Canon Corner: The hidden history of diocesan mergers and suppressions

By Father David Esquiliano
Judicial Vicar

Have you ever heard of the Diocese of Kearney, Nebraska? Kearney is a town of about 33,000 people located on I-80, just west of Grand Island. In 1912, Pope Pius X divided the then Diocese of Omaha into two parts, with the western portion of Nebraska becoming the Diocese of Kearney. 

At the time of its erection, the Diocese of Kearney covered 38,000 square miles and had a Catholic population of 15,200, with 58 churches, 21 parishes, 35 missions, and a similar number of stations without churches, one academy and three parochial schools.
 
 However, if you drive through Kearney today, you will not find a cathedral. That is because, in 1917, just five years after the establishment of this new diocese, Pope Benedict XV suppressed it and erected the Diocese of Grand Island in its place.
 
Many of us are familiar with parish mergers and suppressions, but we may not realize that dioceses sometimes go through similar processes, often for similar reasons. When traveling to Italy, one might be surprised to encounter dioceses with names composed of several locations. For example, the Diocese of Molfetta-Ruvo-Giovinazzo-Terlizzi, which spans over 170 square miles. In 1836, the Diocese of Giovinazzo e Terlizzi merged with the Diocese of Molfetta, becoming the Diocese of Molfetta, Giovinazzo e Terlizzi. Then, in 1986, that diocese merged with the Diocese of Ruvo, resulting in the Diocese of Molfetta-Ruvo-Giovinazzo-Terlizzi.
 
Just as population shifts can lead to changes in our parishes and towns, they can also necessitate changes in ecclesial structures. When many Catholics leave a town, and a parish becomes unsustainable, it is natural for it to merge with another. But what would happen if all Catholics left? In that case, a parish would most likely be suppressed. This is what happened in many territories in Near Asia, where Christians were expelled, leading to the suppression of numerous dioceses.
Cathedral of St. Conrad in Molfetta, Italy
Credit: Par Pramzan — Travail personnel, CC BY-SA 3.0
Circling back to the Diocese of Kearney, you may be surprised to learn that, while the diocese has no people—and therefore no priests or parishes—it does have a bishop. This is because the Church sometimes assigns the names of suppressed or extinct dioceses to bishops who are not in charge of an active diocese, such as auxiliary bishops or bishops working in the Holy See.

It stems from the church’s teaching that an important part of a bishop’s office is being attached to the people of God in a given place, or diocese. When a bishop takes on another role—such as serving as an auxiliary bishop elsewhere, acting as secretary of a dicastery (office) at the Vatican, or serving as a diplomatic representative of the pope—they are given a diocese that will not demand their attention, often an extinct diocese, which the church calls a titular see.
 
 So, the bishop of the Titular See of Kearney is Bishop Brian Alan Nunes. However, don't expect to see him in Nebraska, as his main role is as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.