The Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the southern United States and comprises the entire state of South Carolina, with Charleston as its see city. Currently, the diocese consists of 92 parishes and 24 missions throughout the state. It is led by the Most Rev. Robert Guglielmone, the Thirteenth Bishop of Charleston, who serves as pastor of the mother church, Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in the City of Charleston. Its first bishop was John England. Charleston is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Atlanta.
The diocese was created from territories of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. The Diocese of Charleston was canonically erected on July 11, 1820 by Pope Pius VII making it the seventh oldest Roman Catholic diocese in the United States. At that time, the diocese comprised the states of Georgia, North Carolina, & South Carolina.
Services are primarily given in English throughout the diocese, though the rapid increase in the Hispanic population has caused several congregations to include Spanish language services, particularly in the Lowcountry region.
Cathedral
Consecrated on April 6, 1854 the Cathedral of Saint John and Saint Finbar was the first proper cathedral of the diocese. On December 11, 1861, it was destroyed in a fire that consumed most of the city. The Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist was built to replace the original and sits on the foundation of the ruins. Before the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh was formed, the Diocese of Charleston had a pro-cathedral in Wilmington, North Carolina, that is now St. Mary Catholic Church.
List of Bishops
The complete list of Bishops is as follows:
- Right Rev. John England 1820 -1842
- Right Rev. Ignatius A. Reynolds 1843 -1855
- Right Rev. Patrick N. Lynch 1857 -1882
- Right Rev. Henry P. Northrop 1883 -1916
- Most Rev. William Thomas Russell 1916 -1927
- Most Rev. Emmet M. Walsh 1927 -1949
- Most Rev. John J. Russell 1950 -1958
- Most Rev. Paul John Hallinan 1958 -1962
- Most Rev. Francis Frederick Reh 1962 -1964
- Most Rev. Ernest Leo Unterkoefler 1964 -1990
- Most Rev. David B. Thompson 1990 -1999
- Most Rev. Robert J. Baker 1999 -2007
- Most Rev. Robert E. Guglielmone 2009 â€" present
Departments
Newspaper
The Catholic Miscellany, successor to the U.S. Catholic Miscellany, the first Catholic newspaper in the United States, is the official newspaper of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston.
Office of Vocations
- The Drexel House - Catholic residence for men's discernment in downtown Charleston, SC
- Vicar of Vocations:
- Msgr. Richard Harris - Vicar of Vocations, 2004 - 2010
- Father Jeffrey Kirby - Vicar of Vocations, 2010 - 2015
- Father Mark Good - Vicar of Vocations, 2015 - Present
Schools
- Secretary of Education:
- Sr. Pam Smith, SSCM
High schools
Diocesan High schools
- Bishop England High School â€" Charleston
- Cardinal Newman High School â€" Forest Acres
- St. John Paul II Catholic School â€" Okatie (Beaufort and Jasper counties)
Private High schools
- St. Joseph's Catholic School â€" Greenville
- St. Francis Xavier High School â€" Sumter
Parochial Elementary schools
- Saint John Catholic School â€" North Charleston
- Blessed Sacrament School â€" Charleston
- Charleston Catholic School â€" Charleston
- Christ Our King-Stella Maris â€" Mount Pleasant
- Nativity School â€" Charleston
- St. John Neumann Catholic School â€" Columbia
- St. Joseph Catholic School â€" Columbia
- St. Joseph Catholic School â€" Anderson
- St. Martin de Porres Catholic School â€" Columbia
- St. Mary Help of Christians Catholic School â€" Aiken
- St. Peter Catholic School â€" Columbia
- Summerville Catholic School â€" Summerville
- Prince of Peace Catholic School â€" Taylors
- St. Paul the Apostle Catholic School â€" Spartanburg
- St. Francis by the Sea Catholic School â€" Hilton Head
- St. Anthony Catholic School - Florence
- St. Anne Catholic School - Sumter
- St. Peter Catholic School â€" Beaufort
- St. Gregory the Great Catholic School â€" Bluffton
- St. Mary's Catholic School â€" Greenville
- Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic School â€" Greenville
- St. Anthony's Catholic School â€" Greenville
See also
- Historical list of the Catholic bishops of the United States
- List of Roman Catholic archdioceses (by country and continent)
- List of Roman Catholic dioceses (alphabetical) (including archdioceses)
- List of Roman Catholic dioceses (structured view) (including archdioceses)
- List of Roman Catholic Churches in the Diocese of Charleston
- The Catholic Miscellany
References
External links
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston Official Site
- Saint John Catholic Church, North Charleston
- Prince of Peace Catholic School, Taylors