Catholic Diocese
of Wichita
125 Years as a Diocese
Established August 2, 1887
Lord Baltimore
Bishop John Carroll
Population Growth of
Catholic America
1790-1865
1790:
1830:
1840:
25,000 to 50,000
1,750,000
3,500,000
1%
12%
Between 1830-1860 it is estimated 5,000,000 people
immigrated from mostly western Europe
(40% from Ireland; 30% from Germany)
Nearly all the Irish were Catholic
About 75% of the Germans were Catholic
1865:
33,000,000
12%
Father
Juan
De Padilla
1st Catholic Church
St. Louis, Missouri
Bishop
Louis
William
DuBourg
The Early Church
in America
 The New World, the Maryland Colony and
English Penal Laws
 Beginning of the formal structure of the
Catholic Church in the United States
 Beginnings of the Catholic faith in the
Territory
 The French and the impact of St. Louis
Father
Jacques
Marquette
Father
Charles
de la Croix
Chouteau
Country
Chouteau
Country
St. Rose
Philippine
Duchesne
Indian Missions
in Kansas
1673 - 1830
Fathers Jacques Marquette, Charles de la Croix and
Charles Van Quickenborne
1836 – 1840
Sacred Heart Mission – Kickapoo
1841 - 1848
Sugar Creek Mission - Potawatomi
1848
St. Marys Mission - Potawatomi
Apostolic Vicariate East of the Rocky Mountains,
established in 1850
Bishop
John
Baptiste
Miege
Vicariate in 1858
Bishop
Louis
Mary
Fink
Wichita Diocese
1887-1897
Bishop
John
Hennessy
Population Analysis
of what would become the
Diocese of Wichita
1874:
35,000
48 priests
62 churches
1877:
Larger than 28 of the existing 58 diocese in the U.S.
1887:
90,000
1897:
127 priests
216 churches
20 seminarians
Catholic population in Diocese of Wichita reduced to
6,500. With the addition of the southeast counties,
population of the Diocese tripled.
Wichita Diocese
1897-1951
1951
Dodge City
Diocese
Wichita
Diocese
Evolution of the
Diocese of Wichita
1850: Apostolic Vicariate of Indian Territory east of the
1858:
1868:
1877:
1887:
1897:
1951:
Rocky Mountains
Territory of Nebraska detached
Vicariate Apostolic of Kansas created
(Colorado separated)
Vicariate raised to designation as a diocese
(Diocese of Leavenworth)
Diocese of Wichita erected
(37 counties of southeastern Kansas)
14 southeastern counties added to Diocese of
Wichita
Diocese of Wichita reduced to today’s size
Mission Station
Life Span
Union
1820 - 1836
Harmony
1821 - 1836
Neosho
1824 - 1829
Hopefield #1
1823 -1830
Hopefield #2
1830 - 1835
Hopefield #3
1837
Boudinot
1830-1836
Osage Mission
1847- Present*
Father
Felix
Verreydt
Father
John
Schoenmakers
Mother
Bridget
Hayden
Osage
Manual
Labor
Schools
St. Francis de Hieronymo
Osage Mission
Beechwood drawing
of Osage Mission
Date
Disease
Effect
Before the beginning of 1852
scurvy became widespread.
Among the Osage, measles
broke out that spring. Over ½
of the children and many
adults died – as many as 800
Osage died. Father Bax
performed many baptisms and
treated the sick. On August 5,
1852 he died at the age of 35.
1852
Scurvy, Measles,
Typhoid Epidemic
1855
Smallpox Epidemic
Killed an estimated 400 Osage.
1856
Scofula
A Tuberculosis condition
claimed at least 100 Osage.
Osage Mission
 Request
 Establishment
 Arrival of the Lorettos
 The Osage Manual Labor Schools
 Bleeding Kansas and the Civil War
 The removal of the Osage from Kansas
Hardrope
St. Francis Institution
for Boys
St. Ann’s Academy
Mission Stations
Father
John
Schoenmakers
Father
Philip
Colleton
Father
Paul Mary
Ponziglione
Mother
Bridget
Hayden
Missions and Mission Stations
 St. Francis Institute and St. Ann’s Academy
 Hardship and Suffering
 Individuals at Osage Mission
 Relationship of Southeastern Kansas
parishes to Osage Mission
Sources and References
Beckman, Peter
The Catholic Church on the Kansas Frontier
Casey, Mary Frances VanLeeuwen
Osage Mission Sesquicentennial: Celebrating 150 Years
Fitzgerald, S.C.L., Ph.D.; Sr. Mary Paul
Beacon on the Plains
Garraghan, S.J., Ph.D.; Gilbert J.
The Jesuits of the Middle United States (3 Volumes)
Graves, W. W.
Annals of Osage Mission
Annals of St. Paul
Early Jesuits at Osage Mission
Father John Schoenmakers, S.J.: Apostle to the Osages
History of Neosho County (2 Volumes)
History of the Kickapoo Mission and Parish
Life and Times of Mother Bridget
The First Protestant Osage Missions, 1820-1837
Joyce, Mary
Osage Mission: Centennial Celebration 1847-1947
Kinsella, Rev. Thomas H.
The History of Our Cradle Land
Moeder, JCD, Fr. John M.
History of the Diocese of Wichita
Peltzer, Mary K. and Father Michael
The Catholic Diocese of Wichita Commemorates Its First 100 Years
Ponziglione, S.J.; Fr. Mary Paul
“The Osages and Father John Schoenmakers, S.J.: Interesting Memoirs
Collected from Legends, Traditions and Historical Documents”
“Journal of the Western Missions” (10 Volumes) Transcribed by Rev.
Eugene Grabner
Strecker, Archbishop I. J.
The Church in Kansas: 1850 - 1905 “A Family Story”
Wenzl, Timothy F.
A Legacy of Faith: The History of the Diocese of Dodge City