Roman Catholic Diocese of Madison

Diocese of Madison Diœcesis Madisonensis
Jerome Listecki
Map
Website
madisondiocese.org

The Diocese of Madison (

The bishop of Madison is Donald J. Hying. The diocese currently has no cathedral. Its previous cathedral, Saint Raphael's, was destroyed by fire in 2005.

Territory

The Diocese of Madison comprises Columbia, Dane, Grant, Green, Green Lake, Iowa, Jefferson, Lafayette, Marquette, Rock, and Sauk counties. The area of the diocese is approximately 8,070 square miles (20,900 km²).

History

Early history

In the 16th and early 17th century, the Wisconsin area was part of the French colony of New France. During this time, the French bishops in Quebec, which became a diocese in 1674, had jurisdiction over Canada and North America east of the Mississippi River.

When the British took control of New France in 1763, the bishops in Quebec continued to have jurisdiction in the region. In 1791, soon after the conclusion of the American Revolution, Pope Pius VI erected the Diocese of Baltimore. It covered all the American states and the Northwest Territory, which included part of present-day Wisconsin.^[5] The rest of Wisconsin became part of the territory after the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.

In 1843,

The Diocese of Madison was established on January 9, 1946, by Pope Pius XII. The diocese was created out of territory from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and the Dioceses of La Crosse and Green Bay.^[6] The pope selected Bishop William Patrick O'Connor from the Diocese of Superior as the first bishop of Madison.^[7]

During O'Connor's tenure, the diocese went from having 135 priests serving 82,000 Catholics to having 290 priests serving a Catholic population of 180,640.^[8] In his first year as bishop, O'Connor established the Blessed Martin Guild to promote racial understanding and convert more minorities to Catholicism.^[9] He also founded Holy Name Seminary in Madison in 1965. As part of the Second Vatican Council's reforms, he established a diocesan priest senate in 1966.^[10] O'Connor resigned in 1967.

In 1967, Pope Paul VI appointed Auxiliary Bishop Cletus F. O'Donnell from the Archdiocese of Chicago as the second bishop of Madison.^[11][12] He established ministries for the deaf and the developmentally disabled. He also encouraged adult education and created a religious education consultants program to help individual parishes.^[13]

After O'Donnell retired in 1992,

In May 2009, Morlino announced that due to budget cuts, he was closing the Catholic Multicultural Center, which provided food and other support for residents on Madison's south side.[19] A handoff to local parish administration and fundraising drive was announced one week later.^[20]

In March 2009, Morlino dismissed Ruth Kolpack from her post as a pastoral associate at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Beloit, citing breaches of orthodoxy. In a brief meeting with Kolpack, he asked her to take an oath of loyalty and to denounce her 2003 thesis, which advocated women's ordination in the Church and inclusive language relating to God. Morlino fired Kolpack after she refused to denounce her thesis.^[21] Morlino died in 2018.

The current bishop of the Diocese of Madison is Donald J. Hying, formerly bishop of the Diocese of Gary. He was appointed by Pope Francis in 2018. In 2023, Hying announced the grouping of all the parishes into 30 pastorates to be run by multiple priests. This reorganization was meant to relieve some of the administrative duties of the diocesan priests.^[22]

Cathedral fire

In March 2005, St. Raphael's Cathedral was heavily damaged in an

In April 2007, Bishop Morlino released plans to erect a new cathedral on the existing site. However, the plans were never realized. In March 2023, Bishop Donald Hying announced that he had petitioned the Vatican to designate St. Bernard's Church in Madison as the new cathedral.^[22] In January 2024, it was announced that St. Bernard's would be elevated to cathedral.

Reports of sex abuse

In September 2003, at a legislative hearing in Madison, a woman from Sun Prairie accused Reverend Gerald Vosen, pastor of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Baraboo, of sexually assaulting her brother when he was age 14 in the 1970s. Vosen, who denied the accusations, was put on leave by the diocese.^[24] The diocesan review board reviewed three allegations against Vosen and in February 2003 recommended the permanent suspension of ministry.^[25] In May 2004, Vosen unsuccessfully sued one of his accusers.^[26] Appeals of the review board decision were declined in 2007 and 2015 by the Vatican.

