Roman Catholic Diocese of Toledo

The Diocese of Toledo in America (Dioecesis Toletana in America) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction, or diocese, of the Catholic Church covering nineteen counties in northwestern Ohio in the United States.

The diocese is a suffragan see of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Cincinnati. The See city for the diocese is Toledo. The eighth and current bishop of Toledo is Daniel Thomas. Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral is the mother church of the diocese.

1700 to 1900
During the 17th century, present day Ohio was part of the French colony of New France. The Diocese of Quebec, had jurisdiction over the region. However, unlike other parts of the future American Midwest, there were no attempts to found Catholic missions in Ohio.

In 1763, Ohio Country became part of the British Province of Quebec, forbidden from settlement by American colonists. After the American Revolution ended in 1783, Pope Pius VI erected in 1784 the Prefecture Apostolic of the United States, encompassing the entire territory of the new nation. In 1787, the Ohio area became part of the Northwest Territory of the United States. Pius VI created the Diocese of Baltimore, the first diocese in the United States, to replace the prefecture apostolic in 1789.

In 1808, Pope Pius VII erected the Diocese of Bardstown in Kentucky, with jurisdiction over the new state of Ohio along with the other midwest states. Pope Pius VII on June 19, 1821, erected the Diocese of Cincinnati, taking all of Ohio from Bardstown. In 1842, the first Catholic church in Toledo, St. Francis de Sales, was constructed.

Pope Pius IX erected the Diocese of Cleveland in 1847, with territory taken from Cincinnati. Northwest Ohio would be part of the Diocese of Cleveland for the next 63 years.

1900 to 1950
Pius X erected the Diocese of Toledo on April 15, 1910, in territory taken from the Diocese of Cleveland. The pope named Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Schrembs of the Diocese of Grand Rapids as the first bishop of the new diocese. Schrembs requested that the Sisters of Saint Francis of Rochester, Minnesota, send nuns to Toledo to work with Polish immigrant children. Sister Adelaide Sandusky, director of the College of St. Teresa, and 22 other sisters began teaching in Toledo schools. This community became the Sisters of St. Francis of Sylvania From 1911 to 1921, Schrembs established 13 new parishes and 33 schools. At Schrembs' invitation, Visitation nuns came to Toledo in 1915 from their Georgetown monastery in Washington, D.C.

In 1921, Pope Pius XI appointed Schrembs as bishop of Cleveland. His replacement in Toledo was Reverend Samuel Stritch, named by Pius XI in 1921. During his tenure as bishop, Stritch established Mary Manse College in Toledo in 1922 and incorporated the diocesan Catholic Charities in 1923. He also began construction of Holy Rosary Cathedral, whose cornerstone was laid by Cardinal János Csernoch in 1926. In 1930, Pius XI named Stritch as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. To replace Stritch, the pope named Reverend Karl Alter, the first priest from Toledo to become its bishop.

During his tenure as bishop, Alter completed construction of Holy Rosary Cathedral in Toledo and built an addition to Central Catholic High School in Toledo. He established DeSales College in Toledo in 1942 and donated a 12-acre (49,000 m2) parcel of land in East Toledo for the construction of St. Charles Hospital. In 1950, after 20 years as bishop of Toledo, Alter was named archbishop of Cincinnati by Pope Pius XII.

1950 to 2010
Alter was replaced in Toledo by Auxiliary Bishop George Rehring of Cincinnati by Pius XII in 1950. He retired in 1967. Pope Paul VI then named Auxiliary Bishop John Donovan from the Archdiocese of Detroit as the new bishop of Toledo.

Donovan implemented the reforms of the Second Vatican Council in the diocese by joining the Ohio Council of Churches, and establishing a permanent diaconate and a chancery office for divorced, separated, and widowed Catholics. In 1967, he issued a pastoral letter endorsing open housing ballot initiative, which was defeated in a city referendum that fall. He also established the Diocesan Development Fund and special programs for Spanish-speaking, African American and elderly Catholics. During his tenure, Donovan also established Resurrection Parish in Lexington in 1969 and St. Joan of Arc Parish in Toledo in 1978. The Catholic population in the diocese increased from 301,000 to 348,000. Donovan retired in 1980.

