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Archdiocese of Denver Archidiœcesis Denveriensis | |
|---|---|
 Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception | |
 Coat of arms | |
| Location | |
| Country |  United States |
| Territory | Northern Colorado |
| Ecclesiastical province | Denver |
| Population |
|
| Information | |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Established | August 16, 1887; 138 years ago (1887-08-16) |
| Cathedral | Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception |
| Patron saint | Immaculate Conception St. Francis of Assisi |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Leo XIV |
| Archbishop | Samuel Joseph Aquila |
| Auxiliary Bishops | Jorge Rodríguez-Novelo |
| Vicar General | Randy Dollins |
| Bishops emeritus | James Stafford |
| Map | |
 | |
| Website | |
| archden.org | |
TheArchdiocese of Denver (Latin:Archidiœcesis Denveriensis) is aLatin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction, or diocese, of theCatholic Church in northernColorado in the United States.
It is part of the XIII Conference Region and includes 113 parishes, 307 priests, and an estimated 550,000 lay Catholics. The mother church of the archdiocese is theCathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Denver. Since 2012, the archbishop of Denver has beenSamuel Aquila.
The Archdiocese of Denver covers an area of 40,154 square miles (104,000 km2). It includes the city/county ofDenver and the following counties:
Adams,Arapahoe,Boulder,Broomfield,Clear Creek,Eagle,Garfield,Gilpin,Grand,Jackson,Jefferson,Larimer,Logan,Moffat,Morgan,Phillips,Pitkin,Rio Blanco,Routt,Sedgwick,Summit,Washington,Weld, andYuma.[1]
It is themetropolitan archdiocese of itsecclesiastical province. The province includes threesuffragan dioceses:
The first Catholic church in Denver was founded in 1860 byJoseph Machebeuf. It would later become St. Mary's Cathedral.[2]
In 1868,Pope Pius IX erected the Vicariate Apostolic of Colorado and Utah, taking its territory from theDiocese of Santa Fe and theDiocese of Grass Valley. The pope named Machebeuf as the vicar apostolic.[3][self-published source] In 1870, Pius IX removed the Utah Territory from the vicariate, creating the Vicariate Apostolic of Colorado. The pope named Machebeuf as vicar apostolic.
While vicar apostolic, Machebeuf founded an academy and a school for boys in Denver, a convent of theSisters of Loretto,St. Joseph's Hospital in Denver, the House of the Good Shepherd and theCollege of the Sacred Heart in Denver. The Catholic population of Colorado increased under his tenure from a few thousand to approximately 50,000. Sacred Heart of Jesus, the first Catholic church inBoulder, was dedicated in 1877.[4] In 1878, Frank Michaud funded the purchase of a wooden building inFort Collins to become St. Joseph's, the first Catholic church in that city.[5]
On August 16, 1887,Pope Leo XIII suppressed the Apostolic Vicariate of Colorado, replacing it with the Diocese of Denver, which covered all of Colorado. The pope named Machebeuf as the first bishop of Denver.[3][self-published source] That same year, the pope namedNicholas Matz ascoadjutor bishop to assist Machebeuf.[6][self-published source] When Machebeuf died in 1889, Matz automatically succeeded him as bishop.
