Early history

The Indiana area was part of the French colony of New France during the 17th century and the first half of the 18th century. It was explored by French fur traders and missionaries under the Bishop of Quebec. It became British territory after the French Indian War ended in 1763; however, the British government refused to allow American colonists to enter the region.

Several years after the American Revolution in 1789, Pope Pius VI erected the Diocese of Baltimore, covering the entire United States. John Francis served as vicar-general in the west from 1798 until his death in 1804. In 1808, Pope Pius VII erected the Diocese of Bardstown, with jurisdiction over the Indiana Territory and other areas in the Midwest.^[1] In 1832, Stephen Badin established a mission at South Bend in what was now the State of Indiana.^[2]

Diocese of Vincennes

In 1834, Pope Gregory XVI erected the Diocese of Vincennes, encompassing all of Indiana and the eastern third of Illinois. The pope named Simon Bruté of Mount St. Mary's College in Emmitsburg, Maryland, as its first bishop.^[3] In 1835, Bruté was at South Bend in the course of a 600-mile visitation of the diocese. M. Ruff from Metz in France was assigned to St. Mary's Church in Fort Wayne. Ruff was fluent in English, French, and German. St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church in Lagro was first constructed in 1838, as was St. Vincent de Paul in Logansport and St. Charles Borromeo in Peru. Bruté died in 1839.

Bishop Célestin de la Hailandière, Bruté's coadjutor bishop and successor, offered land at South Bend to Edouard Sorin of the Congregation of Holy Cross to build a college. Sorin arrived in South Bend in November 1842, and began the school using Badin's old log chapel. This was the start of the University of Notre Dame.^[4] In 1840, Julian Benoit purchased the land in Fort Wayne for the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Benoit routinely covered over a dozen mission stations by canal boat or horseback.^[5]

Diocese of Fort Wayne

In 1857, Pope Pius IX established the Diocese of Fort Wayne, taking its territory from the Diocese of Vincennes. The pope appointed John Luers of the Diocese of Cincinnati as the first bishop of Fort Wayne.

Luers founded St. Patrick's Parish in Chesterton in 1858, as well as St. Paul's Parish in Valparaiso. In 1863, Luers held a synod of priests at the University of Notre Dame in which he established the laws and constitution for the diocese.^[6] That same year, due to the large German-speaking population in the diocese, Luers invited the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ, a German religious order, to come to the diocese. He established an orphanage in Rensselaer for children who had lost their parents during the American Civil War.^[6] He also founded the Catholic Clerical Benevolent Association of the Diocese of Fort Wayne for the support of elderly and sick priests. Luers died in 1871.

In 1872, Pope Pius IX appointed Joseph Dwenger as the second bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne. He helped establish Immaculate Conception parish in Celina in Mercer County.^[7] In 1875, he erected an orphan asylum and a trade school for boys at Lafayette. Dwenger was a zealous promoter of the parochial school system.^[8] In 1886, he erected an asylum for orphan girls at Fort Wayne.^[8] Dwenger died in 1893 after 21 years as bishop of Fort Wayne.

To replace Dwenger, Pope Leo XIII in 1893.appointed Bishop Joseph Rademacher of the Diocese of Nashville. Rademacher died in 1900. The next bishop of Fort Wayne was Herman Alerding of the Diocese of Vincennes, named by Leo XIII in 1900. At Alerding's request, the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth came to the diocese in 1902 to work in the parochial schools. The Sisters of St. Francis of Maryville arrived in 1906; they had charge of the Wabash Railway hospital at Peru, known as St. Ann's Hospital. The Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart opened Sacred Heart Hospital in Garrett, Indiana in 1901; it later became Garrett Community Hospital.^[1]

During World War I, Alerding established the Fort Wayne Diocesan War Council.^[9] Under Alerding's administration, the number of diocesan priests rose from 109 in 1900 to 210 in 1925.^[9] In 1900, the diocese had 102 churches with resident pastors, 39 mission churches, and 73 parochial schools; in 1924, there were 148 churches with resident pastors, 31 mission churches, and 106 parochial schools.^[9] Alerding died in 1924.

