–1984)
    • Joseph Fiorenza: (1984–2004)
    • Daniel DiNardo: (Coadjutor 2003–2004)

• Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston (elevated to archdiocese in 2004)
  • Archbishops:
    • Joseph Fiorenza: (2004–2006, Archbishop Emeritus 2006–present)
    • Daniel Cardinal DiNardo: (Coadjutor 2004–2006, Archbishop 2006–present)

Coat of arms

Coat of Arms as displayed on St. Mary Cathedral Basilica

The coat of arms of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston are composed of a blue fielded shield on which is displayed a scattering of silver and white roses and topped with a helm in the form of a golden bishop's mitre.

The roses are used to represent the Blessed Virgin Mary, in her title of the Mystical Rose, titular of the Cathedral-Basilica in the See City of Galveston. The red cross stands for The Faith, with a square center that contains a single silver star to represent Texas, the “Lone Star State."^[8]

Statistics

Approximately 1.3 million Catholics live within the boundaries of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston (equaling 21.4% of the total population), making the archdiocese the largest in the state of Texas and the eleventh largest in the United States. The archdiocese's 150 parishes are served by approximately 447 priests (200 diocesan, 206 religious, and 41 other) and 378 permanent deacons.^[9]

Controversy

The January 9, 2004 issue of The Texas Catholic Herald reported that 22 priests had been accused of sexual abuse (not including four deacons) and that the number of alleged victims totaled 46. Clerical sexual abuse cost the archdiocese 3.6 million dollars, half of which was paid by insurance or insurance reserves. ^[10]

Schools

The front entrance to the Saint Agnes Academy campus

As of 2010 the Catholic school network of the archdiocese is the largest private school network in the State of Texas. As of that year the archdiocese had 59 schools, with about 18,000 students enrolled.^[11]

See: List of schools in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston

Historical structures

• 

  Former Sacred Heart Co-Cathedral in downtown Houston
  

• 

  New Sacred Heart Co-Cathedral in downtown Houston
  

• 

  Interior of St. Mary Cathedral Basilica in downtown Galveston
  

• 

  1886 Bishop's Palace in Galveston
  

Province of Galveston-Houston

See List of the Catholic bishops of the United States

See also

	Houston portal
	Catholicism portal

References

Wikisource has the text of a 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia article about The Diocese of Galveston.

External links

• Website for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston
  • Archives of website
• Schools office
• St. Mary Cathedral Basilica

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