Roman Catholic Diocese of Knoxville
Encyclopedia
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Knoxville is a Roman Catholic
diocese
in Tennessee
. It was founded on May 27, 1988 from the eastern counties of the Diocese of Nashville
. This diocese covers most of East Tennessee
; in addition to the see city
of Knoxville
, it includes Chattanooga
and Johnson City
. The Mother Church
is Sacred Heart Cathedral
, located on Northshore Drive in Knoxville. The two oldest churches are Saints Peter
and Paul Parish of Chattanooga and Immaculate Conception
Parish of Knoxville, both founded in 1852.
As of 2007, there were an estimated 52,000 Catholics within the diocese, which covers approximately 14000 square miles (36,259.8 km²).
, and 33 sisters. Eleven religious orders are represented in the diocese.
Perpetual adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament is available at many of the parishes and Masses are offered in a wide array of languages. This is chosen so that the spiritual needs of all parishioners are met. These languages include Spanish, Vietnamese, American Sign Language, and Latin. Ruthenian Catholics of the Byzantine Rite
have been celebrating the Divine Liturgy at Holy Family Church in Seymour, TN since 1999. They recently have changed locations to Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Knoxville, TN at 3:30pm on Sundays. Also, there is a Ukrainian Greek Catholic mission, St. Thomas the Apostle, also of the Byzantine Rite, that is currently celebrating the Divine Liturgy in the chapel of the Chancery in Knoxville, TN since May of 2008 at 10:00am on Sundays.
With the influx of large numbers of Hispanic Catholics looking for work, the diocese faces many new challenges. If the estimates are correct and there are about 50,000 new Hispanic immigrants in the area, their number nearly doubles the area’s current official Catholic population. The clergy and laity of the diocese are working to welcome these new neighbors.
Because of his role in the creation of the Diocese, Nashville’s Bishop James Daniel Niedergeses
, was known as the “Grandfather of the Diocese of Knoxville"
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
in Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. It was founded on May 27, 1988 from the eastern counties of the Diocese of Nashville
Roman Catholic Diocese of Nashville
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Nashville is a Roman Catholic diocese in Tennessee. It was founded on July 28, 1837 by the Dominican Bishop Richard Pius Miles. The Cathedral Church of the Incarnation is the seat of the Bishops of Nashville....
. This diocese covers most of East Tennessee
East Tennessee
East Tennessee is a name given to approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee, one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. East Tennessee consists of 33 counties, 30 located within the Eastern Time Zone and three counties in the Central Time Zone, namely...
; in addition to the see city
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
of Knoxville
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
, it includes Chattanooga
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
and Johnson City
Johnson City, Tennessee
Johnson City is a city in Carter, Sullivan, and Washington counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, with most of the city being in Washington County...
. The Mother Church
Mother Church
In Christianity, the term mother church or Mother Church may have one of the following meanings:# The first mission church in an area, or a pioneer cathedral# A basilica or cathedral# The main chapel of a province of a religious order...
is Sacred Heart Cathedral
Sacred Heart Cathedral (Knoxville, Tennessee)
Sacred Heart Cathedral is a cathedral church located in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. It is the seat of the Catholic Diocese of Knoxville. -Sacred Heart Parish:...
, located on Northshore Drive in Knoxville. The two oldest churches are Saints Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
and Paul Parish of Chattanooga and Immaculate Conception
Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception of Mary is a dogma of the Roman Catholic Church, according to which the Virgin Mary was conceived without any stain of original sin. It is one of the four dogmata in Roman Catholic Mariology...
Parish of Knoxville, both founded in 1852.
As of 2007, there were an estimated 52,000 Catholics within the diocese, which covers approximately 14000 square miles (36,259.8 km²).
Ordinaries
The following is a list of Bishops who served the Diocese of Knoxville, along with their dates of service:- Anthony Joseph O'ConnellAnthony O'ConnellAnthony J. O'Connell is a Roman Catholic clergyman who was the first Bishop of Knoxville in Tennessee, followed by service as the third Bishop of Palm Beach in Florida.-Early life:...
(1988–1998) - Joseph Edward Kurtz (1999–2007; current Archbishop of LouisvilleRoman Catholic Archdiocese of LouisvilleThe Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville consists of twenty-four counties in Central Kentucky, USA, covering . It is the seat of the Metropolitan Province of Louisville, which comprises the states of Kentucky and Tennessee...
) - Richard StikaRichard StikaRichard Frank Stika is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the third and current Bishop of Knoxville.-Early life and education:...
(12 January 2009 - )
Currently
With a population of 52,000 Catholics, the diocese makes up about 2 percent of East Tennessee’s total population. The diocese is currently home to 44 parishes and two quasi-parishes. These parishes are served by 54 diocesan priests, 16 religious priests, 8 extern priests, 24 deacons, 10 brothersFriar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders.-Friars and monks:...
, and 33 sisters. Eleven religious orders are represented in the diocese.
