Diocese of Columbus

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The Diocese of Columbus comprises that part of theState of Ohio, south of 40§41', lying between the Ohio River on the east and the Scioto River on the west, and also the Counties of Delaware, Franklin, and Morrow, twenty-nine counties of the eighty-eight into which theState of Ohio is divided; it contains 13,685 square miles. This portion of the State belonged originally to theDiocese of Cincinnati, and was recommended toRome for erection as a see by the Fathers of the Second Plenary Council, ofBaltimore, held in 1866. It was not until 3 March, 1868, that the official documents were issued erecting the diocese and naming as its firstbishopSylvester Horton Rosecrans who had beenconsecrated AuxiliaryBishop ofCincinnati and TitularBishop ofPompeiopolis, 25 March, 1862. The portion ofOhio assigned to thisdiocese was in 1868 to a large extent but sparsely populated; no railroad had as yet penetrated some of the counties, and thebishop was forced to make many of the journeys on his visitations by stage, wagon, or steamboat. TheDominican Fathers were the earliest missionaries inOhio, locating at St. Joseph's, Perry County, in the early part of the nineteenth century, and from their number was chosen the firstBishop ofCincinnati, Edward Fenwick. The first place ofCatholic worship inOhio was at St. Joseph's, Perry County. Thischapel was built of logs and was blessed 6 December, 1818, by Rev. Edward Fenwick and his nephew, Rev. N.D. Young, both natives ofMaryland, and receiving theirjurisdiction from Bishop Flaget, who was then the onlybishop between the Alleghenies and the Mississippi. The congregation consisted of tenfamilies. Anhumbleconvent was built nearby, and its inmates were one American, N.D. Young, one Irishman, Thos. Martin, and oneBelgian, Vincent De Rymacher. The secondchapel erected inOhio was also in thisdiocese, blessed in 1822, near what is now Danville. Knox County, then known as Sapp's Settlement, a colony from near Cumberland,Maryland, many of its members direct descendants of the colonists of Lord Baltimore. Thischapel was built of logs and was blessed byDominican Fathers and thehumble congregation ministered to by them. Within a few miles of this secondCatholic settlement inOhio is the college town of Gambier, seat of Kenyon College and the Episcopalian Seminary of the Diocese ofOhio, over which in 1868 presided, before hisconversion, Dr. James Kent Stone, afterwards Father Fidelis of the Congregation ofSt. Paul of the Cross. From its walls have gone forth many illustrious men who in after-life turned their eyes to theChurch, among themBishop Rosecrans and his brother,General Rosecrans, Henry Richards, father of Rev. James Havens Richards, S.A., and William Richards.

In its early days thediocese was largely an agricultural district, the first settlers fromPennsylvania andMaryland being tillers of the soil. Later came the emigrants fromIreland andGermany, who were followed bypriests of their native lands. At the present time mining and manufacturing have so far advanced as to predominate and control. Immigration has also added to the variety of races among theCatholic population, notably Poles,Hungarians, Greeks,Lithuanians, andSlavs may be found among the mining populations of the eastern and southern parts of thediocese; whileBelgians are numerous among the workmen employed in the manufacture of glass, an industry that has risen of late years to prominence inOhio, owing to the discovery of natural gas, which is an important feature in this business. The native-born descendants of the pioneerCatholics have taken a notable place in the walks of business and professional life, especially in the larger centres of population. Thebishop and a large number of theclergy are natives of the State. All this has worked a decided change in the attitude of non-Catholics towards theChurch and theirCatholic fellow citizens.

Sylvester Horton Rosecrans, the firstbishop, died 21 October, 1878. He was succeeded by John Ambrose Watterson, who wasconsecrated 8 August, 1880, and died 17 April, 1890. The nextbishop was Henry Moeller,consecrated 25 August, 1900, promoted to the Archiepiscopal See ofAreopolis and made Coadjutor to theArchbishop ofCincinnati, 27 April, 1903. The fourthbishop, James Joseph Hartley, wasconsecrated 25 February, 1904.

There are 142 priests--105 secular and 37 regular--in thediocese, with 34 brothers and 450 sisters. The total population of thediocese is about 1,000,000; of this number 80,000 areCatholics. Theparishes number 75, with 45parochialschools and 9361 pupils, 4520 boys and 4841 girls. There are twoorphan asylums, with 460orphans; a Convent of the Good Shepherd with 207 inmates; fourhospitals, treating 4000 patients annually; a preparatoryseminary, with 22 students; atheologicalseminary, "The Pontifical College Josephinum of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith", with 161 students; acollege, with 100 students; and three academies, with 430 pupils.

The Diocese of Columbus has given to theChurch twobishops, Fitzgerald ofLittle Rock and Gallagher ofGalveston; while the names of Henni,Archbishop ofMilwaukee, Lamy,Archbishop of Santa Fé, De Goesbriand,Bishop ofBurlington,Vermont, may be found on thebaptismal registers of the early mission churches of thediocese. The State and nation also have received many a notable service, both inwar and peace, from sons of thediocese.General Philip H. Sheridan was in his boyhood a resident of Somerset, Perry Co., the cradle ofCatholicity inOhio.General W.S. Rosecrans, brother of the firstbishop of thediocese, both converts, General Don Carlos Buell, Generals Hugh and Charles Ewing of the Ewingfamily of Lancaster; Frank Hunt, Constitutional lawyer, Representative in Congress, and free trade advocate, J. A. MacGahan,Bulgaria's liberator, whose remains were brought by theUnited States Government from Constantinople to Perry County, are a few of the names on thediocesan roll ofhonour.

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