Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah

The Diocese of Savannah is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in the southern United States, comprising 90 of the southern counties of the state of Georgia.[1] The diocese is led by a prelate bishop who serves as pastor of the mother church, Cathedral Basilica of Saint John the Baptist in Savannah.[1] The Diocese of Savannah is a suffragan diocese. part of the ecclesiastical province under the metropolitan Archdiocese of Atlanta.

Diocese of Savannah

Diœcesis Savannensis
Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist
Coat of arms
Location
Country United States
TerritorySouthern Georgia
Ecclesiastical provinceAtlanta
Statistics
Population
- Total
- Catholics (including non-members)		(as of 2020)
2,995,000
77,200 (2.9%)
Information
DenominationCatholic
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
EstablishedJuly 3, 1850
CathedralCathedral Basilica of Saint John the Baptist
Patron saintSt. John the Baptist
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
BishopStephen D. Parkes
Metropolitan ArchbishopGregory John Hartmayer
Bishops emeritusJ. Kevin Boland
Map
Website
diosav.org

Demographics

The Diocese of Savannah comprises 90 counties in southern Georgia.[1] It covers 37,038 square miles (95,930 km2) and contains 56 parishes and 21 missions.[1] As of 2020, the diocese contained 77, 200 Catholics.

History

Pope Pius IX erected the Diocese of Savannah on July 3, 1850. He create the new diocese by removing the state of Georgia from the Diocese of Charleston and removing the state of Florida, minus the Florida Panhandle region, from the Diocese of Mobile. The Diocese of Savannah became a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Baltimore.[1][2] On January 9. 1857, Pius IX erected the Vicariate Apostolic of Florida, removing Florida from the Diocese of Savannah.

Pope Pius XI renamed the diocese as the Diocese of Savannah-Atlanta on January 5, 1937.[2] This action reflected the growth of the Catholic population in Georgia and the rising prominence of the city of Atlanta.[2] He also designated the Church of Christ the King in Atlanta as the co-cathedral in the second see.[2]

With continued growth of Catholics in northern Georgia, Pope Pius XII on July 2, 1956, erected the Diocese of Atlanta. He placed northern Georgia in the new diocese and renamed southern Georgia as the Diocese of Savannah.[2]

On February 10, 1962, Pope John XXIII elevated the Diocese of Atlanta to a metropolitan archdiocese. This action created an ecclesiastical province of Atlanta and designated the Diocese of Savannah as one of its suffragan dioceses.[2]

Sexual abuse
Main article: Sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic diocese of Savannah

In 2004, the Diocese of Savannah reported that it had paid a total of $50,000 to 12 people who accused six diocesan priests of sexually abusing them.[3] One accused priest, Wayland Brown was convicted and died in prison in 2019.[4] Another accused priest, Lorenzo Garcia, was defrocked in 2008 without facing any criminal punishment.[4] Henry Groomer, a third priest accused of sexual abuse, committed suicide in 2017 after being served with a lawsuit.[4]

Bishops

Bishops of Savannah

The diocese was founded in 1850 as the Diocese of Savanah, covering all of Georgia and part of Florida. From 1937 to 1956, it was the Diocese of Savannah-Atlanta. In 1956, it became the Diocese of Savannah again when northern Georgia was split off into the Diocese of Atlanta.

Bishops of Savannah (1850 to 1937)
  1. Francis Xavier Gartland (1850–1854)
  2. John Barry (1857–1859)
  3. Augustin Verot (1861–1870), appointed Bishop of Saint Augustine
  4. Ignatius Persico (1870–1874)
  5. William Hickley Gross, C.Ss.R. (1873–1885), appointed Archbishop of Oregon City
  6. Thomas Albert Andrew Becker (1886–1899)
  7. Benjamin Joseph Keiley (1900–1922)
  8. Michael Joseph Keyes, S.M. (1922–1935)
  9. Gerald Patrick Aloysius O'Hara (1935–1959), Archbishop (personal title) in 1950; appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland and later Apostolic Delegate to Great Britain

Bishop of Savannah-Atlanta (1937 to 1956)
  1. Gerald Patrick Aloysius O'Hara (1935–1959),

Bishop of Savannah (1956 to present)
  1. Gerald Patrick Aloysius O'Hara (1935–1959),
  2. Thomas Joseph McDonough (1960–1967), appointed Archbishop of Louisville
  3. Gerard Louis Frey (1967–1972), appointed Bishop of Lafayette in Louisiana
  4. Raymond W. Lessard (1973–1995)
  5. J. Kevin Boland (1995–2011)
  6. Gregory John Hartmayer (2011–2020), appointed Archbishop of Atlanta
  7. Stephen D. Parkes (2020–present)

Auxiliary bishops

Other bishops who were priests of this diocese

Clergy and religious

As of 2007, the number of priests in the diocese stood at 102. Of these, 90 were serving actively, while 22 priests were in retirement status. There were 75 men who served the diocese as members of the permanent diaconate, as well as 82 religious (mostly nuns).[1]

High schools

There are five Catholic high schools and 16 elementary schools in the diocese, serving over 6,000 students.

See also

References
  1. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah Archived 2007-06-02 at the Wayback Machine, Savannah, Georgia: Catholic Diocese of Savannah, 2013, Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  2. The Archdiocese of Atlanta: A history, Strasbourg, France: Editions du Signe, Archdiocese of Atlanta, 2006.
  3. "Bishop Accountability". www.bishop-accountability.org. Retrieved Apr 5, 2021.
  4. "Bishop Accountability". origin.bishop-accountability.org. Retrieved Apr 5, 2021.

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