Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend

The Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend (Latin: Dioecesis Wayne Castrensis–South Bendensis) is a Roman Catholic diocese in north-central and northeastern Indiana. The Most Reverend Kevin C. Rhoades was appointed diocesan bishop by Pope Benedict XVI on November 14, 2009, and was installed on January 13, 2010. The Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend encompasses 14 Indiana counties: Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Elkhart, Huntington, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Marshall, Noble, Steuben, St. Joseph, Wabash, Wells, and Whitley. The diocese has a co-cathedral setup with the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Fort Wayne as the primary cathedral and Saint Matthew's Cathedral in South Bend as the associate cathedral.

Fort Wayne–South Bend

Dioecesis Wayne Castrensis–South Bendensis
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Fort Wayne
Location
Country United States
TerritoryNortheastern Indiana, Michiana
Ecclesiastical provinceIndianapolis
Statistics
Area5,792 km2 (2,236 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics (including non-members)		(as of 2006)
1,247,850
159,888 (12.8%)
Parishes84
Information
DenominationCatholic
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
EstablishedJanuary 8, 1857 (164 years ago)
CathedralCathedral of the Immaculate Conception (Fort Wayne)
Co-cathedralSaint Matthew Cathedral (South Bend)
Patron saintImmaculate Conception
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
BishopKevin C. Rhoades
Map
Website
diocesefwsb.org
St. Matthew Cathedral in South Bend

History

The diocese was erected as the Diocese of Fort Wayne (Dioecesis Wayne Castrensis) suffragan to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati on January 8, 1857, from territory earlier belonging to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Vincennes. In 1944 it became suffragan to the newly elevated Archdiocese of Indianapolis. In 1944 and 1956 it lost territory to the newly formed dioceses of Lafayette and Gary, respectively. In 1960 its name was changed to the Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend.

Bishops

Bishops of Fort Wayne
  1. John Henry Luers (1857–1871)
  2. Joseph Gregory Dwenger (1872–1893)
  3. Joseph Rademacher (1893–1900)
  4. Herman Joseph Alerding (1900–1924)
  5. John F. Noll (1925–1956) – elevated to Archbishop ad personam in 1953

Bishops of Fort Wayne-South Bend
  1. Leo Aloysius Pursley (1956–1976) (diocese name changed in 1960)
  2. William Edward McManus (1976–1985)
  3. John Michael D'Arcy (1985–2009)
  4. Kevin Carl Rhoades (2009–present)

Auxiliary bishops

Other priests of this diocese who became bishops

Schools

Colleges and universities

High schools

Grade schools
  • Christ the King, South Bend
  • Corpus Christi, South Bend
  • Holy Cross, South Bend
  • Holy Family, South Bend
  • Huntington Catholic, Huntington
  • Most Precious Blood, Fort Wayne
  • Our Lady School, Fort Wayne
  • Our Lady of Hungary, South Bend
  • Queen of Angels, Fort Wayne
  • Queen of Peace, Mishawaka
  • Sacred Heart, Warsaw
  • Saint Adalbert, South Bend
  • Saint Aloysius, Yoder
  • Saint Anthony de Padua, South Bend
  • Saint Bavo, Mishawaka
  • Saint Bernard, Wabash
  • Saint Charles Borromeo, Fort Wayne
  • Saint John the Baptist, Fort Wayne
  • Saint John the Baptist, New Haven
  • Saint John the Baptist, South Bend
  • Saint John the Evangelist, Goshen
  • Saint Joseph, Garrett
  • Saint Joseph, Mishawaka
  • Saint Joseph, South Bend
  • Saint Joseph (St. Mary of the Assumption), Decatur
  • Saint Joseph (St. Rose of Lima), Monroeville
  • Saint Joseph (Hessen Cassel), Fort Wayne
  • Saint Joseph-St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (St. Joseph, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton), Fort Wayne
  • Saint Jude, Fort Wayne
  • Saint Jude, South Bend
  • Saint Louis (Besançon), New Haven
  • Saint Mary of the Assumption, Avilla
  • Saint Mary of the Assumption, South Bend
  • Saint Matthew Cathedral School, South Bend
  • Saint Michael, Plymouth
  • Saint Monica, Mishawaka
  • Saint Pius X, Granger
  • Saint Therese, Fort Wayne
  • Saint Thomas the Apostle, Elkhart
  • Saint Vincent de Paul, Elkhart
  • Saint Vincent de Paul, Fort Wayne

Arms
Coat of arms of Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend
Notes
Arms was designed and adopted when the diocese was erected
Adopted
1960
Escutcheon
The arms of the diocese are composed of a crescent moon at the top, with a fortified wall below it. On the wall three Bottony crosses are found. Below the wall is a river bend flowing diagonally with a fleur-de-lis on it. Between the riven and the wall a six-winged seraph is present.
Symbolism
The crescent moon represents the Virgin Mary, mother of Christ, "clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet." As the Immaculate Conception, she is patroness of the Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend, and its cathedral in Fort Wayne.

The three crosses represent the Blessed Trinity. The Father sent the Son into the world; the Son sent the Spirit. It was this mission of Son and Spirit through missionaries that brought this diocese into being.

The crosses replace swords on the family crest of General Anthony Wayne, the founder of the fort that grew into the See City of Fort Wayne. The fortified wall represents Fort Wayne.

The six-winged seraph symbolizes the inspired word of God. St. Matthew is one of the inspired evangelists who recorded this Word. Thus the angel identifies the patron of the cathedral in South Bend. The river bend is expressed in heraldry by a wavy line. This represents the See City of South Bend.

The fleur-de-lis is the lily, symbol of purity and of the chaste foster father of Christ, St. Joseph. It indicates the locale of the See City — the St. Joseph River and valley, and St. Joseph County. As the lily of France, it recalls the colonization of this region by French Catholics.

Catholic radio within the diocese
  • WRDF "Redeemer Radio" 106.3 FM in Fort Wayne
  • WRDI "Redeemer Radio" 95.7 FM in South Bend

Reports of sex abuse

In 2003, a partial list which had been released under Bishop John D'Arcy included the names of 16 priests who were credibly accused of sexually abusing 33 children.[1] However, the list did not contain all of their names.[1] On August 17, 2018, Bishop Rhoades announced that he would release the full list of clergy in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend who were credibly accused of sexual abuse "in a matter of weeks."[1] Rhoades noted that he previously listed the names of three priests who he removed from the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend during his tenure as Bishop due to allegations of sex abuse.[2][3] On September 18, 2018, Rhoades fulfilled this promise and released the list which revealed the names of 18 priests and deacons who previously served the Diocese and were credibly accused of sexually abusing minors.[4][5]

Ecclesiastical Province of Indianapolis
See: List of the Catholic bishops of the United States#Province of Indianapolis

Footnotes
  1. https://www.southbendtribune.com/news/local/fort-wayne-south-bend-bishop-will-release-names-of-priests/article_fefdb281-5ca8-5624-9f6e-7d938fdaa157.html
  2. https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2018/08/18/indiana-bishop-announces-hell-release-list-of-accused-abusers-in-diocese/
  3. http://www.news-sentinel.com/news/local-news/2018/08/17/bishop-kevin-rhoades-to-release-names-of-abusive-priests-to-begin-the-process-of-healing/
  4. https://wsbt.com/news/local/diocese-to-release-list-of-priests-credibly-accused-of-sex-assault
  5. https://www.indystar.com/story/news/2018/09/18/catholic-church-sex-abuse-fort-wayne-south-bend-indiana-diocese/1340562002/

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