The next bishop of Toledo was Auxiliary Bishop James Hoffman, appointed by Pope John Paul II in 1980. Hoffman died in 2003 and was replaced by Auxiliary Bishop Leonard Blair of Detroit, named by John Paul II. On May 9. 2005, Blair directed the Sisters of St. Francis to cancel a three-workshop by New Ways Ministry at the order's campus in Tiffin. In stating his objections, Blair stated:"The positions of New Ways Ministry are not at all in accord with the guidelines for pastoral care which the bishops of the United States issued in 2006 regarding 'Ministry to Persons with a Homosexual Inclination."Reverend Gerald Robinson was convicted in 2006 of the 1980 murder of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl at Mercy Hospital in Toledo. Pahl had been strangled and stabbed 31 times. Prosecutors in 1980 did not charge Robinson, who denied any guilt, citing insufficient evidence. The Pahl case was reopened in 2003 after a diligent reexamination of the case file. Robinson was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison, where he died in 2014.

2010 to present
In July 2011, Blair told parishes and parochial schools in the diocese not to raise funds for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. He cited concerns that the money could be used to fund embryonic stem-cell research. Pope Francis appointed Blair as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Hartford in 2013. Francis in 2014 appointed Auxiliary Bishop Daniel Thomas from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia as the new bishop in Toledo.

As of 2023, Thomas is the bishop of Toledo.

Sex abuse
In 1988, Reverend Robert J. Fisher, then associate pastor at St. Rose Church in Perrysburg, pleaded guilty to sexual imposition and contributing to the sexual abuse of a minor. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail and four years of counseling. In 1992, Bishop Hoffman returned Fisher to active ministry.

Following a new policy from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on priests convicted of sexual abuse, Hoffman permanently suspended Fisher and three other priests from ministry in 2002. Hoffman blamed "the media climate" for the new policy and said he had no plans to remove other such priests. He later declared, "My difficulty with zero tolerance is that the Gospel teaches reconciliation. We believe in forgiveness."

The diocese announced in 2004 that it had settled 23 lawsuits by victims of sexual abuse by diocesan priests; the diocese would pay $1.19 million.

In August 2020, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested Reverend Michael Zacharias, a diocesan priest, on charges of sex trafficking, coercion and enticement. Zacharias was accused of grooming and engaging in sexual conduct with three boys since the late 1990s. He introduced his victims to pain medications and heroin, then convinced them to engage in prostitution once they had developed drug dependencies. Zacharias was convicted in May 2023 of five counts of sex trafficking.

In September 2020, the Toledo Blade reported that there were flaws in the diocese's efforts to combat sex abuse, such as the lack of psychological evaluations.

Bishops of Toledo

 * 1) Joseph Schrembs (1911–1921), appointed Bishop of Cleveland and archbishop (personal title) in 1939
 * 2) Samuel Alphonsius Stritch (1921–1930), appointed Archbishop of Milwaukee and later Archbishop of Chicago and Pro-Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith (elevated to cardinal in 1946)
 * 3) Karl Joseph Alter (1931–1950), appointed Archbishop of Cincinnati
 * 4) George John Rehring (1950–1967)
 * 5) John Anthony Donovan (1967–1980)
 * 6) James Robert Hoffman (1980–2003)
 * 7) Leonard Paul Blair (2003–2013), appointed Archbishop of Hartford
 * 8) Daniel Edward Thomas (2014–present)

Auxiliary bishops

 * 1) Albert Henry Ottenweller (1974–1977), appointed Bishop of Steubenville
 * 2) James Robert Hoffman (1978–1980)
 * 3) Robert William Donnelly (1984–2006)

Other priests from the diocese who became bishops

 * Augustus John Schwertner, appointed Bishop of Wichita in 1921
 * John Stowe, OFM Conv., Bishop of Lexington in 2015

Coat of arms
In the coat of arms for the Diocese of Toledo, the field is one half blue (dexter) and one half red (sinister). A silver tower with a red cross appears on the field. This coat of arms is based on the coat of arms for the City of Toledo in Spain.

Heraldist Pierre de Chaignon la Rose designed the diocesan arms in 1912. The formal heraldic blazon is Per pale azure and gules, a tower triply-turreted, the central turret the tallest, argent, charged with a cross-humetty of the second.

General information
The Diocese of Toledo covers 8222 sqmi in the following counties:

Williams, Defiance, Paulding , Van Wert, Fulton, Henry, Putnam, Allen, Lucas, Wood, Hancock, Ottawa, Sandusky, Seneca, Wyandot, Crawford, Erie, Huron, and Richland.

As of 2016, the diocese had approximately 319,907 Catholics out of an area population of 1,465,561.

Parishes
The Diocese of Toledo as of 2014 had 124 parishes.

