In 1808, Father Edward Fenwick, a Dominican priest, was asked by Bishop John Carroll of Baltimore, MD, to visit the Dittoe family, who lived 15 miles east of New Lancaster, Ohio, along the Zane Trace. The family had written to the bishop asking for a priest to visit and minister to German Catholic families in their area. Upon his arrival, Father Fenwick began the first known Catholic ministry in Ohio in what would become the town of Somerset. St. Joseph’s Church was built and then blessed in Somerset on December 6, 1818. It remains the oldest Catholic parish in Ohio and still serves its people under the Dominican fathers.
As the Catholic population in Ohio grew, the first diocese, the Diocese of Cincinnati, was erected by the Vatican on June 19, 1821, with Father Fenwick serving as Cincinnati’s first bishop. The Catholic population in Ohio continued to grow throughout the 19th century, leading the Vatican to erect the Diocese of Cleveland in 1847 and the Diocese of Columbus on March 3, 1868.
The new Diocese of Columbus included counties in central, south-central, and southeastern Ohio, running from the Scioto River on the west across to the Ohio River along the east. Our fledgling diocese was comprised of 32 parishes and 40 missions, and around 41,000 Catholics. Bishop Sylvester Rosecrans served as the first Bishop of Columbus from 1868 – 1878. For the biographies of all of Columbus’s bishops, click here.
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the diocesan population grew steadily. By 1900, there were 60,000 Catholics in the Diocese of Columbus. That number had grown to 137,000 by 1940. The late part of the 19th century also saw a tremendous influx of immigrants into the diocese. Each cultural group was eager for a parish where their language was spoken and their culture and customs were understood. It was a great time of opportunity for the Diocese of Columbus.
The 20th century brought changes in the geographic location of the populations. Rural populations shifted to urban life in the 1920s. After World War II, the population in the city of Columbus started to shift to the suburbs. These shifts and moves necessitated shifts for the parishes, too.
In 1944, the Vatican erected the Diocese of Steubenville from the Ohio River counties located on the eastern side of the Diocese of Columbus. At the same time, a small strip of the eastern part of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati transferred to Columbus, giving the Diocese of Columbus the 23-county configuration we have today.
Post-World War II and the Second Vatican Council brought tremendous growth and many changes to the Diocese of Columbus. As the 21st century began, the Diocese of Columbus was the fastest-growing diocese in Ohio, with the Catholic population approaching 300,000 people. The Diocese of Columbus currently has 82 parishes, with 215 priests and 125 deacons.