HISTORY
Established as a diocese April 15, 1910

MOST REV. JOSEPH SCHREMBS - Ordained June 29, 1889. Appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Grand Rapids (MI) January 8, 1911. Consecrated February 22, 1911. Appointed Bishop of Toledo August 11, 1911. Installed October 4, 1911. Appointed Bishop of Cleveland May 11, 1921. Died November 2, 1945.

SAMUEL CARDINAL STRITCH - Ordained May 21, 1909. Appointed Bishop of Toledo November 30, 1921. Appointed Archbishop of Milwaukee August 30, 1930. Appointed Archbishop of Chicago December 27, 1939. Created Cardinal February 18, 1946. Died May 27, 1958.

MOST REV. KARL J. ALTER - Ordained June 4, 1910. Appointed Bishop of Toledo June 17, 1931. Appointed Archbishop of Cincinnati June 21, 1950. Resigned July 23, 1969. Died August 23, 1977.

MOST REV. GEORGE J. REHRING - Ordained March 28, 1914. Appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Cincinnati October 7, 1937. Appointed Bishop of Toledo July 18, 1950. Installed October 17, 1950. Resigned February 25, 1967. Died February 29, 1976.

MOST REV. JOHN A. DONOVAN - Ordained December 8, 1935. Appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit September 6, 1954. Consecrated October 26, 1954. Appointed Bishop of Toledo February 25, 1967. Installed April 18, 1967. Resigned July 29, 1980. Died September 18, 1991.

MOST REV. ALBERT H. OTTENWELLER - Ordained June 19, 1943. Appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Toledo April 17, 1974. Consecrated May 29, 1974. Appointed Bishop of Steubenville (OH) October 11, 1977. Installed November 22, 1977. Retired April 2, 1992.

MOST REV. JAMES R. HOFFMAN - Ordained July 28, 1957. Appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Toledo April 18, 1978. Consecrated June 23, 1978. Installed Bishop of Toledo February 17, 1981. Died February 8, 2003

MOST REV. ROBERT W. DONNELLY - Ordained May 25, 1957. Ordained as an Auxiliary Bishop in 1984, he assisted Bishop Hoffman in the executive governance of the Diocese until Bishop Hoffman's death. Retired May 30, 2006.

TERRITORY
8,222 square miles in Williams, Defiance, Paulding, Van Wert, Fulton, Henry, Putnam, Allen, Lucas, Wood, Hancock, Ottawa, Sandusky, Seneca, Wyandot, Crawford, Erie, Huron, and Richland counties.

POPULATION
322,523 Catholics in an area population of 1,481,200

PARISHES:
127

PERSONNEL
219 priests in our diocese, 173 diocesan priests, 105 on active duty in the Diocese, 5 active outside Diocese, 0 in foreign missions, 63 retired, sick or absent priests, 3 transitional deacons
36 religious priests, 10 extern priests and 8 religious brothers
513 women religious (sisters)
183 permanent deacons

EDUCATION
61 elementary schools serving 22,100 students (includes Pre-K-8)

2 elementary schools, private serving 333 students

1 nonresidential school for persons with physical or mental disability, serving 51 students
10 diocesan and parish high schools serving 3,043 students
4 private high schools serving 2,572 students
2 colleges

22 total seminarians

4,420 high school students in Religious Education Programs

22,100 elementary students in Religious Education Programs (includes Pre-K-8)

8 priests serving as full-time academic teachers in our diocese; 6 Scholastics; 25 Sisters; 1,365 paid lay teachers

SACRAMENTS
2511 Infant Baptisms (infants up to ages 7)

557 Minor Baptisms (between ages 7 and 17

332 Adult Baptisms (18 and over)

397 Received into Full Communion total
3,464 First Communions
3,201 Confirmations
1091 Total Marriages, 636 Catholic Marriages; 455 Interfaith marriages
2,790 Deaths

WELFARE
8 Catholic hospitals, 1,121,659 number of in-patients and out patients assisted annually
6 homes for the aged, chronically ill, or invalids, 1,201 assisted annually
1 day care center, 460 assisted annually

1 specialized home for substance abuse, halfway house, physically abused children or adults, AIDS/ARC, ex-offenders, pregnant women, adjudicated delinquents, runaway youths, serving 92 annually.
12 special centers for social services and assistance (hotline centers, food distribution, homeless centers, legal services, counseling), 123,896 assisted annually.

7 other institutions serving 1400 annually

 

CURRENT BISHOP
MOST REV. LEONARD P. BLAIR - Ordained June 16, 1976. Appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit (MI) July 9, 1999. Consecrated Bishop (MI) August 24, 1999. Appointed Bishop of Toledo (OH) October 7, 2003. Installed December 4, 2003.

COAT OF ARMS
The arms of the See are based upon those of Toledo, Spain, which bears a silver tower on a plain red field. By changing the field to one half of blue (dexter) and half of red (sinister) the arms are significantly different from the original, and there is effected, in conjunction with the silver tower, a combination of red, white, and blue - a new and distinctively American Toledo coat. The tower has been marked with a red cross to indicate that the new Toledo is to be ever a Catholic stronghold.