John F. Noll was appointed the fifth bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne by Pope Pius XI in 1925.^[10] As a bishop, he built a preparatory seminary, several high schools, and an orphanage. During the Great Depression, Noll reorganized the system of Catholic charities. In 1944, the diocese became suffragan to the newly elevated Archdiocese of Indianapolis. In 1944 and 1956, the diocese lost territory to the newly formed dioceses of Lafayette and Gary, respectively.

After Noll died in 1956, Pope Pius XII named Auxiliary Bishop Leo Pursley as his replacement. In 1960, Pope John XXIII renamed the diocese as the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend.

Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend

After Pursley retired in 1976, Pope Paul VI appointed Auxiliary Bishop William McManus of the Archdiocese of Chicago as the next bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend. He retired in 1985. The next bishop was Auxiliary Bishop John Michael D'Arcy from the Archdiocese of Boston, named by Pope John Paul II in 1985. D'Arcy served as bishop until his retirement in 2009.

The current bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend is Kevin C. Rhoades, previously bishop of the Diocese of Harrisburg. Rhodes was appointed in 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI.

Bishops of Fort Wayne

1. John Henry Luers (1857–1871)
2. Joseph Gregory Dwenger (1872–1893)
3. Joseph Rademacher (1893–1900)
4. Herman Joseph Alerding (1900–1924)
5. John F. Noll (1925–1956) – elevated to Archbishop ad personam in 1953

Bishops of Fort Wayne–South Bend

1. Leo Aloysius Pursley (1956–1976) (diocese name changed in 1960)
2. William Edward McManus (1976–1985)
3. John Michael D'Arcy (1985–2009)
4. Kevin Carl Rhoades (2009–present)

Auxiliary bishops

• Leo Aloysius Pursley (1950-1955)
• Joseph Robert Crowley (1971-1990)
• John Richard Sheets, S.J. (1991-1997)
• Daniel R. Jenky, C.S.C. (1997-2002), appointed Bishop of Peoria

Other diocesan priests who became bishops

• John George Bennett, appointed Bishop of Lafayette in Indiana in 1944
• Andrew Gregory Grutka, appointed Bishop of Gary in 1956

Colleges and universities

• Ancilla Domini College – Donaldson
• Holy Cross College – Notre Dame
• Saint Mary's College – Notre Dame
• University of Notre Dame – Notre Dame
• University of Saint Francis – Fort Wayne

High schools

• Bishop Dwenger High School – Fort Wayne
• Bishop Luers High School – Fort Wayne
• Marian High School – Mishawaka
• Saint Joseph High School – South Bend

Grade schools

• Christ the King – South Bend
• Corpus Christi – South Bend
• Holy Cross – South Bend
• Holy Family – South Bend
• Huntington Catholic – Huntington
• Most Precious Blood – Fort Wayne
• Our Lady School – Fort Wayne
• Our Lady of Hungary – South Bend
• Queen of Angels – Fort Wayne
• Queen of Peace – Mishawaka
• Sacred Heart – Warsaw
• Saint Adalbert – South Bend
• Saint Aloysius – Yoder
• Saint Anthony de Padua – South Bend
• Saint Bavo – Mishawaka
• Saint Bernard – Wabash
• Saint Charles Borromeo – Fort Wayne
• Saint John the Baptist – Fort Wayne
• Saint John the Baptist – New Haven
• Saint John the Baptist – South Bend
• Saint John the Evangelist – Goshen
• Saint Joseph – Garrett
• Saint Joseph – Mishawaka
• Saint Joseph – South Bend
• Saint Joseph (St. Mary of the Assumption) – Decatur
• Saint Joseph (St. Rose of Lima) – Monroeville
• Saint Joseph (Hessen Cassel) – Fort Wayne
• Saint Joseph-St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (St. Joseph – St. Elizabeth Ann Seton) – Fort Wayne
• Saint Jude – Fort Wayne
• Saint Jude – South Bend
• Saint Louis (Besançon) – New Haven
• Saint Mary of the Assumption – Avilla
• Saint Mary of the Assumption – South Bend
• Saint Matthew Cathedral School – South Bend
• Saint Michael – Plymouth
• Saint Monica – Mishawaka
• Saint Pius X – Granger
• Saint Therese – Fort Wayne
• Saint Thomas the Apostle – Elkhart
• Saint Vincent de Paul – Elkhart
• Saint Vincent de Paul – Fort Wayne