Roman Catholic Diocese of Memphis

The Diocese of Memphis consists of all the Tennessee counties that are west of the Tennessee River. The parishes and missions are split into two deaneries:

• The Memphis Deanery includes the 28 parishes in Shelby County.
• The Jackson Deanery encompasses the 15 parishes and five missions in the other 20 counties in the diocese.

In 1808, Pope Pius VII erected the Diocese of Bardstown, a huge diocese in the American South and Midwest. The new state of Tennessee was part of this diocese.{{Cite web |title=Louisville (Archdiocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy] |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dloui.html |access-date=2023-08-07 |website=www.catholic-hierarchy.org}} Pope Gregory XVI erected the Diocese of Nashville in 1837, taking all of Tennessee from the Diocese of Bardstown.{{Cite web |title=Nashville (Diocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy] |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dnash.html |access-date=2023-08-07 |website=www.catholic-hierarchy.org}}  The Memphis area and western Tennessee would remain part of the Diocese of Nashville for the next 133 years.

The De La Salle Christian Brothers opened Christian Brothers College in Memphis in 1871. It is today Christian Brothers University.{{Cite web |date=2020-01-13 |title=About CBU - Christian Brothers University |url=https://www.cbu.edu/about/ |access-date=2025-02-26 |language=en-US}}

Pope Paul VI erected the Diocese of Memphis on June 20, 1970, removing its present territory from the Diocese of Nashville and making it a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Louisville.{{Catholic-hierarchy|diocese|dmemp|Diocese of Memphis|21 January 2015}} The pope appointed Reverend Carroll Dozier of the Diocese of Richmond as the first bishop of Memphis.

During his tenure, Dozier implemented the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, including insisting on liturgical changes and giving more important roles to the laity in diocesan affairs.{{cite news |last=Zurhellen |first=Joan |date=2006-01-12 |title=First bishop of diocese remembered |work=Roman Catholic Diocese of Memphis |url=http://www.cdom.org/wtc/wtc_archives/wtc011206/wtc_pages/feature_article3.htm |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060517222659/http://cdom.org/wtc/wtc_archives/wtc011206/wtc_pages/feature_article3.htm |archivedate=2006-05-17}} He also established the diocesan Housing Corporation, the local affiliate of Catholic Charities, the Ministry to the Sick, and a weekly newspaper called Common Sense. In 1970, Dozier celebrated two masses of reconciliation in Memphis and Jackson for lapsed Catholics; he gave general absolution to those in attendance.{{cite news |date=1985-12-08 |title=Bishop Carroll T. Dozier, 74; Ex-Head of Memphis Diocese |work=The New York Times}} Dozier retired in 1982.

In 1982, Pope John Paul II appointed Auxiliary Bishop James Stafford of the Archdiocese of Baltimore as the second bishop of Memphis.{{Catholic-hierarchy|bishop|bstafford|James Francis Cardinal Stafford|21 January 2015}} During his tenure, Stafford revised the structure of the Pastoral Office, improved the fiscal conditions of the diocese, and concentrated on the evangelization of African Americans.{{cite news |title=History |work=Roman Catholic Diocese of Memphis |url=http://www.cdom.org/archives/history.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928141039/http://www.cdom.org/archives/history.htm |archive-date=September 28, 2011}} The pope named Stafford as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Denver in 1986.

The next bishop of Memphis was Reverend Daniel M. Buechlein, appointed by John Paul II in 1987. The pope named him archbishop of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis in 1992. To replace him in Memphis, John Paul II selected Auxiliary Bishop J. Terry Steib of the Archdiocese of St. Louis in 1993. One of Steib's primary accomplishments was reopening eight Catholic schools in Memphis that had been closed for financial reasons by a previous bishop.{{Cite web |title=Bishop Terry Steib, SVD |url=https://www.svdvocations.org/meet-our-missionaries/archives/bishop-terry-steib |access-date=2021-11-30 |website=www.svdvocations.org |language=en}} Steib retired in 2016

