Roman Catholic Diocese of Madison


The Diocese of Madison, Wisconsin, is the Roman Catholic diocese for the southwest corner of Wisconsin. It comprises Columbia, Dane, Grant, Green, Green Lake, Iowa, Jefferson, LaFayette, Marquette, Rock, and Sauk counties. The area of the diocese is approximately. The Metropolitan for the diocese is the Archbishop of Milwaukee. There are about 270,000 Catholics in the Diocese. The bishop of the diocese was Robert C. Morlino until his death on November 24, 2018. Following Morlino's death the Diocese's College of Consultors elected Monsignor James Bartylla as diocesan administrator until a new Bishop is named. On April 25, 2019 Donald J. Hying of the Diocese of Gary, Indiana announced that Pope Francis had named him the next Bishop of Madison.
There are 104 parishes in the diocese, with approximately 98 priests in active ministry. Under Morlino's leadership, the number of seminarians in the diocese grew from six men in 2003, when Morlino took over, to 30 in 2015. A diocesan-wide capital campaign was initiated to raise $30 million to help educate the future priests.
Saint Raphael's Cathedral in Madison, destroyed by fire in 2005, had been the cathedral for the diocese. The diocese currently has no cathedral. Members of the Cathedral Parish worship at St. Patrick's and Holy Redeemer in Downtown Madison.
Camp Gray, a summer camp and retreat center, is one of the ministries of the Diocese of Madison.

History

Early years

The Madison Diocese was established on January 9, 1946, by Pope Pius XII, in a decree dated December 22, 1945. The diocese was created out of territory from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and the Diocese of La Crosse and the Diocese of Green Bay.
Venerable Father Samuel Charles Mazzuchelli was actively involved in the southwestern part of Wisconsin during the mid 19th century. He established 25 parishes in Wisconsin, 11 of which are in the Madison Diocese. Fr. Mazzuchelli is buried in Benton, Wisconsin, which is in the diocese. Pope John Paul II declared him venerable in 1993. The case for Fr. Mazzuchelli's elevation to the Sainthood is still pending.
In 2009 the diocese's direct appeal to raise operating funds brought in only 53% of its goal and the diocese had to lay off one-third of its 65 employees.

Cathedral fire

On March 14, 2005. St. Raphael's Cathedral was heavily damaged in a fire that caused extensive damage to the church. In the days following the fire, it was found that William J. "Billy" Connell had set the fire. Connell was charged with burglary, arson, and bail jumping, but was deemed incompetent to stand trial due to paranoid schizophrenia. He was committed to an institution on August 29, 2005, pending a change in his mental health status, and in June 2007, was sentenced to 15 years in prison followed by 15 years of close supervision.
Following the fire, the options regarding the future of the Cathedral included:
In June 2007, a decision was reached to erect a new building on the site of the old Cathedral, replacing the structure that was damaged in the fire. The new building will have a different floor plan than the previous building and be capable of seating approximately 1,000 people. It will reuse the steeple and other items that can be salvaged from the original building.

Reports of Sex Abuse

In June 2019, the Diocese of Madison agreed to present a list of credibly accused clergy who served in the Diocese and hired detectives to assist in this investigation. This agreement came after a retired priest was charged in May 2018 with six counts of sexual assault The retired priest, William Nolan, was later acquitted in September 2019 of five of these counts, with the presiding judge also dropping the remaining count. The Diocese of Madison also investigated Nolan and later cleared him from the title of "credibly accused" priest in March 2020 as well.

Bishops

Bishops of Madison

  1. William Patrick O'Connor
  2. Cletus F. O'Donnell
  3. William H. Bullock
  4. Robert C. Morlino
  5. Donald J. Hying

    Auxiliary Bishops

Cemeteries

Resurrection Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery located on the near west side in Madison, Wisconsin, the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Madison. The cemetery is one of four cemeteries officially managed by the diocese. It was founded in 1949 and is about 40 acres in size.
The official address of Resurrection Cemetery is 2705 Regent Street. The cemetery is located on a hill and is bordered by the following streets: Regent Street to the north, Franklin Avenue to the west, Hillcrest Street to the south, and Speedway Road to the southeast. Nearby landmarks include West High School about one block away, and the Veterans Administration Hospital, University of Wisconsin Hospital & Clinics, and American Family Children's Hospital about 8 blocks away.
Resurrection Cemetery is located across Speedway Road from Forest Hill Cemetery, the Protestant or non-Catholic cemetery.
Famous people whose resting place is Resurrection Cemetery include Madison native Chris Farley, comedic film star and Saturday Night Live cast member, whose crypt is located in the chapel on the cemetery grounds. The first two bishops of the diocese, William O'Connor and Cletus O'Donnell, are buried in the cemetery.

Schools

High schools:
Grade schools: