Territory Lower half of Alabama Denomination Roman Catholic Phone +1 251-434-1530 | Ecclesiastical province Province of Mobile Rite Latin Rite Bishop Thomas John Rodi | |
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Area 59,467 km (22,960 sq mi) Population
- Total
- Catholics (as of 2013)
1,772,873
67,488 (3.8%) Address 400 Government St, Mobile, AL 36602, USA Hours Open today · 9AM–5PMTuesday9AM–5PMWednesday9AM–5PMThursday9AM–5PMFriday9AM–5PMSaturdayClosedSundayClosedMondayClosedSuggest an edit Cathedral Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception Similar Cathedral Basilica of the Imma, St Mary's Catholic Church, St Ignatius Parish, Little Flower Catholic, McGill‑To Catholic High Sch Profiles | ||
The Archdiocese of Mobile (Latin: Archidioecesis Mobiliensis) is a Roman Catholic archdiocese comprising the lower 28 counties of Alabama. It is the metropolitan seat of the Province of Mobile, which includes the suffragan bishopric sees of the Diocese of Biloxi, the Diocese of Jackson, and the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama. The Archbishop of Mobile is the pastor of the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception located in Mobile, Alabama.
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As of 2004, it contained 65,588 Roman Catholics from a population of just over 1.65 million, and was approximately 4% Roman Catholic. Most of the archdiocese's Catholic population lives in the Mobile area - 46,503 as of 2000 - and, as a result, the Mobile area is considerably more Catholic than the archdiocese at large. These numbers are based solely on parish membership lists; many Catholics in the area do not formally register with a parish, while many children are often not included in parish lists.
History
The diocese was originally erected by Pope Leo XII in 1825, as Vicariate Apostolic of Alabama and the Floridas. It was established as the Diocese of Mobile by Pope Pius VIII on May 15, 1829. The diocese had its name changed to the Diocese of Mobile-Birmingham by Pope Pius XII on July 9, 1954, and was redesignated as the Diocese of Mobile by Pope Paul VI on June 28, 1969. The Ecclesiastical Province of Mobile was erected by Pope John Paul II on November 16, 1980. Before then, the diocese had been part of the Ecclesiastical Province of New Orleans.
Ordinaries
The lists of the bishops and archbishops of Mobile and dates of service:
- Michael Portier (1825–1859)
- John Quinlan (1859–1883)
- Dominic Manucy (1884)
- Jeremiah O'Sullivan (1885–1896)
- Edward Patrick Allen (1897–1926)
- Thomas Joseph Toolen (1927–1969) (archbishop ad personam, 1954)
- John Lawrence May (1969–1980)
- Oscar Hugh Lipscomb (1980–2008) (first metropolitan archbishop)
- Thomas John Rodi (2008–incumbent)