File:Bishop David Talley.jpg

Pope Francis named Auxiliary Bishop Martin Holley of the Archdiocese of Washington as the new bishop of Memphis on August 23, 2016,{{cite press release |accessdate = October 28, 2018 | publisher = Holy See Press Office | url = http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2016/08/23/0594/01330.html | language = it | date= August 23, 2016 | title = Rinunce e Nomine, 23.08.2016 }}{{cite news|access-date = August 24, 2016 | date= August 23, 2016 | title = Pope Francis taps DC auxiliary as the new Bishop of Memphis | url = https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/34421/pope-francis-taps-dc-auxiliary-as-the-new-bishop-of-memphis | work = Catholic News Agency | first = Hannah | last = Brockhaus }}{{cite news |last1=Szczepanowski |first1=Richard |title=New Memphis bishop strikes a very Pope Francis tone |url=https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2016/10/23/new-memphis-bishop-strikes-pope-francis-tone/ |accessdate=October 24, 2018 |work=Crux |date=October 23, 2016}} Soon after taking office, Holley transferred about 75% of the pastors in the diocese. He first requested their resignations and then rehired them with the title of "parochial administrator" rather than "pastor". This maneuver allowed Holley to transfer priests without their resignations.{{cite news|url= https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/2017/06/30/priest-parish-leader-express-concerns-vatican-official-about-memphis-bishops-changes/440296001/ | accessdate= October 24, 2018| date= June 30, 2017 | title= Priest, parish leader express concerns to Vatican official about Memphis bishop's changes | work= Commercial Appeal |first=David | last=Waters| agency= USA Today Network}}{{cite news |last1=Morris-Young |first1=Dan |title=Parish roundup: Memphis shakeup; muscle cars for vocations |url=https://www.ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/parish-roundup-memphis-shakeup-muscle-cars-vocations |accessdate=October 24, 2018 |work=National Catholic Reporter |date=June 21, 2017}}

Holley also appointed a Canadian priest, Monsignor Clement J. Machado, to three diocesan offices: vicar general, moderator of the curia and diocesan chancellor.{{efn|Machado was asked to leave SOLT before he took these positions in the Memphis Diocese.{{citation needed|date=October 2018}}}}{{cite news| url=https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/2018/07/02/machado-resigns-key-leader-catholic-diocese-further-studies/750917002/ | accessdate= October 24, 2018 | date= July 2, 2018| title= Monsignor Machado resigns from post as second-in-command of Memphis Catholic diocese | work= Commercial Appeal | first=Clay | last=Bailey}} In January 2018, citing lack of funds, the diocese announced the closure of the ten schools in its network of Memphis Jubilee Catholic Schools, founded by Steib in 1999 to serve children from poor families.{{cite news |last1=Pignolet |first1=Jennifer |title=Memphis Jubilee Catholic Schools to close after 2018-19 school year |url=https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/education/2018/01/23/memphis-jubilee-catholic-schools-close-after-2018-19-school-year/1059023001/ |accessdate=October 24, 2018 |work=Commercial Appeal |agency=USA Today Network |date=January 23, 2018}} These actions brought considerable dissension among the diocesan clergy.

In June 2018, the Vatican sent Archbishops Wilton Gregory of Atlanta and Bernard Hebda of St. Paul-Minneapolis to Memphis to conduct a visitation of the diocese to investigate complaints about Holley's leadership. The two archbishops met with several dozen priests.{{cite news | accessdate = October 24, 2018 | date = July 9, 2018 | url = https://www.ncronline.org/news/parish/diocese-memphis-subjected-three-day-visitation | work = National Catholic Reporter | title= Diocese of Memphis subjected to three-day visitation | first = Peter | last= Feuerhetd}}{{cite news |last1=Fretland |first1=Katie |title=Vatican investigation into complaints about Memphis bishop draws mixed reaction |url=https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/2018/06/22/vatican-investigation-memphis-bishop-martin-d-holley-catholic-diocese-memphis/725609002/ |accessdate=October 24, 2018 |work=Commercial Appeal |date=June 22, 2018}} Machado resigned from the diocese shortly after Gregory and Hebda completed their visitation and Holley assigned a different priest to each of the three offices Machado had held.{{cite news|url=https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2018/07/03/a-top-official-resigns-from-catholic-diocese-in-tennessee/ | work=Crux | accessdate=October 24, 2018 | date = July 3, 2018 | agency=Associated Press | title= A top official resigns from Catholic diocese in Tennessee}}

