Archdiocese of Louisville

Archdiocese of Louisville
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Basic information
{{{Catholic Diocese of}}} Archidioecesis Ludovicopolitana
Cathedral of the Assumption
Location	Louisville, Kentucky, United States
Territory	Central Kentucky
Population	200,000
Rite	Roman Rite
Patron	Saint Joseph Joseph the Betrothed Joseph the Worke
Ecclesiastical province	Archdiocese of Louisville
Established	April 8, 1808
Cathedral	Cathedral of the Assumption
Bishop	Joseph Edward Kurtz Archbishop of Louisville
Website	Archdiocese of Louisville
Current leadership
Pope	Benedict XVI
Metropolitan	Joseph Edward Kurtz Archbishop of Louisville
Diocesan Bishop	Joseph Edward Kurtz Archbishop of Louisville

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville consists of twenty-four counties in Central Kentucky, USA, covering 8,124 square miles. It is the seat of the Metropolitan Province of Louisville, which comprises the states of Kentucky and Tennessee. The cathedral church of the archdiocese is the Cathedral of the Assumption.

1 Statistics
2 History
3 Archbishop Kelly
4 Education
- 4.1 High schools
- 4.2 Elementary schools
5 Metropolitan Province of Louisville
6 Notable figures in the history of the Archdiocese
7 Notes
8 External links

Statistics

The archdiocese contains 200,000 Catholics in 66,000 households, served by one hundred twenty-two parishes and missions. One half of all Catholics in the Commonwealth reside within the bounds of the Archdiocese of Louisville, and seventy-nine percent of all Catholics in the archdiocese (forty percent of all Catholics in the Commonwealth) reside in the Louisville Metro area. There are fifty-nine Catholic elementary and high schools serving more than 23,400 students. The archdiocese is home to one hundred sixty-six diocesan priests, one hundred twelve permanent deacons, fifty-two religious order priests, seventy-seven religious brothers, and nine hundred forty-four religious sisters. The archdiocese serves more than 220,000 persons in Catholic hospitals, health care centers, homes for the aged and specialized homes. Services, Mother-Infant Care Program, Senior Social Services, and Rural Ministries Services.

St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral

History

The diocese began in 1808 when the Diocese of Bardstown was established along with the dioceses of Boston, New York, and Philadelphia out of the territory of the Baltimore Diocese, the first Catholic diocese in the US. Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the US in April 2008 celebrated the 200th anniversary of the creation of these dioceses and the elevation of Baltimore to an archdiocese. When founded, the Bardstown Diocese included most of Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Michigan.

While Louisville is the oldest inland diocese in the United States, it is not the oldest west of the Appalachians. That distinction belongs to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans founded under Spanish rule in 1793.

Benedict Joseph Flaget was the first and only Bishop of Bardstown. The historic Basilica of Saint Joseph Proto-Cathedral, the former cathedral of the Diocese of Bardstown, is now a parish church.

In 1841, the diocese was moved from Bardstown to Louisville, becoming the Diocese of Louisville. The Diocese of Louisville was elevated in 1937 to become the Archdiocese of Louisville, and the metropolitan province for all the dioceses in Kentucky and Tennessee. There are currently three deaneries: Elizabethtown, Lebanon, and Bardstown.

Archbishop Kelly

The Most Reverend Thomas C. Kelly, O.P. was the ninth ordinary and third Archbishop and first member of the Dominican Order to head the Archdiocese of Louisville. He succeeded Archbishops Thomas J. McDonough (1967-1981) and John A. Floersh (1937-1967).

Archbishop Kelly was appointed by Pope John Paul II in December 1981, and he took possession of the archdiocese in February 1982. Prior to becoming Archbishop of Louisville, Archbishop Kelly served as chief administrative officer and general secretary of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and the United States Catholic Conference (USCC) (now the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops). Pope Paul VI named him auxiliary to the Archbishop of Washington, and titular bishop of Tusuro, Africa in 1977. He was ordained at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

Archbishop Kelly was born in Rochester, New York, in 1931. He entered the Dominican order in 1951, was ordained a priest in 1958, received a Licentiate in Theology degree from the Dominican House of Studies in 1959, and a doctorate in canon law from the Rome campus of the University of St. Thomas in 1962. Archbishop Kelly celebrated 20 years as Archbishop of Louisville, 25 years as a bishop and 50 years as a Dominican in 2002.

The Most Reverend Charles G. Maloney, DD was ordained auxiliary bishop of Louisville on February 2, 1955. In 1995, he was named titular bishop of Bardstown, Kentucky. Bishop Maloney retired from active ministry, but remained the Auxiliary Bishop of Louisville and Bishop of Bardstown, saying the traditional Latin Mass at Saint Martin of Tours in Louisville. He died on April 30, 2006 at the age of 93. [1]

On July 14, 2006 Archbishop Kelly submitted his resignation to Pope Benedict XVI as required by Canon Law. In late May 2007 he announced his plans to begin an extended sabbatical at his former residence at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, and in June announced his replacement as Archbishop by Joseph Edward Kurtz of Knoxville, TN.[2]

Education

High schools

Nine Catholic secondary schools serve more than 6,300 students. Eight of the schools are located in Jefferson County and one in Nelson County.¹

Assumption High School, Louisville
Bethlehem High School, Bardstown
St. Francis DeSales High School, Louisville
Holy Cross High School, Louisville
Mercy Academy, Louisville
Presentation Academy, Louisville
Sacred Heart Academy, Louisville
St. Xavier High School, Louisville
Trinity High School, Louisville

Elementary schools

Forty Catholic parish, regional and special elementary schools serve more than 15,500 students in seven counties of the Archdiocese of Louisville.²

Saint Mary Academy, began in 2007 as a merger of Mother of Good Counsel Elementary School and Immaculate Conception School³

Metropolitan Province of Louisville

The Cathedra of the Archbishop of Louisville

The Metropolitan Province of Louisville covers the states of Kentucky and Tennessee, and comprises the following dioceses:

Notable figures in the history of the Archdiocese

Thomas Merton (January 31, 1915 – December 10, 1968) — American Trappist monk and author, famed for his work in Buddhist-Christian relations. Entered the Abbey of Gethsemani in the Archdiocese of Louisville in 1941.
Bishop Benedict Joseph Flaget (1763-1850) was the first and only Bishop of Bardstown and the first Bishop of Louisville. Invariably called "the saintly Flaget," Bishop Flaget served as bishop from 1810 until his death in 1850.
Father Stephen T. Badin (1768-1853) — The "circuit rider priest." Served the area that would become the Diocese of Bardstown (and later the Archdiocese of Louisville.) The first priest to be ordained in the United States, Father Badin was known as overly strict but zealous.
Father John L. Spalding (1840-1916) helped found Catholic University in Washington, D.C., and was called the "Catholic Emerson" because of his many books of essays. Father Spalding later became the Bishop of Peoria, Illinois.
Father James C. Maloney(1911-1998) — founded Boys’ Haven in Louisville in 1948. His brother is Bishop Charles Maloney.
Monsignor Alfred F. Horrigan (1914-2005 ) was the founding president of Bellarmine College, now Bellarmine University. He also headed the city’s Human Relations commission and was a friend of Thomas Merton.