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Diocese of Jackson
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Diocese of Jackson
The Diocese of Jackson is a Latin Church diocese in Mississippi in the United States. Its ecclesiastical jurisdiction includes the northern and central parts of the state, an area of 97,458 square kilometers (37,629 sq mi). It is the largest diocese, by area, east of the Mississippi River.
The Diocese of Jackson is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Mobile. The bishop of Jackson, as of 2023, is Joseph Kopacz.
The first Catholic priests in Mississippi were French Jesuit and Capuchin missionaries who accompanied the La Salle, Marquette, and d'Iberville expeditions in the 17th and 18th centuries. In 1787, three priests, McKenna, White, and Savage, arrived in Natchez from Spain and erected three missions in the vicinity. These missions disappeared after the Spanish Empire ceded the area to the new United States in the early 19th century.
The Mississippi Territory was originally under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Louisiana and the Two Floridas. In 1826, Pope Leo XII moved the new state of Mississippi into the Vicariate Apostolic of Mississippi. The pope named Bishop Louis-Guillaume-Valentin DuBourg as the vicar apostolic.
In 1837, Pope Gregory XVI elevated the vicariate to the Diocese of Natchez, encompassing all of Mississippi. He named Reverend John Chanche, president of St. Mary's College in Baltimore as the first bishop of Natchez in 1840. At his arrival in Mississippi, Chanche found one priest in the diocese, Brogard, who was there only temporarily. Chanche set to work building a diocesan infrastructure. The first Catholic church in Vicksburg, St. Paul's, was built in 1841.
In 1842, Chanche laid the cornerstone of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows, designed by Robert Long Jr. After the Vatican transferred the diocesan see to Jackson, this became St. Mary's Basilica. In 1847 the Sisters of Charity of Emmitsburg, Maryland, came to Natchez and established Saint Mary's Orphanage. During his tenure as bishop, Chanche built 11 churches, with a team of 11 priests and 13 attendant missions. Chanche died in 1853.
Bishop James Van de Velde was named as the second bishop of Natchez by Pope Pius IX in 1853. However, after only 23 months in office, Van de Velde died in 1855 of yellow fever. The next bishop of Natchez was Bishop William Elder, appointed by Pius IX in 1857. At the time he arrived in Natchez, the diocese had eleven missions (churches), nine priests and 10,000 Catholics.
After the occupation of Natchez in 1864 by the Union Army during the American Civil War, Elder refused an order from the military government to compel his parishioners to pray for the US president. Elder was then arrested, tried, convicted, and jailed briefly in Vidalia, Louisiana. Elder wrote an appeal from prison to President Abraham Lincoln. Elder explained that his refusal was not based on politics, but on the authority of the Catholic church to regulate its church services. The Federal Government ordered Elder's release from prison on August 12, 1864.
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Diocese of Jackson
The Diocese of Jackson is a Latin Church diocese in Mississippi in the United States. Its ecclesiastical jurisdiction includes the northern and central parts of the state, an area of 97,458 square kilometers (37,629 sq mi). It is the largest diocese, by area, east of the Mississippi River.
The Diocese of Jackson is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Mobile. The bishop of Jackson, as of 2023, is Joseph Kopacz.
The first Catholic priests in Mississippi were French Jesuit and Capuchin missionaries who accompanied the La Salle, Marquette, and d'Iberville expeditions in the 17th and 18th centuries. In 1787, three priests, McKenna, White, and Savage, arrived in Natchez from Spain and erected three missions in the vicinity. These missions disappeared after the Spanish Empire ceded the area to the new United States in the early 19th century.
The Mississippi Territory was originally under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Louisiana and the Two Floridas. In 1826, Pope Leo XII moved the new state of Mississippi into the Vicariate Apostolic of Mississippi. The pope named Bishop Louis-Guillaume-Valentin DuBourg as the vicar apostolic.
In 1837, Pope Gregory XVI elevated the vicariate to the Diocese of Natchez, encompassing all of Mississippi. He named Reverend John Chanche, president of St. Mary's College in Baltimore as the first bishop of Natchez in 1840. At his arrival in Mississippi, Chanche found one priest in the diocese, Brogard, who was there only temporarily. Chanche set to work building a diocesan infrastructure. The first Catholic church in Vicksburg, St. Paul's, was built in 1841.
In 1842, Chanche laid the cornerstone of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows, designed by Robert Long Jr. After the Vatican transferred the diocesan see to Jackson, this became St. Mary's Basilica. In 1847 the Sisters of Charity of Emmitsburg, Maryland, came to Natchez and established Saint Mary's Orphanage. During his tenure as bishop, Chanche built 11 churches, with a team of 11 priests and 13 attendant missions. Chanche died in 1853.
Bishop James Van de Velde was named as the second bishop of Natchez by Pope Pius IX in 1853. However, after only 23 months in office, Van de Velde died in 1855 of yellow fever. The next bishop of Natchez was Bishop William Elder, appointed by Pius IX in 1857. At the time he arrived in Natchez, the diocese had eleven missions (churches), nine priests and 10,000 Catholics.
After the occupation of Natchez in 1864 by the Union Army during the American Civil War, Elder refused an order from the military government to compel his parishioners to pray for the US president. Elder was then arrested, tried, convicted, and jailed briefly in Vidalia, Louisiana. Elder wrote an appeal from prison to President Abraham Lincoln. Elder explained that his refusal was not based on politics, but on the authority of the Catholic church to regulate its church services. The Federal Government ordered Elder's release from prison on August 12, 1864.
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