1700 to 1882 During the 17th century, present-day Michigan was part of the French colony of
New France. The Diocese of Quebec had jurisdiction over the region. In 1763, the Michigan area became part of the British
Province of Quebec, forbidden from settlement by American colonists. After the
American Revolution, the Michigan region became part of the new United States. For Catholics, Michigan was now under the jurisdiction of the
Archdiocese of Baltimore, which then comprised the entire country. In 1808,
Pope Pius VII erected the
Diocese of Bardstown in Kentucky, with jurisdiction over the new
Michigan Territory. In 1821, the pope erected the Diocese of Cincinnati, taking the Michigan Territory from the Diocese of Bardstown.
Pope Gregory XVI formed the Diocese of Detroit in 1833, covering the entire Michigan Territory. In 1833, the missionary priest
Frederick Baraga established the first permanent Catholic mission in Grand Rapids. The first resident priest in the area was Andrew Viszosky. Mission stations were later established at Beaver Island, Grand Traverse,
Cheboygan, Manistee,
Muskegon, Grand Haven and
Ionia.
1882 to 1969 Pope Leo XIII erected the Diocese of Grand Rapids on May 19, 1882, taking its territory in central and western Michigan from the Diocese of Detroit.
Henry Richter was the first bishop of Grand Rapids.
Michael Gallagher was made coadjutor bishop of the diocese in 1915. After Richter's death, Gallagher automatically succeeded him as bishop of Grand Rapids. Gallagher served in Grand Rapids less than two years before being appointed bishop of the Diocese of Detroit by Benedict XV in 1918. The pope appointed Auxiliary Bishop
Edward D. Kelly from the Diocese of Detroit to replace Gallagher in Grand Rapids. Kelly died in 1926. That same year,
Pope Pius XI appointed Bishop
Joseph G. Pinten of the
Diocese of Superior as the fourth bishop of Grand Rapids. In 1938, the Diocese of Grand Rapids lost territory when
Pope Pius XII established the
Diocese of Saginaw. After Pinten retired in 1940, Pius XII named Bishop
Joseph C. Plagens of the
Diocese of Sault Sainte Marie-Marquette as bishop of Grand Rapids that same year. Plagens died after less than three years in office.
Francis J. Haas was the next bishop in Grand Rapids, beginning in 1943. Haas served the diocese for ten years until his death in 1953. In 1954, Auxiliary Bishop
Allen James Babcock of Detroit was named the bishop of Grand Rapids. Babcock died in 1969.
1969 to 1989 In 1969, Auxiliary Bishop
Joseph M. Breitenbeck of Detroit was appointed the eighth bishop of Grand Rapids. In 1970, Paul VI created both the
Diocese of Gaylord and the
Diocese of Kalamazoo, taking territory from the Diocese of Grand Rapids. Breitenbeck played a major role in preparing the two new dioceses. He also encouraged the practice of communal
confessions, and allowed divorced and remarried Catholics to receive the
sacraments. In the 1980s, Breitenbeck created policies and procedures for handling allegations of
clerical sexual abuse; these rules remained in force until major revisions in the early 21st century. Rose created lay leadership programs, revamped the Hispanic ministry and presented forums and events focused on
racism in the diocese. He established the Catholic Foundation of West Michigan among other institutions. He retired in 2012 and Benedict XVI appointed David Walkowiak of Detroit to replace Hurley, Walkowiak is the present Bishop of Grand Rapids. Walkowiak released a statement on November 27, 2019 supporting the decision of Scott Nolan, Pastor of St. Stephen Parish in
East Grand Rapids, to withhold the
Eucharist from Sara Smolenski. A town judge, Smolenski told the local media that Nolan notified her before Mass that she could not receive Holy Communion because of her
same-sex marriage. She also said that Nolan had given her Holy Communion the week before.
Sexual abuse In 2002, the Diocese of Grand Rapids acknowledged that it had paid a $500,000 settlement in 1994 to three sisters who were
sexually abused as minors by John Sullivan, a priest, during the late 1950s. The women did not report the crimes to the diocese until 1993. Records showed that Bishop Babcock had accepted Sullivan into the diocese, even though Sullivan had previously fathered a child while serving in the
Diocese of Manchester. Bishop Rose in 2002 said that the diocese should have never accepted Sullivan. In 2014 Abigail Simon, a tutor at a Catholic high school in Grand Rapids, was convicted of three counts of first-degree
criminal sexual conduct and one
misdemeanor count of accosting a minor for immoral purposes. Simon claimed that the student sexually assaulted her. She was sentenced to eight to 25 years in prison. In May 2021, William Langlois from
Grand Haven was
laicized after sexual abuse allegations against the former priest were deemed "credible." The diocese had received allegations in 2018 that Langlois, who retired in 2016, had
sexually abused a minor between 1999 and 2006. The diocese immediately suspended Langlois from ministry, notified local authorities, and started an internal investigation. ==Churches==