Perpetual adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament is available at many of the parishes and Masses are offered in a wide array of languages. This is chosen so that the spiritual needs of all parishioners are met. These languages include Spanish, Vietnamese, American Sign Language, and Latin. Ruthenian Catholics of the Byzantine Rite
Byzantine Rite
The Byzantine Rite, sometimes called the Rite of Constantinople or Constantinopolitan Rite is the liturgical rite used currently by all the Eastern Orthodox Churches, by the Greek Catholic Churches , and by the Protestant Ukrainian Lutheran Church...
have been celebrating the Divine Liturgy at Holy Family Church in Seymour, TN since 1999. They recently have changed locations to Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Knoxville, TN at 3:30pm on Sundays. Also, there is a Ukrainian Greek Catholic mission, St. Thomas the Apostle, also of the Byzantine Rite, that is currently celebrating the Divine Liturgy in the chapel of the Chancery in Knoxville, TN since May of 2008 at 10:00am on Sundays.
With the influx of large numbers of Hispanic Catholics looking for work, the diocese faces many new challenges. If the estimates are correct and there are about 50,000 new Hispanic immigrants in the area, their number nearly doubles the area’s current official Catholic population. The clergy and laity of the diocese are working to welcome these new neighbors.
High schools
- Knoxville Catholic High SchoolKnoxville Catholic High SchoolKnoxville Catholic High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Knoxville, Tennessee. It is located within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Knoxville.-History:...
(web page) - Notre Dame High School (Chattanooga) (web page)
Elementary schools
- Our Lady of Perpetual Help School (Chattanooga)
- Sacred Heart Cathedral School[web page http://www.shcschool.org]
- St. Dominic School
- St. John Neumann School
- St. Joseph School
- St. Jude School
- St. Mary School (Johnson City)
- St. Mary School (Oak Ridge)
Parishes
- All Saints Church (web page) - Knoxville, TN
- Blessed Sacrament Church - Harriman, TN
- Christ the King Church - Tazewell, TN
- Good Shepherd Church (web page) - Newport, TN
- Holy Cross Church - Pigeon Forge, TN
- Holy Family Church (web page) - Seymour, TN
- Holy Ghost Church (web page ) - Knoxville, TN
- Holy Spirit Catholic Church (web page) - Soddy-Daisy, TN
- Holy Trinity Church - Jefferson City, TN
- Immaculate Conception Church (web page ) - Knoxville, TN
- John XXIII Catholic Center (web page ) - Knoxville, TN
- Notre Dame Church (web page) - Greeneville, TN
- Our Lady of Fatima Church (web page) - Alcoa, TN
- Our Lady of Lourdes Church - South Pittsburg, TN
- Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church - Chattanooga, TN
- Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church - LaFollette, TN
- Sacred Heart Cathedral (web page) - Knoxville, TN
- Shepherd of the Valley Church - Dunlap, TN
- St. Albert the Great Church - Knoxville, TN
- St. Alphonsus Church - Crossville, TN
- St. Ann Church - Lancing, TN
- St. Anthony of Padua Church - Mountain City, TN
- St. Augustine Church - Signal Mountain, TN
- St. Bridget Church (web page) - Dayton, TN
- St. Catherine Laboure Church - Copperhill, TN
- St. Christopher Church - Jamestown, TN
- St. Dominic Church - Kingsport, TN
- St. Elizabeth Church - Elizabethton, TN
- St. Francis of Assisi Church - Fairfield Glade, TN
- St. Francis of Assisi Church - Townsend, TN
- St. Henry Church - Rogersville, TN
- St. James the Apostle Church - Sneedville, TN
- St. John Neumann Church (web page) - Farragut, TN
- St. Joseph Church - Norris, TN
- St. Joseph the Worker Church - Madisonville, TN
- St. Jude Church (web page) - Chattanooga, TN
- St. Jude Church - Helenwood, TN
- St. Mary Church (website) - Athens, TN
- St. Mary Church - Gatlinburg, TN
- St. Mary Church - Johnson City, TN
- St. Mary Church - Oak Ridge, TN
- St. Patrick Church - Morristown, TN
- St. Stephen Church - Chattanooga, TN
- St. Therese Church - Clinton, TN
- St. Thérèse of Lisieux Church - Cleveland, TN
- St. Thomas the Apostle Church - Lenoir City, TN
- Sts. Peter and Paul Church - Chattanooga, TN
History
While the Catholic Church has been a part of life in East Tennessee for over 166 years, the Diocese of Knoxville was founded in 1988. Before the creation, the area was part of the Diocese of Nashville.Because of his role in the creation of the Diocese, Nashville’s Bishop James Daniel Niedergeses
James Daniel Niedergeses
James Daniel Niedergeses was an American Roman Catholic bishop. He was the ninth bishop of Nashville serving from 1975 to 1992....
, was known as the “Grandfather of the Diocese of Knoxville"