Fort Wayne–South Bend Dioecesis Wayne Castrensis–South Bendensis |
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Location | |
Country | United States |
Territory | Northeastern Indiana, Michiana |
Ecclesiastical province | Indianapolis |
Statistics | |
Area | 5,792 km2 (2,236 sq mi) |
Population - Total - Catholics |
(as of 2006) 1,247,850 159,888 (12.8%) |
Parishes | 84 |
Information | |
Denomination | Roman Catholic |
Rite | Roman Rite |
Established | January 8, 1857 (160 years ago) |
Cathedral | Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (Fort Wayne) |
Co-cathedral | Saint Matthew Cathedral (South Bend) |
Patron saint | Immaculate Conception |
Current leadership | |
Pope | Francis |
Bishop | Kevin C. Rhoades |
Map | |
Website | |
www.diocesefwsb.org |
The Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend (Latin: Dioecesis Wayne Castrensis–South Bendensis) is a Roman Catholic diocese in north-central and northeastern Indiana. The Most Reverend Kevin C. Rhoades was appointed diocesan bishop by Pope Benedict XVI on November 14, 2009, and was installed on January 13, 2010. The Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend encompasses 14 Indiana counties: Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Elkhart, Huntington, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Marshall, Noble, Steuben, St. Joseph, Wabash, Wells, and Whitley. The diocese has a co-cathedral setup with the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Fort Wayne as the primary cathedral and Saint Matthew's Cathedral in South Bend as the associate cathedral.
The diocese was erected as the Diocese of Fort Wayne (Dioecesis Wayne Castrensis) suffragan to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati on January 8, 1857, from territory earlier belonging to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Vincennes. In 1944 it became suffragan to the newly elevated Archdiocese of Indianapolis. In 1944 and 1956 it lost territory to the newly formed dioceses of Lafayette and Gary, respectively. In 1960 its name was changed to the Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend.