The Archdiocese of Saint Louis is the Roman Catholic archdiocese that currently covers the City of St. Louis as well as the following Missouri counties: Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, Perry, Saint Charles, Saint Francois, Ste. Genevieve, St. Louis, Warren, and Washington.

History

The area's first bishop was Louis William Valentine Dubourg, who on September 24, 1815 was appointed Bishop of Louisiana and the [East and West] Floridas by Pope Pius VII. DuBourg chose to set up his episcopal see in St. Louis. After his resignation, the Diocese of Saint Louis was erected on July 18, 1826. When founded, it included the state of Missouri, the western half of Illinois, and all American territory west of the Mississippi River and north of the state of Louisiana. It was the largest American diocese, equalling in extent all of the other nine dioceses.

Its first bishop, Joseph Rosati, led the Roman Catholic Church's expansion its presence in these areas, and built its first cathedral, now known as the Basilica of St. Louis, King of France.

In 1838, territory in Iowa and Minnesota was taken from the Diocese to form the Diocese of Dubuque, Iowa.

The Saint Louis Diocese was elevated to an Archdiocese on July 20, 1847.

In January 1999, the archidiocese was host to a two-day visit from Pope John Paul II, the first time a pope had visited the city. It was not John Paul's first visit, since thirty years earlier, he had paid a visit when he was Cardinal Wojtyła, Archbishop of Kraków.

Ordinaries of the Archdiocese

The following is a list of the Roman Catholic Bishops and Archbishops of the Diocese and Archdiocese of Saint Louis (and their terms of service).

• Bishop Joseph Rosati, C.M. (1827–1843)
• Archbishop Peter Richard Kenrick (1843–1895)
• Archbishop John Joseph Kain (1895–1903)
• Archbishop John Joseph Cardinal Glennon (1903–1946)
• Archbishop Joseph Elmer Cardinal Ritter (1946–1967)
• Archbishop John Joseph Cardinal Carberry (1968–1979)
• Archbishop John Lawrence May (1979–1992)
• Archbishop Justin Francis Rigali (1994–2003)
• Archbishop Raymond Leo Burke (2004–present)

Eastern Rites

There are three Eastern Rite churches within the archdiocese's boundaries:

• St. Raymond's Cathedral, Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles (Maronite)
• St. Louis Byzantine (Ruthenian) Church, Byzantine Eparchy of Parma
• St. Mary Assumption Ukranian Catholic Church, Diocese of St. Nicholas in Chicago for the Ukrainians

External links

• The Archdiocese of Saint Louis
• St. Louis Review, the weekly newspaper of the archdiocese
• Archives of the Archdiocese of St. Louis
• John Paul II's visit in 1999, from the archdiocese's website