This weekend, the Archdiocese of Cincinnati celebrates it bicentenary, two hundred years since its founding. It has an amazing history, and I would like to begin this homily with a brief history of the archdiocese. 

The first Catholic diocese west of the Allegheny Mountains was established in 1808 in Bardstown, Kentucky. Because the territory it covered was enormous, in 1821, Pope Pius VII decided to divide the Bardstown Diocese to better serve the growing population of Catholic settlers, immigrants and Native Americans. Thus, the Archdiocese of Cincinnati was created, with Father Fenwick, a travelling missionary priest, as its first bishop. It would be the eighth Catholic diocese established in the United States and encompassed Ohio, Michigan and parts of Wisconsin. The first two parishes of the Archdiocese would be St. Joseph in Somerset and Christ Church in Cincinnati. Emmanuel Church was Dayton’s first parish. 

Recognizing the need to educate future priests to serve his missionary diocese, Bishop Fenwick established the Athenaeum of Ohio, a seminary school of higher learning. Over the next 200 years, this will grow into St. Xavier High School, Xavier University and what is now known as the Mount St. Mary’s Seminary and School for Theology. 

In the initial days of Catholicism in the United States, anti-Catholic sentiment was rife, as was the lack of knowledge of Catholicism. IN 1831, this prompted Bishop Fenwick to found The Catholic Telegraph – a weekly newspaper that offered both an understanding of Catholicism a defense of the faith against organizations like the anti-Catholic, anti-Irish, and anti-immigrant Know Nothing Party. 

Bishop Fenwick died of cholera I 1832. But he had laid the groundwork for the Archdiocese for flourish. He was the first to welcome women religious orders to the Archdiocese, the Sisters of Charity being the first of them. 

At Bishop Fenwick’s death, Father John B. Purcell was named Bishop of Cincinnati. During his 50-year episcopate, he would build more than 100 parishes, schools, orphanages and hospitals and earn a reputation as a leading bishop in the United States. He became nationally renowned for debating Bishop Purcell debate Alexander Campbell, the founder of the Disciples of Christ, at a Baptist church on Sycamore Street. This was also the time that numerous other religious congregations established foundations in the Diocese. 

Significant for us in Dayton is that in the late 1840s, the Marianists arrived in Cincinnati and then in Dayton in 1849. Fr Leo Meyer was sent to assist at Emmanuel Church and to purchase property for a school. This would become Chaminade School and later Chaminade-Juliane High school. Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception would not be founded until 1938, with Fr. John Rauscher, a Marianist priest as the first pastor. In 1850, the Marianists founded St. Mary’s school Dayton, and it would become the famed University of Dayton. St. Helen Parish was founded in 1953 with Fr. James Krusling as its first pastor. 

In 1850, the diocese of Cincinnati was elevated to the status of an Archdiocese.

The mid 1800s were defining times for the nation. During the Civil War years (1860-65), the Catholic Telegraph, which was edited by Fr. Edward Purcell, the brother of Archbishop John Purcell became a voice for freedom and human dignity. We won’t talk about the fact that Fr. Edward Purcell ran the Archdiocese bankrupt, but as editor or The Catholic Telegraph, he took the unpopular anti-slavery position. From Sept 1963 until the end of the Civil War in 1965, the Archdiocese’s passionately supported the abolitionists. Following the abolition of slavery, Father Francis Weninger, a Jesuit, found St. Ann’s Colored Church for Black Catholics in Cincinnati. At the time, it was one of six Black Catholic churches in the United States. The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur taught at the school. This was path-breaking especially in the context of the checkered history of the Catholic Church with African-Americans. 

The I Vatican Council was held in 1871 and many American bishop opposed the decree of Papal infallibility. Archbishop John Purcell was one of them. However, once the decree passed, he gave his obedience to the Church. 

At the death of Archbishop Purcell, Bishop Elder was appointed archbishop of Cincinnati in 1883.  During his tenure 32 new parishes and missions were established and the archdiocese grew to include 200,000 Catholics, almost 300 priests, 180 churches, and over 100 Catholic schools. It was also at this time the Knight of Columbus came to Cincinnati. Archbishop elder was among the speakers at the Second Black Catholic Congress was held in which was held Cincinnati on July 8-10, 1890. The congress focused on education and the establishment of an industrial school for Black Americans. 

In 1904, Henry Moeller was installed as the fourth archbishop of Cincinnati - the first Cincinnati native to lead the Archdiocese. He was a strong proponent of Catholic education and especially was sensitive to the social needs of the poor. His leadership was also a time of great growth in the Archdiocese. Among other achievements, the first regional High School (Hamilton Catholic High School) was founded, Cincinnati hosted the Fifth National Eucharistic Congress in 1911, The Rita School for the Deaf was founded, the Bureau of Catholic Charities was created, and the College of Mount St. Joseph for Women was opened. 

After Archbishop Moeller, John McNicholas was named and archbishop. Archbishop McNicholas was among the most influential US bishops in the interwar years, taking an active role in the causes of social reform, evangelization and education. Noteworthy in this era is the II Vatican Council. Archbishop Alter and Bishops Paul Leibold and Edward McCarthy participated in the Second Vatican Council, with Alter being present at all four sessions. A leader among bishops in the United States, Bishop Alter was a member of committees preparing materials prior to the council. At the conclusion of the council, he directed that a parish council be established in every parish and began the process of implementing liturgical reforms. 

