1700 to 1860 During the 17th century, present-day Ohio was part of the French colony of
New France. The
Diocese of Quebec had jurisdiction over the region. However, unlike other parts of the future
American Midwest, there were no attempts to found Catholic missions in Ohio. In 1763,
Ohio Country became part of the British
Province of Quebec, forbidden from settlement by American colonists. After the
American Revolution ended in 1783,
Pope Pius VI erected in 1784 the
Prefecture Apostolic of the United States, encompassing the entire territory of the new nation. In 1787, the Ohio area became part of the
Northwest Territory of the United States. Pius VI created the
Diocese of Baltimore, the first diocese in the United States, to replace the prefecture apostolic in 1789. In 1808,
Pope Pius VII erected the
Diocese of Bardstown in Kentucky, with jurisdiction over the new state of Ohio along with the other midwest states. Dominican priests from Bardstown were the first missionaries and clergy in the Columbus area. The first Catholic chapel built in Ohio was a log structure in
Perry County; it was dedicated in 1818 by
Edward Fenwick.
Pope Pius VII in 1821 erected the Diocese of Cincinnati, taking all of Ohio from Bardstown. The visit of Cincinnati 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. They developed a plan to build a church on a lot already owned by the Catholics of the area—where
Holy Cross Church now stands. In 1837, the diocese sent a resident pastor, Henry Juncker, to cover the Columbus and
Chillicothe areas. Juncker built Holy Cross Church, opening it in 1838 with a
Sung Mass. By 1843, Holy Cross parish was scheduling multiple masses on Sundays and building a school. The major challenge facing the diocese was the debt accrued by the construction of St. Joseph. During his 19-year-long tenure, Watterson saw an increase in the number of priests and schools in the diocese, oversaw the building of two
hospitals and the
Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, and erected many new
missions and
parishes.
1900 to 1945 On April 6, 1900,
Henry K. Moeller, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, was appointed the third bishop of Columbus. 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 was appointed as the
coadjutor bishop of Cincinnati by
Pope Pius X in 1903. •
St. Ann Hospital in
Westerville (1908) by the Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Charity •
St. Joseph Cemetery in
Lockbourne (1910) by Hartley • Mercy Hospital in
Mount Vernon (1919) by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth • Mercy Hospital in
Portsmouth (1921) by the Sisters of St. Francis •
St. Charles Seminary in Columbus (1923) • Good Samaritan Hospital in
Zanesville by the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity •
St. Therese Shrine in Columbus (1931) by the
Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity Toward the end of his term as bishop, Hartley consecrated
Edward Hettinger as the first
auxiliary bishop of the Columbus diocese. Hartley died in 1944.
1945 to 1968 Michael Ready became bishop of Columbus in 1945. That same year, the Vatican established the
Diocese of Steubenville, removing 13 counties from the Diocese of Columbus to form the new diocese. At the same time, nine counties were added to the Diocese of Columbus from the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. One of Ready's first tasks was overseeing the erection of the new Diocese of Steubenville. He established the Catholic Welfare Bureau and appointed a director of charities for the diocese. He also had the bishop's house razed. It was first built as the home of
William G. Deshler and constructed the current bishop's residence and diocesan
chancery building in its place in 1949. Ready also organized the
Holy Name Society, a Parent-Teacher Organization, the Council of Catholic Women, the Catholic Youth Council, and the
St. Vincent de Paul Society in the diocese. As bishop, Issenmann established the Diocesan Development Fund so as to supply for the expansion of the diocese, which added eight
parishes and six high schools under Issenmann. He also found a new building to house
diocesan offices, and offered a televised
mass every week.
Pope Paul VI named him as
coadjutor bishop of the
Diocese of Cleveland in 1964. Bishop
John Carberry from the
Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana was appointed the seventh bishop of Columbus by Paul VI on January 16, 1965. As bishop, he implemented the reforms of the
Second Vatican Council and supported the
American Civil Rights Movement and the
ecumenical movement. He established the Clergy Advisory Council, and oversaw the renovation of St. Joseph's Cathedral after issuing regulations for liturgical changes. He helped found the Inter-Church Board for Metropolitan Affairs, the first organization in the United States uniting
Protestants and Catholics for ecumenism and
social action. Carberry was named archbishop of the
Archdiocese of St. Louis in 1968.