An Eau Claire man sued the diocese in February 1994, claiming that he had been sexually assaulted by Reverend Michael Trainor in the summer of 1982. The crime allegedly happened in the rectory of St. Thomas Aquinas Church. Trainor left Wisconsin in 1994 after several parents brought accusations to Bishop Bullock.^[27] By February 1995, seven other men had joined the lawsuit, claiming abuse by Trainor.^[28] The plaintiffs claimed that Bishop O'Donnell was aware of Trainor's abuse of children and transferred him from one parish to another without reporting him to the police or parishioners.^[29] A separate suit by nine other men against the diocese regarding Trainor was filed in September 1995.^[30] The lawsuits were dismissed in 1995. New allegations of abuse against Trainor were brought to the diocese in 2002 and 2003.^[31]

In May 2018, Reverend William Nolan, a retired priest, was charged with six counts of sexual assault.^[32] He was acquitted in September 2019 of five of these counts,^[33] with the presiding judge dropping the remaining count.^[34] The diocese also investigated Nolan and later cleared him from the title of "credibly accused" priest in March 2020 as well.^[35]

In June 2019, the diocese agreed to present a list of credibly accused clergy who served in the diocese and hired detectives to assist in this investigation.^[32] In March 2020, Bishop Hying announced that investigators had found two sexual abuse allegations against Patrick Doherty, a retired priest from the diocese, to be credible. Hying had already placed restrictions on Doherty.^[36][37]

Bishops

Bishops of Madison

1. William Patrick O'Connor (1946–1967), his resignation.
2. Cletus F. O'Donnell (1967–1992), his resignation.
3. William H. Bullock
   (1993–2003), his resignation.
4. Robert C. Morlino (2003–2018), his death.
5. Donald J. Hying (2019–present).

Auxiliary bishops

• Jerome J. Hastrich (1963–1969), appointed Bishop of Gallup (1969-1990).
• George Otto Wirz (1977–2004), his resignation.

Diocesan priests who became bishops

Paul J. Swain, appointed Bishop of Sioux Falls (2006-2019).

Churches

• Albany – St. Patrick
• Argyle – St. Joseph
• Ashton – St. Peter
• Avoca – St. Joseph
• Baraboo – St. Joseph
• Barneveld – Immaculate Conception
• Belleville – St. Francis of Assisi
• Belmont – St. Philomena
• Beloit – Our Lady of Assumption
• Beloit – St. Jude
• Beloit – St. Thomas the Apostle
• Benton – St. Patrick
• Berlin – All Saints
• Blanchardville – Immaculate Conception
• Bloomington – St. Mary
• Boscobel – Immaculate Conception
• Briggsville – St. Mary Help of Christians
• Brodhead – St. Rose of Lima
• Buffalo – St. Andrew
• Calamine – St. Michael
• Cambridge – St. Pius X
• Cassville – St. Charles Borromeo
• Castle Rock – St. John Nepomucene
• Clinton – St. Stephen
• Clyde – St. Malachy
• Columbus – St. Jerome
• Cottage Grove – St. Patrick
• Cross Plains – St. Francis Xavier
• Cuba City – St. Rose of Lima
• Dane – St. Michael
• Darlington – Holy Rosary
• Dayton
  – St. James, merged with St. Francis in Belleville
• De Forest
  – St. Olaf
• Dickeyville – Holy Ghost
• Dodgeville – St. Joseph
• Doylestown – St. Patrick
• Durward Glen
  – St. Camillus
• East Bristol – St. Joseph
• Edgerton – St. Joseph
• Elk Grove – St. Peter
• Evansville – St. Paul
• Fennimore – St. Mary
• Footville – St. Augustine
• Fort Atkinson – St. Joseph
• Glen Haven – St. Mary Help of Christians
• Gratiot – St. Joseph
• Green Lake – Our Lady of the Lake
• Hazel Green – St. Francis de Sales
• Highland – Ss. Anthony and Philip
• Hollandale – St. Patrick
• Janesville – Nativity of Mary
• Janesville – St. John Vianney
• Janesville – St. Patrick
• Janesville – St. William
• Jefferson – St. John the Baptist
• Jefferson – St. Lawrence
• Johnson Creek – St. Mary Magdalene
• Kieler – Immaculate Conception
• Kingston – St. Mary
• La Valle – Holy Family
• Lake Mills – St. Francis Xavier
• Lancaster – St. Clement
• Lime Ridge – St. Boniface
• Lodi – St. Patrick
• Loreto
  – St. Patrick
• Madison – Blessed Sacrament
• Madison – Holy Redeemer Church
• Madison – Our Lady Queen of Peace Church
• Madison – St. Bernard
• Madison – St. Dennis
• Madison – St. James Church
• Madison – St. Joseph Church
• Madison – St. Maria Goretti
• Madison – St. Patrick Church
• Madison – St. Paul's University Catholic Center
• Madison – St. Peter
• Madison – St. Thomas Aquinas Church
• Markesan – St. Joseph
• Marshall – St. Mary
• Martinsville – St. Martin of Tours
• Mazomanie – St. Barnabas
• McFarland – Christ the King
• Merrimac – St. Mary
• Middleton – St. Bernard
• Mill Creek
  – St. John the Baptist
• Milton – St. Mary
• Mineral Point – Ss. Mary and Paul
• Monona – Immaculate Heart of Mary
• Monroe – St. Victor
• Montello – St. John the Baptist
• Montfort – St. Thomas
• Mount Hope – St. Lawrence O'Toole
• Mt. Horeb
  – St. Ignatius
• Muscoda – St. John the Baptist
• Neshkoro – St. James
• Oregon – Holy Mother of Consolation
• Palmyra – St. Mary
• Patch Grove – St. John
• Pardeeville – St. Mary
• Perry – Holy Redeemer
• Pine Bluff – St. Mary
• Plain – St. Luke
• Platteville – St. Mary
• Portage – St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception
• Potosi – Ss. Andrew and Thomas
• Poynette – St. Thomas
• Princeton – St. John the Baptist
• Reedsburg – Sacred Heart
• Rio – St. Joseph
• Roxbury – St. Norbert
• Sauk City – St. Aloysius
• Seymour Corners
  – Our Lady of Hope
• Shullsburg – St. Matthew
• Sinsinawa – St. Joseph
• Spring Green – St. John the Evangelist
• Stoughton – St. Ann
• South Wayne – St. John
• Sullivan – St. Mary
• Sun Prairie – Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
• Sun Prairie – St. Albert the Great
• Truman
  – Immaculate Conception
• Verona – St. Christopher (St. Andrew and St. William Churches)
• Waterloo – St. Joseph
• Watertown – St. Bernard
• Watertown – St. Henry
• Waunakee – St. John the Baptist
• Westfield – Good Shepherd
• Westport – St. Mary of the Lake
• Wisconsin Dells – St. Cecilia

