1700 to 1853 Unlike the other British colonies in America, the
Province of Pennsylvania did not ban Catholics from the colony or threaten priests with imprisonment. However, the colony did require any Catholics seeing public office to take an oath to
Protestantism. In 1784, a year after the end of the
American Revolution,
Pope Pius VI erected the
Apostolic Prefecture of United States of America, including all of the new United States. In 1789, Pius VI converted the prefecture to the
Diocese of Baltimore, covering all of the United States. With the passage of the
US Bill of Rights in 1791, Catholics received full freedom of worship. In 1808,
Pope Pius VII erected the
Diocese of Philadelphia, covering all of Pennsylvania. As the Catholic population grew in Pennsylvania in the 19th century, the Vatican erected the
Diocese of Pittsburgh in 1843 to cover the northwestern part of the state.
1853 to 1868 On July 29, 1853, Bishop
Michael O'Connor of the Diocese of Pittsburgh was appointed as the first bishop of the new Diocese of Erie by
Pope Pius IX. The dividing line of the new diocese ran east and west along the northern boundaries of
Cambria, Indiana,
Armstrong, Butler, and
Lawrence Counties, giving it 13 northern counties. The pope named
Joshua Young as the new bishop of Pittsburgh. However, Young did not want the job in Pittsburgh. In addition, a group of Pittsburgh Catholics petitioned the pope to bring O'Connor back to Pittsburgh. Five months later, the Vatican changed course, returning O'Connor to Pittsburgh and making Young the second bishop of Erie. At the beginning of Young's tenure, the diocese contained 28 churches and 14 priests, In 1864, the sisters opened the St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum in Erie.By the time of Young's death in 1866, the number of churches and priests in the diocese were both over 50. He founded the weekly
Lake Shore Visitor newspaper, an orphanage, and two hospitals. Originally dubbed as "Mullen's Folly", its cornerstone was laid in 1875 and Mullen dedicated it in 1893.After Mullen suffered a
cerebral hemorrhage in 1897,
Pope Leo XIII named
John Fitzmaurice of Philadelphia as
coadjutor bishop to assist Mullen. During his 21-year-long tenure as bishop, Fitzmaurice established several parishes and dedicated
St. Peter's Cathedral in Erie (1911). The Sisters of St. Joseph added an annex to
St. Vincent's Hospital in Erie and in 1901 a nursing school. Fitzmaurice died in 1920. The Sisters of Mercy founded
Mercyhurst College for women in Erie in 1926; it is today Mercyhurst University. In 1933, he established Cathedral College, a two-year institution. The diocese opened the Erie Day Nursery in Erie in 1929. The
Benedictine Sisters of Erie in 1933 took over the operation of the Andrew Kaul Memorial Hospital in St. Marys; It is today the Penn Highlands Elk Hospital. The
Sisters of Our Lady of Charity in 1934 opened the Gannondale School for Girls in Erie. By the time Gannon retired in 1966, he had erected 28 parishes, 49 churches, seven rectories, and 12 convents. The pope then appointed Auxiliary Bishop
Alfred Watson from Erie as its next bishop. Critics accused Watson of being too slow to implement the reforms of the
Second Vatican Council of the early 1960s and he met considerable opposition from the diocesan clergy. During his tenure, Watson ordained 88 priests, but was forced to close or merge several
Catholic schools. Murphy soon visited every parish in the diocese and reorganized the diocesan administration to improve pastoral service to Catholics. He delegated some of his authority, allowing more participation in diocesan affairs of the
religious sisters and the
laity.
1980 to present When Watson retired in 1982, Murphy became the new bishop. In 1985, Murphy launched a spiritual growth process called RENEW, which attracted the participation of more than 20,000 people throughout the diocese and lasted until 1988. As bishop, he improved the diocesan youth and
vocational programs, renovated the interior of
St. Peter Cathedral, and established a diocesan Deposit and Loan Fund and a retirement home for clergy named after Murphy. Trautman retired in 2011. ==Reports of sexual abuse==