Roman Catholic Diocese of Kalamazoo

During the 17th century, present-day Michigan was part of the French colony of New France. The Diocese of Quebec had jurisdiction over the region. In 1763, the Michigan area became part of the British Province of Quebec, forbidden from settlement by American colonists. After the American Revolution, the Michigan region became part of the new United States. For Catholics, Michigan was now under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, which then comprised the entire country.

In 1808, Pope Pius VII erected the Diocese of Bardstown in Kentucky, with jurisdiction over the new Michigan Territory. In 1821, the pope erected the Diocese of Cincinnati, taking the Michigan Territory from the Diocese of Bardstown.[2]

Pope Gregory XVI formed the Diocese of Detroit in 1833, covering the entire Michigan Territory. Pope Leo XIII erected the Diocese of Grand Rapids out of the Archdiocese of Detroit in 1882, including Kalamazoo. The Kalamazoo area would remain part of the Diocese of Grand Rapids for the next 88 years.

The first Catholic church in Kalamazoo, St. Augustine's, was dedicated in 1852.[3] St. Philip Roman, the first Catholic Church in Battle Creek, was dedicated by Bishop Casper Borgess of Detroit in 1879.[4] In 1913, Nazareth College was opened in Nazareth, Michigan.

On December 19, 1970, the Diocese of Kalamazoo was erected by Pope Paul VI and St. Augustine Church was designated as its cathedral The pope named Reverend Paul Donovan of the Diocese of Lansing as the first bishop of Kalamazoo. Donovan resigned in 1994 after 23 years as bishop.

In 1994, Pope John Paul II appointed Auxiliary Bishop Alfred Markiewicz from the Diocese of Rockville Centre as the second bishop of Kalamazoo.[5] He died in 1997 after only three years in office. That same year, John Paul II named Reverend James Murray of Lansing to replace Markiewicz. in 2006, Murray released the “Diocesan Pastoral Plan for Hispanic Latino Ministry.” He also established the diocese Trauma Recovery Program for victims of childhood trauma. Murray retired in 2009.

Pope Benedict XVI in 2009 named Auxiliary Bishop Paul J. Bradley of the Diocese of Pittsburgh as the next bishop of Kalamazoo.[6] In May 2017, Reverend Richard Fritz was accused of embezzling $100,000 from two different parishes, reportedly to purchase lottery tickets.[7] However, the charges were dismissed in July 2017.[8] Fritz retired in 2015.

Bradley retired in May 2023. His successor is Reverend Edward M. Lohse from the Diocese of Erie, who is to be installed on July 25, 2023.

In 2018, Bishop Bradley proposed a ten-step plan for overhauling church policies on the reporting of sexual abuse allegations.[9] In January 2019, Bradley assigned Archbishop Emeritus John Nienstedt, of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, to assist for several months at a parish in Battle Creek. Many parishioners in Battle Creek did not want Nienstadt due to his failure to report sexual abuse claims as archbishop. After two weeks, Nienstadt left the parish.[10]

In May 2019, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced that Reverend Jacob Vellian had been indicted on two charges of rape. He was accused of sexually assaulting a 15 year old girl between 1973 and 1974 at St. John the Evangelist church. As Vellian was living in India, prosecutors were attempting to extradite him to the United States.[11]

In February 2020, the diocese announced that an individual was claiming that Reverend Richard Fritz, who faced embezzlement charges in 2017, had sexually abused them during the late 1970s and early 1980s.[12] In March 2020, the diocese determined that the allegations against Fritz were credible.[13]