In 2018, Pope Francis removed Holley as bishop of Memphis, citing concerns about his policy of reassigning priests. The pope named Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of the Archdiocese of Louisville as the temporary apostolic administrator of the diocese.{{cite press release | publisher = Holy See Press Office | accessdate= October 24, 2018 | title= Resignations and Appointments, 24.10.2018 | date = October 24, 2018 | url = http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2018/10/24/181024c.html}}{{cite news| url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/39716/pope-francis-removes-bishop-holley-as-head-of-memphis-diocese | access-date=October 24, 2018| date= October 24, 2018| work=Catholic News Agency | title= Pope Francis removes Bishop Holley as head of Memphis diocese |first= Hannah |last=Brockhaus}} The following day, Holley told the Catholic News Agency that he believed he was removed from office as "revenge" for advising Pope Benedict XVI against appointing Cardinal Donald Wuerl, for the job of Vatican Secretary of State in 2012. Holley had served as auxiliary bishop in Washington under Wuerl.[https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/39730/bishop-holley-says-revenge-not-mismanagement-led-to-his-removal Bishop Holley says 'revenge,' not ‘mismanagement’ led to his removal] (Catholic News Agency)

In 2019, Francis appointed Bishop David Talley of the Diocese of Alexandria in Louisiana as the new bishop of Memphis.{{Cite web|url=https://www.patheos.com/blogs/deaconsbench/2019/03/after-turmoil-in-tennessee-pope-names-new-bishop-for-memphis/|title=After Turmoil in Tennessee, Pope Names New Bishop for Memphis|first=The Deacon's|last=Bench|date=March 5, 2019}} As of 2023, Talley is the current bishop of Memphis.

The Memphis Police Department in March 2025 arrested Zachary Liberto after he sent an email to the music director of St. Louis Parish, threatening to butcher all Catholics with a machete.{{Cite web |date=2025-03-25 |title=Memphis Police Arrest Man Accused of Threatening to ‘Butcher’ Catholics With Machete |url=https://www.ncregister.com/cna/memphis-man-accused-of-threatening-to-butcher-catholics |access-date=2025-04-18 |website=NCR |language=en}}

In 2004, a Memphis man sued the Diocese of Memphis in a sexual abuse lawsuit. The plaintiff claimed that Reverend Juan Carlos Duran at Church of the Ascension in Raleigh had sexually abused him in 1999 when he was 14-years-old. Before coming to Memphis, Duran had been expelled from the Franciscan Order due to abuse allegations. The Dominican Order allowed him to join their order despite warnings from the Franciscans. After a diocesan investigation, Steib banned Duran from ministry and sent him to a center for treatment.{{Cite web |title=Priest Scandal Diocese Officials Admit Abuse Deny Reassignment, by Bill Dries, Commercial Appeal [Memphis, TN], September 28, 2004 |url=https://www.bishop-accountability.org/news3/2004_09_28_Dries_PriestScandal_Juan_Carlos_Duran_2.htm |access-date=2021-11-30 |website=www.bishop-accountability.org}} Duran was permanently removed from ministry in 2004.{{Cite web |title=Bishop Suspends Priest Accused of Sex Abuse Paul St. Charles Was Cyo Leader |url=https://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2004_07_12/2004_11_30_Dries_BishopSuspends.htm |access-date=2021-11-30 |website=www.bishop-accountability.org}}{{Cite web |title=2 Million Paid to Priest Sex Abuse Victim, by Bill Dries, Daily News, February 27, 2009 |url=https://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2009/01_02/2009_02_27_Dries_2Million.htm |access-date=2023-08-07 |website=www.bishop-accountability.org}} In 2006, the diocese settled the case for $2 million.{{Cite web |title=Inside The Priest Files: Documents reveal 50 years of abuse, cover-ups in Memphis diocese |url=https://www.memphisdailynews.com/news/2010/apr/12/inside-the-priest-files-documents-reveal-50-years-of-abuse-coverups-in-memphis-diocese/ |access-date=2021-11-30 |website=Memphis Daily News}}

