Roman Catholic Diocese of Memphis

Diocese of Memphis Dioecesis Memphitana
Location
Country	United States
Territory	West Tennessee
Ecclesiastical province	Archdiocese of Louisville
Metropolitan	Memphis, Tennessee
Population - Catholics	65,779 (4.5%)
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	June 20, 1970
Cathedral	Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	James Terry Steib Bishop of Memphis
Metropolitan Archbishop	Joseph Edward Kurtz Archbishop of Louisville
Map
File:Diocese of Memphis map.PNG
Website
cdom.org

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Memphis (Latin: Dioecesis Memphitana in Tennesia) is a Roman Catholic diocese in Tennessee. It was founded on June 20, 1970, when Pope Paul VI removed the counties in the state west of the Tennessee River from the Diocese of Nashville, which, prior to that time, encompassed the entire state.

The diocese is broken into two deaneries, the Memphis Deanery comprising Shelby County and the Jackson Deanery which encompassed the other 20 counties in the diocese. Currently, there are 28 parishes in the Memphis Deanery, 14 parishes and 5 missions in the Jackson Deanery.

Ordinaries

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception

The following is a list of Bishops who served the Diocese of Memphis, along with their dates of service:

• Carroll Thomas Dozier (1970–1982)
• James Francis Stafford (1982–1986)
• Daniel M. Buechlein (1987–1992)
• J. Terry Steib (1993—)

Education

There are a total of 28 schools with a total of more than 8000 students. The high schools include:

• Christian Brothers High School, Memphis
• Immaculate Conception Cathedral High School, Memphis
• Memphis Catholic High School, Memphis
• St. Agnes Academy-St. Dominic School, Memphis
• Saint Benedict at Auburndale High School, Cordova (Memphis)
• Sacred Heart of Jesus High School*, Jackson

* Operates independent and with blessing of Bishop.

Closed schools

• Bishop Byrne High School, Memphis

See also

• Catholic Church by country
• Catholic Church hierarchy
• List of the Catholic dioceses of the United States

Arms

Arms of Roman Catholic Diocese of Memphis

Notes Arms was designed and adopted when the diocese was erected Adopted 1970 Escutcheon The arms of the diocese are composed of a red field with white and blue accents. The principal charge, a silver pyramid crowned with the Christian cross. Blue wavy bars are present on the upper division of the shield. The small mountains are present in the lower part. Symbolism The colors of the diocesan arms, a red field with white and blue accents, are taken from the State Flag of Tennessee; in heraldry, however, white is always shown as metallic silver. The principal charge, a silver pyramid crowned with the Christian cross, recalls the ancient city of Memphis, the capital of Egypt in the pharaonic age, from which the city takes its name. The cross, the sign of faith, is indicative of the Christianity of modern Memphis. The blue wavy bars on the upper division of the shield symbolize the two rivers that constitute the boundaries of the diocese, the Tennessee and the Mississippi. The small mountain - “montini” in Italian - are a play on the family name of Pope Paul VI, who established the diocese in 1971; they are also reminiscent of the mountains of Tennessee.

External links

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Memphis Official Site
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