Roman Catholic Diocese of Madison

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Arms of the Bishop of Madison

The Diocese of Madison, Wisconsin is the Roman Catholic Diocese for the southwest corner of Wisconsin. Madison, Wisconsin is the episcopal see. It is comprised of Columbia, Dane, Grant, Green, Green Lake, Iowa, Jefferson, LaFayette, Marquette, Rock and Sauk counties. The area of the diocese is approximately 8,070 square miles (20,900 km²). There are about 270,000 Catholics in the Diocese.

There are currently 135 parishes in the Diocese. The current Bishop of this diocese is Bishop Robert C. Morlino. Saint Raphael's Cathedral in Madison is the Cathedral parish for the Diocese. The Latin title of the Diocese is Dioecesis Madisonensis. The Metropolitan for the Diocese is the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. Camp Gray, a summer camp and retreat center, is one of the ministries of the Diocese of Madison.

1 History
- 1.1 Cathedral Fire
2 Bishops
3 Parishes in the Diocese
4 External links

[edit] History

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.

Venerable Father Samuel Charles Mazzuchelli was actively involved in the southwestern part of Wisconsin quite extensively during the mid 19th century. He established 25 parishes in Wisconsin, 11 of which are still in the Madison Diocese. Fr. Mazzuchelli is buried in Benton, Wisconsin - which is part of the diocese's territory. The case for Fr. Mazzuchelli's elevation to the Sainthood is still pending. Pope John Paul II declared him venerable in 1993.

[edit] Cathedral Fire

Main Article: Saint Raphael's Cathedral, Madison, Wisconsin.
On March 14, 2005 St. Raphael's Cathedral was heavily damaged in a fire. The fire, which caused extensive damage to the church not only affected those families who attend the church, but as it is the mother church for the Diocese the loss of the Cathedral has affected the entire diocese. The damage to the building was severe. 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.[1]

In the meantime, no firm decisions have been made about the future of the Cathedral parish. Some have called for rebuilding the Cathedral at the current site. They often cite the historical significance of the parish as a reason for rebuilding the structure. Others have called for a new Cathedral to be built on the west side. People in favor of that often cite the fact that when St. Raphael's was built it was not intended to be a Cathedral. In the past Bishops had considering building a new Cathedral elsewhere in Madison, as there would be no room downtown to build a larger Cathedral church. Bishop Morlino is consulting with the people of the Diocese regarding the future of the Cathedral parish. Morlino is considering where he should establish a temporary Cathedral, also known as a Pro-Cathedral while seeking a permanent solution