In September 2005, a man sued the diocese in a case involving Reverend Paul St. Charles, the leader of the Catholic Youth Organization in the diocese. The plaintiff accused St. Charles of molesting him at a drive-in movie when he was an altar server in the 1970s. Steib had ordered a diocesan review of the allegations in 2004 and in November 2004 suspended St. Charles from ministry.{{Cite web |title=Former Memphis Altar Boy Files Lawsuit |url=https://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2005_07_12/2005_09_09_AP_FormerMemphis.htm |access-date=2021-11-30 |website=www.bishop-accountability.org}}

The diocese was sued in September 2006 by a man who claimed to have been sexually abused by Reverend Daniel Dupree in Memphis when the plaintiff was a teenager in the late 1980s.{{Cite web |title=Lawsuits Allege Sexual Abuse against Two Area Priests in '80s and '90s, by James Dowd, The Cincinnati Post [Kentucky], September 14, 2006 |url=https://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2006/09_10/2006_09_14_Dowd_LawsuitsAllege.htm |access-date=2023-08-07 |website=www.bishop-accountability.org}} In 1992, Dupress left the priesthood. He admitted in a letter to diocese officials to having abused 14 boys and young men. A court dismissed the suit in 2008, stating that the statute of limitations had passed.{{Cite web |title=Court Report Appeals Court Dismisses Sex-Abuse Suit, by Lawrence Buser, Memphis Commercial Appeal, September 16, 2008 |url=https://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2008/09_10/2008_09_16_Buser_CourtReport.htm |access-date=2023-08-07 |website=www.bishop-accountability.org}} Dupree was laicized by the Vatican in 2006.

Also in 2006, three women sued the diocese, saying that they had been sexually assaulted as children multiple times by Reverend Joseph Nguyen from 1994 to 1999. The assaults took place at the girls' homes and in the confession room at Blessed Sacrament Church in Lexington. In 2007, the diocese settled the three lawsuits for $100,000 per plaintiff.{{Cite web |title=Memphis diocese settles 3 lawsuits alleging sex abuse by priest |url=https://www.actionnews5.com/story/6676309/memphis-diocese-settles-3-lawsuits-alleging-sex-abuse-by-priest |website=www.actionnews5.com}}{{Cite web |title=Abuse Allegations Date to 1960s, Hit More Than Dozen Memphis Priests, by Lawrence Buser, Commercial Appeal, April 8, 2010 |url=https://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2010/03_04/2010_04_08_CommercialAppeal_AbuseAllegations.htm |access-date=2023-08-07 |website=www.bishop-accountability.org}}

In 2010, unsealed court documents revealed that at least 15 Catholic clergy who served in the diocese were accused of committing acts of sex abuse and that $2 million was secretly paid to one of these sex abuse victims.{{Cite web |title=Church Secrets: Memphis court documents unsealed in Catholic sex-abuse lawsuit |url=http://www.knoxnews.com/news/state/church-secrets-memphis-court-documents-unsealed-in-catholic-sex-abuse-lawsuit-ep-408728300-358812771.html |website=www.knoxnews.com}}

In February 2019, the Diocese of Richmond released a list of priests with credible accusations of sexual abuse of minors. The list included Bishop Dozier, who had served in Richmond before being appointed bishop in Memphis.{{Cite web |title=Virginia's Catholic dioceses reveal 50 clergy 'credibly accused' of sex abuse |url=https://www.wsls.com/news/2019/02/13/virginias-catholic-dioceses-reveal-50-clergy-credibly-accused-of-sex-abuse/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190214163504/https://amp.wsls.com/news/virginia/50-virginia-clergy-credibly-accused-of-sex-abuse |archive-date=2019-02-14 |access-date=2020-01-06}} In September 2019, the City of Memphis removed Dozier's image from the "Upstanders Mural" in downtown Memphis.{{Cite web |date=8 September 2019 |title=Memphis' first Catholic bishop replaced on downtown mural after child sexual abuse accusations |url=https://wreg.com/2019/09/08/memphis-first-catholic-bishop-replaced-on-downtown-mural-after-child-sexual-abuse-accusations/}}{{Cite web |title=Former Memphis bishop removed from mural after child sexual abuse allegation |url=https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/2019/09/09/former-memphis-bishop-removed-mural-after-child-sexual-abuse-allegation/2263507001/}}

