Roman Catholic Diocese of Pensacola–Tallahassee

The Catholic Diocese of Pensacola–Tallahassee (Latin: Dioecesis Pensacolensis–Talloseiensis) is a diocese in the Province of Miami, both in the U.S. state of Florida. The patron saint of the diocese is St. Michael the Archangel.

Diocese of Pensacola–Tallahassee

Dioecesis Pensacolensis–Tallahassiensis
Cathedral of the Sacred Heart
Coat of arms
Location
Country United States
TerritoryFlorida 18 counties in northwest Florida
Ecclesiastical provinceMiami
Coordinates30°26′N 87°12′W
Statistics
Area14,044 sq mi (36,370 km2)
Population
- Total
- Catholics		(as of 2022)
1,546,239
63,834[1] (4.1%)
Parishes49
Schools10
Information
DenominationCatholic
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
EstablishedOctober 1, 1975 (47 years ago)
CathedralCathedral of the Sacred Heart (Pensacola)
Co-cathedralCo-Cathedral of Saint Thomas More (Tallahassee)
Patron saint
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
BishopWilliam Albert Wack, C.S.C.
Metropolitan ArchbishopThomas Wenski
Bishops emeritusJohn Ricard, S.S.J.
Website
ptdiocese.org

Main churches

The episcopal see is the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, in Pensacola, which city also has a Minor Basilica: Basilica of St. Michael the Archangel.

There is also a co-cathedral, the Co-Cathedral of Saint Thomas More, in Tallahassee

Statistics

As of 2023, the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee served 63,834 Catholics (4.1% of 1,438,000 total) on 36,724 km² in 49 parishes and 6 missions with 67 priests (53 diocesan, 14 religious), 64 deacons, 22 lay religious (8 brothers, 15 sisters), and 18 seminarians.[1]

History

In the early 19th century, Florida was part of the Spanish Empire. In the Adams-Onís Treaty of 1819, Spain ceded all of Florida to the United States, which established the Florida Territory in 1821.[2] For Catholics, the territory was still under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Havana. In 1825, Pope Leo XIII erected the Vicariate of Alabama and Florida, which included all of Florida. Four years later, Pope Pius VIII in 1829 erected the Diocese of Mobile, giving it jurisdiction over the Florida Panhandle.

Pope Pius IX erected the Diocese of Savannah in 1850, including the new state of Florida minus the Panhandle region.  However, seven years later, Pope Pius IX stripped Florida from the Diocese of Savannah and created a new Apostolic Vicariate of Florida. In 1870, the vicariate was converted into the Diocese of St. Augustine. Pensacola, Tallahassee and the Panhandle region would remain part of the Diocese of St. Augustine and the Diocese of Mobile for the next 105 years.

Co-Cathedral of St. Thomas More

Pope Paul VI erected the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee in 1975 with territories split off from the diocese of St. Augustine and the Diocese of Mobile.[3][4] The pope named Auxiliary Bishop René Gracida of the Archdiocese of Miami as the first bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee.

In 1983, Pope John Paul II selected Gracida to be bishop of the Diocese of Corpus Christi. To replace him, the pope named Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Keith Symons of the Diocese of St. Petersburg as bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee. The pope named him as bishop of the Diocese of Palm Beach in 1990.

The next bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee was Auxiliary Bishop John M. Smith from the Archdiocese of Newark, named by John Paul II in 1991. Four years later, in 1995, the pope appointed him as coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Trenton. Smith was replaced by Auxiliary Bishop John Ricard of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Smith served in the diocese until his retirement in 2011.

Pope Benedict XVI named Reverend Gregory Parkes as the fifth bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee in 2012. [5]In 2016, Pope Francis named him bishop of the Diocese of St. Petersburg.

The current bishop of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee is William Wack, named by Francis in 2017.[6]

Sex abuse

In April 1998, a 53 year old man informed a priest and Archbishop John C. Favalora that Bishop Symons had sexually abused him when he was an altar server decades earlier. This crime took place in the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee. When confronted about the allegations, Symons admitted his guilt.

The Vatican immediately asked Bishop Robert N. Lynch of the Diocese of St. Petersburg to hear Symons' confession. During that session, Symons admitted that he had abused four other boys. He also said that he had confessed the abuses to a priest at the time, but the priest simply told Symons to avoid alcohol and remain chaste. According to Lynch, the molestations all took place in the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee.[7] On June 2, 1998, Lynch announced that John Paul II had accepted Symons' resignation as bishop of the Diocese of Palm Beach.[8]

Bishops

Bishops of Pensacola–Tallahassee

The list of bishops of the diocese and their years of service:

  1. René Henry Gracida (1975-1983), appointed Bishop of Corpus Christi
  2. Joseph Keith Symons (1983-1990), appointed Bishop of Palm Beach
  3. John Mortimer Smith (1991-1995), appointed Coadjutor Bishop and later Bishop of Trenton
  4. John Huston Ricard, S.S.J. (1997-2011)
  5. Gregory Lawrence Parkes (2012-2016), appointed Bishop of Saint Petersburg
  6. William Albert Wack, C.S.C. (2017–present)

Other diocesan priests who became bishops

Catholic high schools

See also

References
  1. "About Our Diocese". Diocese of Pensacola–Tallahassee. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  2. "European Exploration and Colonization - Florida Department of State". dos.myflorida.com. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
  3. "Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee". GCatholic.org. Retrieved 2013-05-28.
  4. "Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. October 24, 2022. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  5. "Bishop Gregory Lawrence Parkes". catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
  6. "Pope Names Priest as New Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee". Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  7. "Handling Pedophilia". www3.trincoll.edu. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  8. Navarro, Mireya (June 4, 1998). "Parish Seeks to Salve Hurts From Bishop's Molestations". New York Times. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
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