Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland


The Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland is a Roman Catholic diocese in the U.S. state of Ohio. Pope Pius IX erected the diocese April 23, 1847, in territory taken from the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. The diocese lost territory in 1910 when Pope Pius X erected the Diocese of Toledo, and in 1943 when Pope Pius XII erected the Diocese of Youngstown. It is currently the 17th-largest diocese in the United States by population, encompassing the counties of Ashland, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Summit, and Wayne., the office of bishop is sede vacante, and the diocesan administrator is Donald P. Oleksiak. The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist located in downtown Cleveland is the mother church of the diocese. The bishop-designee is Edward C. Malesic.
As of 2017, the Diocese had a population of approximately 677,219 Catholics and contained 185 parishes, 22 Catholic high schools, three Catholic hospitals, three universities, two shrines, and two seminaries. The diocese has 258 active priests and 1,035 sisters.

Parish closings

On, March 14, 2009, the diocese announced that 52 parishes in the diocese would close or merge due to the shortage of priests, declining numbers of parishioners in some parishes, the migration of Catholic populations to the suburbs and out of the city cores, and financial difficulties in some parishes. A number of parish schools in the diocese also closed or merged due to declining enrollment, and financial difficulties.
Letters to all of the parishes from Bishop Richard Lennon giving his decision on what parishes and schools were closing or merging, and which parishes and schools would remain open, were read to the parishioners by the church pastors at Masses the weekend of March 14–15, 2009. Hardest hit by the closings were downtown Cleveland, downtown Akron, downtown Lorain, and downtown Elyria. Parishioners of thirteen of the parishes then requested appeals from the Congregation for the Clergy in Rome.
On March 8, 2012, the Vatican overturned all thirteen of the church closings because the Vatican says that Bishop Lennon did not follow procedure or canon law in that he did not consult with the priest advisors, and he did not issue a formal mandate for the closing of the churches. In the meantime, according to canon law, the thirteen closed churches were ordered to be reopened, and be available to parishioners. On April 10, 2012, Bishop Lennon announced that he would not appeal the decision of the Vatican to the Apostolic Signatura in Rome, thus paving the way for the thirteen churches to be reopened. This mandate was implemented starting on June 10, 2012, raising the number of parishes in the diocese from 172 parishes to 185 parishes.

Reports of sex abuse

In July 2019, the Diocese of Cleveland added 22 more names to its list of "credibly accused" clergy. In December 2019, Diocese of Cleveland priest Fr. Robert McWilliams was arrested at St. Joseph Parish in Strongsville on four counts of possessing child pornography and held on a $100,000 bond in Cuyahoga County Jail. Cleveland Bishop Nelson Perez, who agreed to cooperate with law enforcement, had called for the arrest of McWilliams and also described him as a "painful situation." In addition to being charged with possessing child pornography, McWilliams was also charged with one count of possessing criminal tools. By January 2020, McWilliams now had a total 21 counts of possessing child pornography Federal child pornography exploitation charges were also filed against McWilliams in July 2020.

Bishops

Bishops of Cleveland

  1. Louis Amadeus Rappe
  2. Richard Gilmour
  3. Ignatius Frederick Horstmann
  4. John Patrick Farrelly
  5. Joseph Schrembs, appointed Archbishop by Pope Pius XII in 1939
  6. Edward Francis Hoban, appointed Archbishop by Pope Pius XII in 1951
  7. Clarence George Issenmann
  8. James Aloysius Hickey, appointed Archbishop of Washington
  9. Anthony Michael Pilla
  10. Richard Gerard Lennon
  11. Nelson Jesus Perez, appointed Archbishop of Philadelphia

    Coadjutor bishops

  12. Edward Francis Hoban
  13. Clarence George Issenmann

    Auxiliary bishops

  14. Joseph Maria Koudelka, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Milwaukee and later Bishop of Superior
  15. James A. McFadden, appointed Bishop of Youngstown
  16. William Michael Cosgrove, appointed Bishop of Belleville
  17. John Raphael Hagan
  18. Floyd Lawrence Begin, appointed Bishop of Oakland
  19. John Joseph Krol, appointed Archbishop of Philadelphia
  20. Clarence Edward Elwell, appointed Bishop of Columbus
  21. John Francis Whealon, appointed Bishop of Erie and later Archbishop of Hartford
  22. Gilbert Ignatius Sheldon, appointed Bishop of Steubenville
  23. Michael Joseph Murphy, appointed Bishop of Erie
  24. James Anthony Griffin, appointed Bishop of Columbus
  25. James Patterson Lyke O.F.M., appointed Archbishop of Atlanta
  26. Anthony Michael Pilla, appointed Bishop of Cleveland
  27. Anthony Edward Pevec
  28. Alexander James Quinn
  29. Martin John Amos, appointed Bishop of Davenport
  30. Roger William Gries, O.S.B.

    Other affiliated bishops

Additionally, the following bishops began their priestly ministry as priests of the Diocese of Cleveland :

High schools

A listing of all Catholic high schools within the Diocese. Note: Some schools are private, i.e., not operated by the Diocese.