Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend


The Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend 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.

History

The diocese was erected as the Diocese of Fort Wayne 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
  2. Joseph Gregory Dwenger
  3. Joseph Rademacher
  4. Herman Joseph Alerding
  5. John F. Noll – elevated to Archbishop in 1953

    Bishops of Fort Wayne-South Bend

  6. Leo Aloysius Pursley
  7. William Edward McManus
  8. John Michael D'Arcy
  9. Kevin Carl Rhoades

    Auxiliary Bishops

Colleges and universities

Catholic radio within the diocese

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. However, the list did not contain all of their names. 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." 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. 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.

Ecclesiastical Province of Indianapolis

Footnotes