Our Diocese

The Catholic Church is divided into geographical territories called "dioceses." Dioceses are established by the authority of the pope. Each diocese is governed by a bishop, and includes all the Catholics living within its territory.

Our diocese is the Diocese of Madison. The City of Madison is the “see city,” in which the bishop resides and from which he oversees the life of the church in his diocese. The word “bishop” comes from a Greek word meaning “overseer.”

The Diocese of Madison is comprised of eleven counties in southwestern Wisconsin (Columbia, Dane, Grant, Green, Green Lake, Iowa, Jefferson, LaFayette, Marquette, Rock and Sauk), and includes 270,000 Catholics.

The Diocese of Madison was erected on January 9, 1946. It is the youngest diocese in Wisconsin. The Diocese of Madison was formed from seven counties that had formerly belonged to the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, and four that had belonged to the Diocese of LaCrosse.

The bishop is appointed by the authority of pope, and is personally responsible for the spiritual and temporal good of the local church. He is ordained as a bishop by at least one bishop who has himself received this ordination. The “chain” of ordinations goes all the way back to the Apostles themselves. Bishops are understood to be the successors of the Apostles, who were entrusted by the Lord Jesus with the responsibility of caring for His flock on earth. The bishops, in communion with the pope, fulfill this function today.

Our bishop is the Most Reverend Robert C. Morlino, who is the fourth bishop of Madison. He was installed as Bishop of Madison on August 1, 2003. He was already a bishop at the time of his appointment, having served as Bishop of Helena (Montana) before being asked by the pope to come to Madison.

In the see city of each diocese, one church is designated as the cathedral. This is the church that contains the bishop’s “cathedra” (“chair” in Latin), an important symbol of the bishop’s authority. The cathedral is the site for the most important diocesan liturgies, such as the ordinations of new priests. The cathedral is the “bishop’s church” in a special way; because of this, the priest who takes care of the cathedral parish has the title “rector” rather than “pastor.”

The cathedral of the Diocese of Madison was St. Raphael, on West Main Street. Unfortunately, historic St. Raphael Cathedral was destroyed by arson in 2005. On June 10, 2007, Bishop Morlino announced his intention to build a new and larger cathedral at the same site.

The bishop does this in two principal ways. Most importantly, the bishop cares for his diocese through his clergy − the priests and deacons who work in the individuals parishes which constitute the diocese. Secondly, the bishop maintains central offices that provide services for all the people of the diocese.

Catholic priests are not “independent contractors” nor are they hired by the parishes they serve; they are coworkers with their bishop. It is the bishop who decides who will be accepted as a candidate for the priesthood, and in which seminary the candidates will be educated. Priests are ordained for the service of a particular diocese, and at ordination promise obedience to their bishop and his successors. Throughout his life, a priest receives his assignments to work in one place or another from his bishop.

The diocesan offices are located in the Bishop O’Connor Catholic Pastoral Center, on High Point Road, just off the Beltline on the far west side of Madison.