After his installation as bishop in 2019, Talley had ordered a comprehensive review of prior sexual abuse allegations involving the diocese, using an outside firm.{{Cite web |date=February 28, 2020 |title=Catholic Diocese of Memphis releases list of Memphis clergy 'credibly accused' of child sex abuse |url=https://www.localmemphis.com/article/news/regional/catholic-diocese-memphis-list-memphis-clergy-credibly-accused-child-sex-abuse/522-fb32ab70-7e2d-48f7-92e9-fe0ca521c891 |access-date=2022-01-12 |website=localmemphis.com |language=en-US}} In February 2020, the diocese released a list of 20 diocesan clergy who were credibly accused of sexually abusing children.{{Cite web |title=Memphis Catholic Diocese releases list of clergy 'credibly accused of sexual misconduct' |url=https://www.actionnews5.com/2020/02/28/memphis-catholic-diocese-releases-list-clergy-credibly-accused-sexual-misconduct/ |website=www.actionnews5.com}}

1. Carroll Thomas Dozier (1970–1982)
2. James Francis Stafford (1982–1986), appointed Archbishop of Denver and later President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity and Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary (elevated to Cardinal in 1998)
3. Daniel M. Buechlein, O.S.B. (1987–1992), appointed Archbishop of Indianapolis
4. J. Terry Steib, S.V.D. (1993–2016)
5. Martin David Holley (2016–2018), removed by Pope Francis
   - Joseph Edward Kurtz, Archbishop of Louisville (apostolic administrator, 2018–2019)
6. David Talley (2019–present)

• Robert W. Marshall, appointed Bishop of Alexandria in Louisiana in 2020
• James Peter Sartain, appointed Bishop of Little Rock in 2000 and later Bishop of Joliet in Illinois and Archbishop of Seattle
• James P. Lyke, appointed as an auxiliary bishop of Cleveland in 1979 and Archbishop of Atlanta in 1991

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Christian Brothers University – Memphis

The Diocese of Memphis has 28 primary and secondary schools with a total enrollment of approximately 8,000 students. The high schools include:

• Christian Brothers High School – Memphis
• St. Agnes Academy-St. Dominic School – Memphis
• Saint Benedict at Auburndale High School – Cordova (Memphis)

• Bishop Byrne High School – Memphis
• Memphis Catholic High School – Memphis
• Immaculate Conception Cathedral School - Memphis
• Sacred Heart of Jesus High School – Jackson

{{Portal|United States|Catholicism}}

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

{{reflist}}

{{Infobox COA wide

|image = Coat of arms of the Diocese of Memphis.svg

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|notes = This Coat of Arms was designed and adopted on the occasion of the installation of Bishop Martin David Holley.

|year_adopted = 2016

|crest =

|torse =

|helm =

|escutcheon = The arms of the diocese are composed of a red field with white and blue accents. The principal charge is a silver cross of a Coptic Christian style. Blue wavy bars are present on the upper division of the shield. The small mountains are present in the lower part.

|supporters =

|compartment =

|motto =

|orders =

|other_elements =

|banner =

|badge =

|symbolism = The coat of arms of the Diocese of Memphis has a red field with six small hills in silver (white) at the bottom, from the arms of Pope Paul VI, who established the diocese. At the top of the shield, two wavy blue bands on a "chief" of silver represent the Mississippi and Tennessee rivers, the western and eastern (respectively) geographical borders of the diocese. A silver cross of the style used by Christians in the land of the Diocese's namesake city of Memphis in Egypt, links brothers and sisters in the faith of both regions to each other, and to the Church worldwide in the time of the new evangelization.

|previous_versions =

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{{notelist}}

• [http://www.cdom.org/ Roman Catholic Diocese of Memphis Official Site]
• {{CathEncy|wstitle=Memphis}}

{{Roman Catholic Diocese of Memphis}}

{{Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Louisville}}

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Category:Christianity in Tennessee

Category:Christian organizations established in 1970

Category:Catholic Church in Tennessee

Memphis

Memphis

Category:Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Louisville

Category:1970 establishments in Tennessee

Category:Organizations based in Memphis, Tennessee