The Roman Catholic Diocese of Wichita (Latin: Dioecesis Wichitensis) is a Roman Catholic diocese in Kansas. It covers Allen, Bourbon, Butler, Chase, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Cowley, Crawford, Elk, Ellsworth, Greenwood, Harper, Harvey, Kingman, Labette, Marion, McPherson, Montgomery, Morris, Neosho, Reno, Rice, Sedgwick, Sumner, Wilson, and Woodson counties in south central and southeast Kansas. The diocese is home to 120,527 Catholics in 91 parishes. It is a suffragan see of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas.
History
The diocese was established on August 2, 1887 from territory taken from the Diocese of Leavenworth, now the Archdiocese of Kansas City, by Pope Leo XIII. It lost territory in 1951 when the Diocese of Dodge City was established.
Bishops
Bishops of Wichita
- James O'Reilly (1887: Appointed but died before consecration)
- John Joseph Hennessy (1888â€"1920)
- Augustus John Schwertner (1921â€"1939)
- Christian Herman Winkelmann (1939â€"1946)
- Mark Kenny Carroll (1947â€"1967)
- Leo Christopher Byrne (1961â€"1967) Coadjutor Bishop of Wichita, appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis
- David Monas Maloney (1967â€"1982)
- Eugene John Gerber (1982â€"2001)
- Thomas J. Olmsted (2001â€"2003), appointed Bishop of Phoenix
- Michael Owen Jackels (2005â€"2013), appointed Archbishop of Dubuque
- Carl A. Kemme (2014â€"present)
Bishops who were once priests in the Diocese of Wichita
- John Balthasar Brungardt - Bishop of Dodge City (2010â€"Present)
- Paul Stagg Coakley - Bishop of Salina (2004â€"2010), Archbishop of Oklahoma City (2010â€"Present)
- James Douglas Conley - Auxiliary Bishop of Denver (2008â€"2012), Bishop of Lincoln (2012â€"Present)
- Eugene John Gerber - Bishop of Dodge City (1976â€"1982), Bishop of Wichita (1982â€"2001)
- Ronald Michael Gilmore - Bishop of Dodge City (1998â€"2010)
- Ignatius Jerome Strecker - Bishop of Springfield-Cape Girardeau (1962â€"1969), Archbishop of Kansas City in Kansas (1969â€"1993)
- John Henry Tihen - Bishop of Lincoln (1911â€"1917), Bishop of Denver (1917â€"1931)
Notable people
- Emil Kapaun (1916â€"1951), Roman Catholic priest, Army chaplain, Medal of Honor recipient, and candidate for canonization
Education
The Wichita Diocese offers a tuition-free Catholic education to Catholic families, with only a registration fee required because the majority of registered parishioners tithe 8% to their respective church thereby covering the cost of tuition.
High schools
- Bishop Carroll Catholic High School, Wichita
- Kapaun Mt. Carmel High School, Wichita
- St. Mary's-Colgan High School, Pittsburg
- Trinity Catholic High School, Hutchinson
See also
- Catholic Church by country
- Catholic Church hierarchy
- List of the Catholic dioceses of the United States
References
External links
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Wichita Official Site