Personnel
In 2014, the Diocese of Toledo had the following personnel:


 * 210 active priests
 * 38 of these active priests were from religious orders
 * 68 priests were retired/senior status.
 * Ten religious brothers, 440 women religious (sisters), 197 permanent deacons and 23 diocesan seminarians.

In 2018, the diocese had the following personnel:


 * 203 active priests
 * 44 priests were from religious orders (32 active and 12 retired/senior status)
 * 63 priests were retired/senior status.
 * Nine religious brothers, 410 religious women (sisters), 187 permanent deacons and 17 diocesan seminarians.

Food assistance

 * Helping Hands of St. Louis
 * H.O.P.E. Pantry

Housing shelters

 * La Posada
 * Miriam House

Housing services

 * Homelessness Prevention
 * Supportive Housing
 * Life & Home Management Workshops
 * Community Emergency Services

Family support

 * Adoption Services
 * Pregnancy Support
 * Respect Life Ministry
 * Abortion Healing/Support
 * Bereavement Ministry
 * Elder Guardianship Services
 * Rural Life Ministry
 * Jail & Prison Ministry
 * Catholic Club
 * Daycare
 * Elder Ministry

Community services

 * Campaign for Human Development
 * Disaster Response

Education
As of 2018, the Diocese of Toledo had:
 * 54 elementary schools serving 10,561 students
 * 13 Catholic high schools serving 4,170 students
 * 2 colleges/universities with 3,816 full- and part-time students

Former schools

 * Alter Elementary – Rossford, Ohio (now All Saints)
 * Divine Word Seminary – Perrysburg (closed in 1984)
 * Franciscan Academy – Sylvania (closed, 2014)
 * Holy Angels – Sandusky (combined with Sandusky Central Catholic Schools)
 * Holy Spirit Seminary – Toledo (closed in 1982)
 * Immaculate Conception – Toledo (combined with Sts. Peter & Paul to form Queen of Peace)
 * Mary Immaculate Elementary (closed, 2013)
 * McAuley High School – Toledo
 * Pope John Paul II – Toledo (closed, 2008)
 * Queen of Peace – Toledo (combined with St. James to form Queen of Apostles)
 * St. Adalbert – Toledo (combined with St. Hedwig to form Pope John Paul II in 2005)
 * St. Agnes – Toledo (closed, 2005)
 * Saint Bernard Elementary – New Washington(closed,2021)
 * St. Charles – Toledo (closed, 2008)
 * St. Clement – Toledo (closed)
 * St. Hedwig – Toledo (combined with St. Adalbert to form Pope John Paul II in 2005)
 * St. Hyacinth – Toledo (closed, 2005)
 * St. James – Toledo (combined with Queen of Peace to form Queen of Apostles)
 * St. John the Baptist – Toledo (closed, 2016)
 * St. Jude – Toledo (closed, 2002)
 * St. Martin de Porres – Toledo (closed, 2002)
 * St. Mary – Sandusky (combined with Sandusky Central Catholic Schools)
 * St. Mary of the Assumption – Toledo (closed, 2002)
 * Sts. Peter & Paul – Toledo (combined with Immaculate Conception to form Queen of Peace)
 * Sts Peter and Paul – Sandusky (combined with Sandusky Central Catholic Schools)
 * St. Thomas Aquinas, Sacred Heart, St. Stephen – Toledo and St. Jerome – Walbridge combined to form Kateri Catholic Academy, later renamed Cardinal Stritch Catholic Academy
 * St. Wendelin High School – Fostoria (Closed, 2017)

Catholic radio within the diocese
Catholic Radio began broadcasting in the Diocese of Toledo in 2010, beginning with WJTA followed by WNOC. Several local stations owned by separate entities. These include:

WNOC 89.7 FM is licensed to Bowling Green and is based in Toledo as "Annunciation Radio". It has four sister stations:
 * WHRQ 88.1 FM in Sandusky
 * WFOT 89.5 FM in Lexington
 * WSHB 90.9 FM in Willard
 * WRRO 89.9 FM in Edon and based in Bryan.

Other stations in the diocese include:
 * WJTA 88.9 FM licensed to Glandorf and based in Leipsic serving Putnam and surrounding counties as "Holy Family Radio" which also serves the Findlay and northern portions of the Lima areas.
 * WOHA 94.9 FM in Ada, serving the greater Lima area as a simulcast of WJTA.
 * WSJG-LP 103.3 FM in Tiffin as "St. John Paul The Great Radio."