Roman Catholic Diocese of Kalamazoo

The Diocese of Kalamazoo is a Roman Catholic diocese in the southwestern portion of the State of Michigan. The Diocese of Kalamazoo encompasses Allegan, Van Buren, Berrien, Cass, Saint Joseph, Kalamazoo, Branch, Calhoun, and Barry Counties. The Diocese consists of 46 parishes, 13 missions, 75 priests, and 36 deacons. The Diocese operates 3 high schools, 2 middle schools and 17 grade schools, serving more than 3,000 students throughout the same. There are also two parish run preschools. It currently has 5 seminarians in formation to be priests.

Diocese of Kalamazoo

Dioecesis Kalamazuensis
Cathedral of Saint Augustine
Location
CountryUnited States
TerritoryCounties of Allegan, Barry, Van Buren, Kalamazoo, Calhoun, Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph, and Branch
Ecclesiastical provinceDetroit
Statistics
Area5,337 sq mi (13,820 km2)
Population
- Total
- Catholics (including non-members)

952,812
101,888 (11%)
Parishes46 (+13 missions)
Schools22

• 3 High Schools

• 2 Middle Schools

• 17 Elementary Schools

• (2 Stand-alone Preschools)
Information
DenominationCatholic
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
EstablishedDecember 19, 1970 (50 years ago)[1]
CathedralCathedral of Saint Augustine
Patron saintSt. Augustine of Hippo
Secular priests75
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
BishopPaul Joseph Bradley
Vicar GeneralMsgr. Michael Osborn
Map
Website
diokzoo.org

History

The territory comprising the Diocese was originally part of the Archdiocese of Detroit. It was later became part of the Diocese of Grand Rapids from which it was created. On December 19, 1970, the Diocese of Kalamazoo was erected by Pope Paul VI and the parish of St. Augustine designated as the cathedral church of the new diocese. The Diocese was officially inaugurated on July 21, 1971, when Paul Vincent Donovan was consecrated and installed as the first bishop. From the erection of the diocese until its closure in 1992 the Diocese of Kalamazoo hosted Nazareth College.

Bishops of Kalamazoo

Coat of arms

These arms are displayed on a red field to bespeak the Native Americans that inhabited and continue to live in the region that is now the Diocese of Kalamazoo. On this field is placed a silver (white) wavy bend (a bar that runs from upper left to lower right) that is the heraldic representation of water. This bend is strewn with a seme (a scattering of no specific number) of blue annulets to represent bubbles. This symbol represents the English equivalent of the Native American name Kalamazoo, which means "boiling pot," and is used to describe the Kalamazoo River because of the bubbles in the water.

Below the wavy bend is a silver peace pipe, decorated with gold feathers, which was called a "calumet" by the French explorers that came to the region. This symbol of lasting and enduring peace is an object of profound veneration in the Native American culture because it is the supreme proof of hospitality, respecting the peace between parties that could not be broken without incurring the wrath of the gods. The totality of Peace, that is Christ, signified by this symbol, comes to those who believe in him as the Redeemer of the World.

Above the bend is an open book (silver, edged in gold) that displays in red the words Tolle Lege. This charge honors St. Augustine of Hippo, titular of the Cathedral Church in Kalamazoo. The story is related that, as a repentant, St. Augustine meditating on the Sacred Scriptures under a tree heard a little child say "Take and Read" (Tolle Lege). Then opening the text to St. Paul's letter to the Romans, Augustine read "let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires." (Rom. 13:13). Considering that he had heard the Voice of God, Augustine took up the religious profession, to the great joy of his mother, St. Monica, eventually becoming the Bishop of Hippo in northern Africa.[2]

Churches

Schools

namelocation2014-15 enrollmentweb page
High Schools
Hackett Catholic Central High School Kalamazoo 274 School Webpage
Lake Michigan Catholic High School St. Joseph 139 School Webpage
St. Philip Catholic Central High School Battle Creek 145 School Webpage

See also

References

  1. "Diocese of Kalamazoo". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  2. "Coat of Arms". Diocese of Kalamazoo. Retrieved February 24, 2016.

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