Archbishop Moeller was followed by Karl Altar, Paul Leibold, Joseph Bernadin, and Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk, who was a native of Dayton. I came to Dayton during his the time of Archbishop Pilarczyk and he was instrumental in my decision to incardinate into the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. Archbishop Pilarczyk worked to address many of the challenges, of the times. Significant among them were the child abuse crisis, the declining number of priests, and demographic changes that required parish consolidations and closings. 

In 2009, Dennis Schnurr became the archbishop of Cincinnati. He has put the archdiocese on a firm financial footing, but he has the great challenge of preparing for the Church of the future that is burdened by both declining number of Catholics and even greater declining number of priests. Even as I speak, the Beacons of Light initiative is implementing a reorganization of the archdiocese that can address these challenges. 

Where do we go from here? Perhaps today’s scripture reading can offer us some aid. I offer three points:

1. Nations will walk by your light (Is 60:3). In today’s first reading we hear God calling Israel to be the light in which nations would walk. In reality, Israel was to be the people through whom God’s light would shine. I believe that as the Archdiocese of Cincinnati looks towards the future, there is no better goal to set to accomplish than to be a beacon of light for the nations. In Archbishop Schnurr’s pastoral letter in preparation for the bicentennial, he wrote, “Our local church will only be instrument God intends it to be if each of us seeks the face of the Lord, is converted to Him, an allows Jesus to work through us – in short, if we radiate Christ.” The church exists today in a broken world and a broken nation. The church itself is divided and sometimes has radiated darkness. Who can forget the child abuse crisis? But there are many moments in history when the Archdiocese was truly a beacon of light. For example, when the Civil War ripped the nation apart, the archdiocese took a stance in favor or human dignity and freedom by supporting the end of slavery. The history of the archdiocese is replete with other instances of prophetic witness to the gospel. However, on the same weekend that we celebrate the bicentenary of the Archdiocese and Juneteenth, we must be aware that we can become enslaved to the temptation for institutional security, empty religiosity, partisan politics, ideological biases, racist and nationalistic agendas, lack of respect for human life and dignity, and careless disregard for creation. If the archdiocese must radiate light, if nations must walk in its light, it must find its firm foundation on the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Archdiocese must stay true to the gospel of Jesus Christ and be the spirit-filled church that Christ founded. The Archdiocese of Cincinnati must radiate Christ and Christ alone – nothing more, nothing less. 

2. One Body of Christ. The second reading from the 1^st letter of Paul the Corinthians was written to a very fragmented community. Paul used the analogy of a body to impress upon the Corinthian community that just as all the parts of the body must work together for the body to function well, so must every member in the church contribute towards functioning like the body of Christ. Moreover, even though some parts of the body perform critical function, even the smallest part of the body is critical to make the body complete. As the archdiocese of Cincinnati embarks on the next hundred years, with gratitude in our hearts for the many gifts of the hierarchy and lay people, there is an urgent need to work in unity for the service of the gospel. A fragmented church is a counter-witness. The declining number Catholics in America and in the Archdiocese, and the increasing number of ‘nones’ is a clear indication that more and more people are feeling alienated from the Catholic Church. Many people feel abandoned, unwanted, and unwelcomed in the church. As the archdiocese of the future and as the body of Christ, we must ensure that no part of the body, no one, not one single person – sinner or saint, man, woman or transgender, straight or gay, rich or poor, immigrant, refugee, or citizen, black, white or brown, at home or on the streets, married or single, divorced or otherwise – is made to feel insignificant, unwanted, or unwelcome. If anyone is missing from the body of Christ, then the body is incomplete. Rather, as Paul says, we must recognize that each member has his or her gifts which must be used to enrich the church. The holiness of the church does not depend on becoming an exclusive club of saints, but rather a pilgrim church of imperfect people, all moving toward eternity. My prayer is the Archdiocese of Cincinnati will bear witness to unity, peace, goodness, and unending grace. 

3. “Go and Make Disciples” (Mt 28:19). Before he ascended into heaven, Jesus gave this command to his disciples, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you…” (Mt 28:19). When this commandment was given to the disciples, and when Matthew committed it to writing, the church was a nascent church in the midst of real doubts, violent threats, and brutal persecution. Yet, Jesus commanded his disciples to “Go!” Today, I hear Christ give this same command to to the church in Cincinnati. Our call is to be a missionary church. A two-hundred-year history can make us institutional, complacent, and inward-looking. But the gospel command to make disciples of all nations is an enduring call to the church to go and be a missionary church, constantly making Christ presence evident to all. May we be obedient to Christ and fulfill the call of the gospel. 

As we offer this Mass of thanksgiving for God’s gift of the church and especially the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, through Christ, let us also entrust it to God’s holy hands. May the Spirit of God help us to continue to be a light to the nations, a united body of Christ, and missionary church that continues to be a living presence of Christ to all. 

- Fr. Satish Joseph