Archdiocese of Chicago Archidioecesis Chicagiensis |
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Location | |
Country | United States |
Territory | Counties of Cook and Lake |
Ecclesiastical province | Chicago |
Statistics | |
Area | 1,411 sq mi (3,650 km2) |
Population - Total - Catholics |
(as of 2013) 6,251,000 2,228,000 (37%) |
Parishes | 346 |
Schools | 229 |
Information | |
Denomination | Roman Catholic |
Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
Rite | Roman Rite |
Established | November 28, 1843 (173 years ago) |
Cathedral | Holy Name Cathedral |
Patron saint | Immaculate Conception |
Secular priests | 772 |
Current leadership | |
Pope | Francis |
Archbishop | Blase J. Cupich |
Auxiliary Bishops |
Francis J. Kane John R. Manz Joseph N. Perry George J. Rassas Alberto Rojas Andrew P. Wypych |
Vicar General | Ronald A. Hicks |
Emeritus Bishops |
John R. Gorman Raymond E. Goedert |
Map | |
Website | |
archchicago.org |
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago (Latin: Archidioecesis Chicagiensis) was established as a diocese in 1843 and elevated to an archdiocese in 1880. It serves the more than 2.3 million Catholics in Cook and Lake counties in Northeastern Illinois, in the United States -- a geographic area of 1,411 square miles (3,650 km2). The archdiocese is divided into six vicariates and 31 deaneries.
His Eminence Blase Joseph Cupich was appointed Cardinal, Archbishop of Chicago, by Pope Francis in 2014 and is assisted by six episcopal vicars, who are each responsible for a vicariate (region). The cathedral parish for the archdiocese, Holy Name Cathedral, is in the Near North Side area of the see city for the diocese, Chicago. The Archdiocese of Chicago is the metropolitan see of the Province of Chicago. Its suffragan dioceses are the other Catholic dioceses in Illinois: Belleville, Joliet, Peoria, Rockford, and Springfield.
Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, Archbishop of Chicago from 1982 to 1996, was arguably one of the most prominent figures in the Church in the United States in the post-Vatican II era, rallying progressives with his "seamless garment ethic" and his ecumenical initiatives.
A French Jesuit missionary, the Rev. Jacques Marquette, SJ, first explored the area that is now Chicago in the mid-17th century. On December 4, 1674, Father Marquette arrived at the mouth of the Chicago River where he built a cabin to recuperate from his travels. His cabin became the first European settlement in the area now known as Chicago. Marquette published his survey of the new territories and soon more French missionaries and settlers arrived.