Background By the early 1700s, the Spanish Franciscans had established a network of forty missions in what is now Northern and Central Florida. However, raids by British settlers and their
Creek Native American allies from the
Carolinas eventually shut down the missions. After the end of the
French and Indian War in 1763, Spain ceded all of Florida to Great Britain for the return of
Cuba. Given the antagonism of
Protestant Great Britain to Catholicism, the majority of the Catholic population in Florida fled to Cuba. After the
American Revolution, Spain regained control of Florida in 1784. In 1793, the Vatican changed the jurisdiction for Florida Catholics from Havana to the Apostolic Vicariate of Louisiana and the Two Floridas, based in
New Orleans. In the
Adams–Onís Treaty of 1819, Spain ceded all of Florida to the United States, which established the
Florida Territory in 1821. In 1825,
Pope Leo XII erected the Vicariate of Alabama and Florida, which included all of Florida, based in Mobile Alabama. which in 1870 was converted into the
Diocese of St. Augustine. The new diocese covered all of Florida except for the
Florida Panhandle region. In 1898, St. Paul's Church was dedicated in
Daytona Beach, the first Catholic church in that community. The first Catholic church in
Brevard County was St. Joseph, dedicated in 1914.
Establishment Pope Paul VI erected the Diocese of Orlando on June 18, 1968, taking its present territory from the Diocese of St. Augustine and making it a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Miami. He appointed Monsignor
William Borders of the
Diocese of Baton Rouge as the first bishop of Orlando. At its formation, the new diocese consisted of 50 parishes with 128,000 Catholics. According to a diocesan publication, after the 1969
Apollo 11 moon mission launch from the Kennedy Space Center, Borders joked to Paul VI that he was now bishop of the
moon, citing
canon law about newly discovered territories. In 2019, a diocesan spokesperson stated that
Bishop John Noonan did not consider himself bishop of the moon (or of the
International Space Station, most of which was also launched from the space center). During his tenure in Orlando, Borders oversaw the creation of parish councils and education boards, allowed the
laity to serve as
extraordinary ministers of the
eucharist and formed a Sisters' Council for the
nuns of the diocese. A Social Services Board correlated the work of already-existing agencies, and developed an educational program aimed at coordinating efforts in Catholic schools, campus ministry, and religious education. Borders also initiated social outreach centers to minister to
migrant workers and the poor. In 1974, Paul VI named Borders as archbishop of the
Archdiocese of Baltimore.
Later history The second bishop of Orlando was Auxiliary Bishop
Thomas Grady from the
Archdiocese of Chicago, appointed by Paul VI in 1974. He oversaw the establishment of 18 new parishes, the San Pedro Spiritual Development Center in
Winter Park, and a mission office to coordinate with the
Diocese of San Juan de la Maguana in the
Dominican Republic. During Grady's tenure, the diocese saw significant growth. In 1976, St. Charles Borromeo Church in the
College Park section of Orlando, the original cathedral, was destroyed by fire. St. James Church in Orlando was designated as the new cathedral. To provide ministerial outreach to vacationers visiting Walt Disney World and the
Lake Buena Vista Resort, Grady created a parish in the Lake Buena Vista area. Dorsey's tenure saw further growth especially due to the growing Hispanic community. Radio Paz and health clinics for migrant and farm workers were established to minister to this community. Bishop Grady Villas, which opened in 2004, was constructed as a residential community in Orlando for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Dorsey retired in 2004. Auxiliary Bishop
Thomas Wenski of Miami was selected by John Paul II to replace Dorsey as bishop of Orlando in 2004. Wenski convoked the first
synod for the diocese in 2004. A capital and endowment campaign raised $100 million. The Spanish language radio station,
Buena Nueva FM, and a newspaper,
El Clarin, were also started. The
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops held their spring convocation in the diocese in 2008. Wenski also designated 2008 as the "Year of Evangelization". In 2010, the diocese began both a $150 million capital campaign and an extensive renovation of
St. James Cathedral in Orlando. Benedict XVI named Wenski as archbishop of Miami in 2010. Richard Walsh, pastor of St. Margaret Mary Parish in Winter Park, served as
diocesan administrator, until Auxiliary Bishop
John Noonan of Miami was appointed by the pope that same year. In June 2017, Noonan attended a memorial service at
St. James Cathedral for victims of the 2016
Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando.
Reports of sex abuse In February 1995, a man sued the Diocese of Orlando, saying that he had been sexually abused as a youth by former priest Thomas Pagni. The plaintiff claimed that Pagni, then a
mental health counselor in Brevard County, sexually assaulted him for several months in 1992. Pagni was arrested in March 1995 on charges of engaging in sexual activity with a minor and engaging in
lewdness. Another victim was added to the criminal case in June 1995. In January 1996, Pagni pleaded no contest to the ten charges against him and was sentenced to ten years in prison. In 2004, the diocese announced that it had removed from ministry 12 priests accused of committing sex abuse since the founding of the diocese in 1968. Wladyslaw Gorak (also known as Walter Fisher) of the Church of the Resurrection in
South Lakeland was arrested in October 2004 after breaking down the door at the residence of a female acquaintance and sexually assaulting her. Gorak had transferred to Orlando in 2000 from the
Archdiocese of Newark. Despite him having a record of inappropriate behavior with women in Newark, the archdiocese did not mention that to diocesan officials in Orlando. Gorak was sentenced to four years of
probation in 2007. The woman later sued the Archdiocese of Newark and received a settlement from them. In December 1987, the diocese settled the case with the Rockledge families for $3 million. ==Bishops==