1968 to 1982 Paul VI named Auxiliary Bishop
Clarence Elwell from the Diocese of Cleveland as the eighth bishop of Columbus in 1968. During his tenure as bishop, Elwell continued the implementation of the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, initiated under Carberry. An advocate of
Catholic education, he opened the following schools in Ohio: •
Tuscarawas Central Catholic High School in New Philadelphia (1970) •
William V. Fisher Catholic High School in Lancaster (1971) Elwell established Resurrection Cemetery in
Lewis Center, Ohio in 1972 and St. Peter Parish in
Worthington, Ohio, that same year. He created the Sisters' Council and Pastoral Council, expanded the Development Office, and established the Parish Aid Fund, and the diocesan
self-insurance program. Herrmann helped establish Operation Feed in Columbus, a countywide food drive that now provides millions of meals every year to people in the Columbus area. He also reorganized the diocese into the 15
vicariates and instituted the Emmaus Spirituality Program for priests. In 1985, Griffin established the Foundation of the Catholic Diocese of Columbus and initiated the Legacy of Catholic Learning campaign in 1989 and Challenge In Changing Times campaign. He also established the "Breaking The Silence" task force to reduce
family violence. Griffin also served on a number of committees of the
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and was president of
Catholic Relief Services (1991–1995). In 2005, Campbell proposed the establishment of a
civil registry of priests from the diocese of Columbus who had been "credibly accused" of
sexual abuse. Campbell spoke out in 2006 against a proposed law in the
Ohio General Assembly that would have allowed a 20-year
statute of limitations for sexual abuse cases. In his testimony to the legislature, Campbell claimed that the 20-year window for prosecution wasn't fair and would curtail the church's charitable work. In the end, the assembly passed the legislation with a 10-year window. In April 2013, the diocese fired Carla Hale, a teacher at
Bishop Watterson High School in Columbus. The diocese took action after receiving a complaint that Hale had a
domestic partner who was a woman. Hale then threatened to file a complaint with the City of Columbus under its anti-discrimination ordinances. Hale and the diocese later reached a settlement in which she would not return to Bishop Watterson. After Campbell resigned in 2019,
Pope Francis appointed Auxiliary Bishop
Robert J. Brennan from the
Diocese of Rockville Centre as bishop of Columbus that same year. Brennan initiated the elevation of
Saint Mary of the Assumption in Lancaster to the rank of a
minor basilica in August 2019. In December 2020, 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." According to Brennan, the process would likely result in some parishes closing.
2020 to present In February 2020, the diocese announced the closure of two diocesan
retreat centers, St. Therese's in Columbus and Sts. Peter and Paul in
Newark. The shuttering was due to dwindling use in part because of more parishes having parish centers, newer non-diocesan facilities being built, and the necessity of repairs at both sites. •
Sts. Peter and Paul was constructed as a
seminary for the
Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions in 1957. It closed in 1990, was acquired by the diocese and reopened as a retreat center in 2003. It served as the convent for the
Dominican Nuns of the Perpetual Rosary until that community left the diocese in 2023. •
St. Therese Retreat Center opened in 1931. St. Therese now houses the Daughters of Holy Mary of the Heart of Jesus, a group ministering to girls and young women. Brennan was made bishop of the
Diocese of Brooklyn in 2021;
Earl K. Fernandes of Cincinnati became bishop of Columbus. Fernandes has continued the "Real Presence Real Future" process started by Brennan. In October 2022, the Diocese of Steubenville announced that the Vatican was considering merging it with the Diocese of Columbus. However, facing strong opposition within Steubenville, Bishop
Jeffrey Monforton of Steubenville announced a few weeks later that the Vatican placed the merger proposal on hold. In May 2023, the diocese announced that it would close 15 parishes as part of the “Real Presence, Real Future” initiative. ==Bishops==