The Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, W.Va., capped off a yearlong celebration of 175 years with a special Mass July 19 at the Basilica of the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Charleston July 19. Bishop Evelio Menjívar-Ayala, who was installed as bishop July 2 succeeding Bishop Mark E. Brennan, was celebrant.
Throughout the jubilee year, the diocese has posted historical recaps and other resources at dwc.org/175th.
On July 19, 1850, Pope Pius IX granted a request from then-Richmond Bishop Richard Vincent Whelan to carve out a portion of his diocese, part of the Archdiocese of Baltimore until 1820, to create the Diocese of Wheeling. Bishop Whelan was the diocese’s first bishop, and within 20 years the Catholic population nearly tripled in size.
In 1974, the Holy See redrew the boundaries of the diocese to correspond with the state’s and renamed it the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston. Today it is home to nearly 75,000 Catholics.