During his 28-year-long tenure, Matz made Catholic education his top priority, establishing dozens of parochial schools. He demanded that Catholic parents send their children to these schools under pain ofmortal sin.[7] In 1905, he founded St. Thomas Seminary in Denver, staffed by theVincentians.[7] Hebroke ground for the newCathedral of the Immaculate Conception in 1902, later dedicating it in 1912.[8] He also established thirty-four new parishes, a cemetery, and a diocesan newspaper.[7] However, Matz met opposition from many priests and his ambitious building projects drove the diocese into a large amount of debt.[7] He was a strong opponent oflabor unions, especially theWestern Federation of Miners.[7][9]
After Matz died in 1917, BishopJohn Henry Tihen of the Diocese of Lincoln was appointed bishop of Denver byPope Benedict XV.[10][self-published source] DuringWorld War I, Tihen supportedLiberty bonds and theNational Catholic War Council, and organized students at Catholic schools as the U.S. Boys Working Reserve and the Children's Red Cross Campaign.[11] Tihen was forced to defend the church in Colorado from theKu Klux Klan, which he condemned as "an anti-Catholic and un-American society."[11] He also supportedwomen's suffrage and the labor movement, and foundedThe Denver Catholic Register in 1905.[11] During his tenure, Tihen organized the diocesanCatholic Charities; increased the number ofparochial schools from 31 to 49, and the number of priests from 174 to 229; dedicated 41 churches; and establishedLoretto Heights College in Denver, three hospitals, an orphanage, and a home for the elderly.[11] Tihan retired in 1931.
In 1931, MonsignorUrban John Vehr from theArchdiocese of Cincinnati was appointed the fourth bishop of Denver byPope Pius XI.[12] Vehr soon visited everyparish in the diocese, wearing out the newStudebaker automobile given to him by his clergy.[13] The number of parishes in the diocese fell from 111 in 1930 to 87 in 1940 due to theGreat Depression.[13] Vehr cooperated with theNew Deal programs of PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt, asking priests to celebrate mass at the two dozenCivilian Conservation Corps camps established in Colorado.[13] He reorganized diocesan affairs and placed ownership of all parish properties in the name of the bishop.[13]
On November 15, 1941,Pope Pius XII elevated the Diocese of Denver to the Archdiocese of Denver. At the same time, he took territory from the Diocese of Denver to erect the newDiocese of Pueblo. The pope named Vehr as the first archbishop of Denver. Under the slogan of "Every Catholic Child in a Catholic School," Vehr began a fundraising campaign to raise $3.5 million to acquire new school sites and make additions to existing ones.[14] In 1965, Vehr launched the Archdiocesan Development Program to accommodate Colorado's Catholic population, which had tripled in size since his arrival in 1931.[14] He also erected 43 new parishes and expanded St. Thomas Seminary, which reached its peak enrollment of 274 seminarians during Vehr's tenure.[14]
When Vehr retired in 1967, Pope Paul VI appointed BishopJames Casey of Lincoln as the second archbishop of Denver.[15] Soon after arriving in Denver, he earmarked $1 million in archdiocesan funds on efforts to help the poor.[16] Among these efforts was the Samaritan House Homeless Shelter. He created the archdiocesan Office ofHispanic Concerns in 1968, later raising it to thevicariate level in 1981.[17]
In 1972, Casey moved out of the episcopal mansion inCheesman Park and into apenthouse at the Park Lane Apartments inWashington Park.[17] He gave greater power tolaity andnuns, and was forced to close or consolidate several Catholic schools. He joined the Colorado Council of Churches, and allowed Catholics to participate in the crusades of the evangelistBilly Graham.[17] During his 19-year-long tenure, Casey dedicated 24 parishes.[17] He also increased the number of priests from 327 to 356, and the number of Catholics in the archdiocese rose from 261,844 to 330,270.[17] In 1983,Pope John Paul II erected theDiocese of Colorado Springs, taking territory from the archdiocese. Casey died in 1986.
The next archbishop of Denver was BishopJames Stafford from the Diocese of Memphis, named by John Paul II in 1986.[18] In 1990 theVincentian Fathers announced the closing of St. Thomas Seminary in Denver due to falling enrollment. Stafford decided to buy the seminary property and plan a brand new institution,Saint John Vianney Theological Seminary. The new facility opened in 1999.[19] In 1993, Stafford hosted theWorld Youth Day, the first such event in North America. In 1996, he launched the first capital campaign in forty years and a "Strategic Plan" for Catholic schools.[20] That same year, Stafford was appointed to a position in theRoman Curia at the Vatican.