Cemeteries

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (December 2021)

Resurrection Cemetery – Madison

Schools

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2018)

High schools

• Edgewood High School of the Sacred Heart – Madison
• St. Ambrose Academy – Madison

Grade schools

• St. Joseph's Catholic School in Baraboo is a parochial school. The current school building, designed by the Wisconsin Rapids company Billmeyer and Sons and with a cost of over $500,000, has 11 classrooms. The basement has a cafeteria and a combination auditorium/gymnasium. The second building for the school opened on a filled-in ravine in 1912, northeast of its associated church. The building had three floors and a basement. The first and second floors each had three classrooms, and the second floor also housed the chapel and the library. The third floor had a 600-seat auditorium while the basement had a large banquet hall/gymnasium. The second building became overcrowded due to the post-World War II baby boom, so the third school building, north of the second building, opened in 1958.^[38]

See also

• List of the Catholic dioceses of the United States
• List of Roman Catholic dioceses (alphabetical)
  (including archdioceses)
• List of Roman Catholic dioceses (structured view)
  (including archdioceses)

References

External links

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Madison official website Archived 2018-07-10 at the Wayback Machine
• The Camp Gray Web Site - A ministry of the Diocese of Madison
• Catholic Charities, Diocese of Madison

Arms

Coat of arms of Roman Catholic Diocese of Madison

Notes Arms was designed and adopted when the diocese was erected Adopted 1946 Escutcheon The arms of the diocese are composed of a field that is wavy bars of silver (white) and blue on which a red cross with a fish is present Symbolism The arms of the diocese are composed of a field that is wavy bars of silver (white) and blue. This is the traditional heraldic representation for water and the field of "water" is divided by a red cross into four sections to remind us of the lakes of the region around Madison. On the red cross is a fish and this conjunction of symbols is a classic symbolic representation for Saint Raphael, the titular of the Cathedral Church of Madison. Raphael means "healer of God" and his ministrations to men make interesting reading in the Book of Tobit in the Old Testament. The fish recalls the episode where Raphael ordered Tobias to cook a fish to eat but removed the heart, liver and gall for future medicinal use. Later the liver was used by Tobias to drive out the devil, who had slain seven of the previous husbands of Sara, his wife, while the gall was used to restore sight to his blind father.

43°03′04″N 89°31′06″W / 43.05111°N 89.51833°W / 43.05111; -89.51833