Metropolitan Joseph William Tobin Area 4,680 km² Phone +1 219-769-9292 | Ecclesiastical province Indianapolis Parishes 73 | |
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Population- Total- Catholics (as of 2006)778,463185,550 (23.8%) Similar St Mary Catholic Communi, St John Evangelist Church, Our Lady of Consolati, Holy Spirit Catholic Church, St Matthias Church Profiles | ||
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Gary (Latin: Dioecesis Gariensis) is a particular church of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States of America. It was founded on December 17, 1956, by Pope Pius XII. It is one of four suffragan dioceses of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis. Its ecclesiastic territory includes Lake, Porter, LaPorte, and Starke counties in northwestern Indiana. The mother church of the diocese is the Cathedral of the Holy Angels in Gary, Indiana.
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History
During the first half of the 20th century, many Catholic immigrants came from Eastern Europe and Mexico to work in the region’s growing steel industry. A number of parishes were founded near the steel mills so that the newly arrived immigrants could celebrate Mass in their native languages.
As of 2012, four parishes in the diocese still offer Mass in Polish, two parishes in Croatian, one in Hungarian, and one in Lithuanian. Fourteen parishes also offer Mass in Spanish. One parish offers a Tridentine Mass in Latin.
Diocese today
Serving the diocese are 105 priests, 67 permanent deacons, 10 religious brothers, and 85 religious sisters who are members of various religious institutes. These priests, deacons and persons religious serve a Catholic population in northwest Indiana of 186,420 in 73 parishes and missions.
The diocese also operates several educational, medical, and social service organizations. Educational institutions include 18 elementary schools, 3 high schools (one of which has an 8th grade prep academy), 1 college, and a Catholic student center at Valparaiso University. The diocese also supervises six hospitals or medical centers, three homes for the aged, three protective homes, three cemeteries, and Catholic Charities, Diocese of Gary.
On November 24, 2014, Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Bishop Dale Joseph Melczek and appointed Bishop Donald J. Hying, an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the fourth Bishop of the Diocese of Gary. Bishop Hying's installation took place on January 6, 2015, in Gary.
Bishops
The list of bishops of the diocese and their terms of service:
- Andrew Gregory Grutka (1956–1984)
- Norbert Felix Gaughan (1984–1996)
- Dale Joseph Melczek (1996—2014) (Apostolic Administrator, 1992; Coadjutor, 1995)
- Donald J. Hying (2015—present )
Education
The Superintendent of Catholic Schools is Joseph Majchrowicz EdD.
Elementary schools
Parishes run the following elementary and middle schools within the diocese:
(Note: No school is in the city of Gary)
Operated by Diocese
Independent
Colleges
Extraordinary Form
As of December 2016, the only Mass in the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite in the diocese is offered at the Carmelite Monastery in Munster, on Saturday evenings (fulfilling the Sunday obligation). It was established on Saturday, August 25, 1990 at the recommendation of Bishop Norbert Gaughan. Previously, Extraordinary Form Masses were available at St. Stanislaus in Michigan City weekly (until the celebrant died) and St. Joseph the Worker in Gary monthly.
In 2015, the NWI Latin Mass Community was founded to promote the Extraordinary Form in the Gary diocese, especially access to Sunday morning and Holy Day Masses in the Extraordinary Form, as well as parish life for those fond of the traditional liturgy.