To replace Stafford, John Paul II selected BishopCharles J. Chaput from theDiocese of Rapid City as the next archbishop of Denver.[21] Chaput became archbishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in 2011. In 2012,Pope Benedict XVI named BishopSamuel Aquila of theDiocese of Fargo as the fifth and current archbishop of Denver.[22]
In a 2005Denver Post article, five men described being fondled during the 1960s when they were boys by Harold White. In 1983, one of the men wrote to Stafford, accusing White of abusing him. The archdiocese responded that White was to "...receive an evaluation from competent personnel to determine whether there are any recurring difficulties.” The archdiocese allowed White to work in parish ministry until 1993. He waslaicized by the Vatican in 2004.[23]
Tim Evans, pastor at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Fort Collins, was convicted of sexual assault in 2007. He was sentenced to 14 years to life in prison for assaulting a teenage boy.[24] In January 2023, Scott Venti sued the archdiocese, claiming that he had been sexually abuse multiple times during the 1990s by Evans in Fort Collins.[25]
In October 2019, Colorado Attorney GeneralPhil Weiser released the preliminary results of an eight-month investigation on sexual abuse of children by Catholic clergy in Colorado. The report stated that at least 127 children had been molested by 22 clergy serving in the archdiocese.[26] In late 2019, a man reported to authorities that he had been sexually molested multiple times by James Moreno between 1978 and 1980 at various church locations within the archdiocese.[27]
In October 2020, a voluntary program established by the Colorado dioceses to compensative sexual abuse victims announced that it was planning to $6.6 million in compensation to 81 victims of clergy sex abuse that year.[28]
In December 2020, Weiser's final report was released. It named an additional nine clergy with credible accusations of sexual abuse and 46 alleged victims in both in the archdiocese and the Diocese of Pueblo.[29][30] A total 52 priests who served in the Colorado diocese were named in the final report as having committed acts of sex abuse.[31] Among other priests, the report had comments about these individuals:
In August 2022, a woman sued the archdiocese, claiming sexual abuse by Marshall Gourley from age seven to 11 at the Our Lady of Guadalupe Church during the early 1980s. The plaintiff stated that the diocese had received similar complaints about Gourley during the same time period, but did nothing about them.[34]
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Joseph Projectus Machebeuf (1868–1889)
Denver's first Catholic newspaper, theDenver Catholic, published its first issue in 1900, under editor F. J. Kramer. It received the endorsement of Bishop Matz. TheCatholic published its last issue in 1904, due to a lack of revenue.[37]
In 1905, Thomas Casey began publishing theCatholic Register of Denver as an edition of theCatholic Register ofKansas City, Missouri.[37][38] It became theDenver Catholic Register beginning with the next issue. In 1910, a group of priests and laymen formed the Catholic Publishing Society, which took over management of theRegister, made it the diocese's official newspaper. The owners directed that all profits go to the support of orphans. However, it proved to be a money-losing enterprise.[37]
In 1913, Reverend Hugh McMenamin, the rector at theCathedral of the Immaculate Conception, bought a controlling stake in the Catholic Publishing Society and named Matthew J. Smith as its editor. Smith quickly turned the business around. In 1921, Bishop Tihen gained a controlling interest in the paper, placing it under diocesan ownership.[37] In 1925, the diocese began publishingThe Register on Tuesdays while theDenver Catholic Register continued to publish on Thursdays, as part of a plan to eventually publish daily.[39]
In 1927, Smith launched a national edition, theNational Catholic Register, with four pages of national and international news. The two editions would soon merge, as theRegister became a national chain of Catholic newspapers.[38][40][39] In 1970,Patrick Frawley's Twin Circle Publishing Co. purchased theNational Catholic Register from the archdiocese. TheDenver Catholic Register reverted to being a local publication.[39] In 2015, its name was shortened toDenver Catholic, and it became a magazine in 2020.[41]
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| Miscellany | ||
Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Denver | |
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