150th Anniversary of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston

Appeared in The Catholic Virginian October 30, 2000

The 150th Anniversary of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston

Bishop Sullivan was the homilist at the 150th anniversary celebration of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, W. Va. Here is the text of his remarks.

I am honored and privileged to be here in wild, wonderful West Virginia. I am immediately reminded - in this the mountaineer state - of the Scripture passage: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those who preach the gospel”. That one passage accurately sums up a 150-year story, your story of mission and evangelization. I thank your bishop, my friend since seminary days, Bishop Bernard Schmitt, for inviting me to capture the spirit on this auspicious and historic occasion. My credentials are the fact that I represent the Diocese of Richmond, the mother diocese of your diocese. Your first bishop, Richard Whelan, happened to be the second Bishop of Richmond. Bishop Whelan came to Richmond in 1841. In those days, Virginia extended to the Ohio River, constituting a diocese of 61,000 square miles. Prior to his consecration, Bishop Whelan was a priest of Richmond, having served as pastor in Martinsburg with missions in Winchester and Harper’s Ferry. Upon his arrival in Richmond, Bishop Whelan found only a handful of Catholics in the See City. Also, he found priests who were rather contentious toward him. So in 1846, Bishop Whelan chose the better part and traveled on horseback to what was then Wheeling, Virginia. Catholics had begun to migrate into the northern panhandle with the building of the B&O Railroad. Bishop Whelan never returned to Richmond but instead petitioned Rome to divide the diocese along the natural boundary of the Allegheny Mountains. The rivers that flow eastward would remain with Richmond while the rivers flowing to the west would go to the new diocese.

In 1850 - on July 19, which was then the Feast of Saint Vincent de Paul - Pope Pius IX estab- lished the Diocese of Wheeling. The name Pius IX should be familiar to all of us since he was just recently beatified by Pope John Paul II. In those days, the new Diocese of Wheeling was looked upon as the western wilderness. Perhaps it is still viewed that way by some of us. In the beginning, the new diocese had four churches, three chapels, six priests, 10 women religious and an estimated 5,000 Catholics, most living along the northern tier. Bishop Whelan, in choosing the boundaries, did not anticipate the Civil War and the founding of the State of West Virginia. After the Civil War, Bishop Whelan had a diocese that encompassed parts of two states - West Virginia itself, without the eastern panhandle, and 17 ½ counties in Southwest Virginia. Under Bishop Whelan, who was your bishop for 26 years, the diocese was one of missionary activity and apostolic growth. At the time of his death, Wheeling had 46 churches, seven chapels, a seminary and a hospital, 31 priests, 109 religious women and 18,000 Catholics. The love affair between Richmond and Wheeling did not end with Bishop Whelan. Your second bishop, Bishop John Joseph Kain, was a priest of the Richmond diocese. His home parish was Saint Joseph’s in Martinsburg, where he served as pastor for 7 years before being consecrated as your second bishop in 1875. Bishop Kain was a native West Virginian and served as Bishop of Wheeling for 18 years before becoming Archbishop of Saint Louis. During his time with you, many immigrants came in search of work in coal mines, factories and steel mills. Needless to say, the Diocese of Wheeling is known for the longevity of its bishops. It must be the mountain air. Most famous of all for his longevity was Bishop John Swint, your fourth bishop, who served for 40 years from 1922 to 1962. His name was a household word around Blacksburg and Radford, Virginia, where I served nearby in Roanoke as a newly ordained priest. You better than I know the accomplishments of Bishop Swint. I am aware of the founding of Wheeling College, staffed by the Jesuits, in 1955.

The saga of the Richmond connection goes on and on. My personal friend, your fifth bishop, Bishop Joseph H. Hodges, while a West Virginian from Harper’s Ferry, was also a priest of the Diocese of Richmond. While in Richmond, Bishop Hodges was well remembered for being in charge of the mission trailer which went to all the outlying towns in Virginia where Catholics were few in number. He was auxiliary bishop in our diocese for nine years before becoming coadjutor to Bishop Swint for one year. He served here in Wheeling with missionary distinction from 1961 to 1985 - a bishop actually for 33 years. Right after becoming your bishop, Bishop Hodges attended the sessions of the Second Vatican Council. His was the task of implementing the reforms called for by the Council, a task which he so nobly performed. His name is still mentioned as the leader in your state’s ecumenical movement.

The story of the Richmond connection continues on when I became Bishop of Richmond in 1974. On that occasion, Richmond, with reluctance, gave back to Wheeling the Eastern Panhandle and received rightfully that beautiful area extending miles into Southwest Virginia along the Cumberland Mountains. It was then that I was first introduced to the Appalachian region - and then that I first learned both how to spell and pronounce the name “Appalachia”. In mentioning Appalachia, my thoughts return to Bishop Hodges. He was certainly loved and admired greatly in providing the leadership for writing, in 1975, the Appalachian Pastoral Letter, “This Land is Home to Me” - one of the finest Church documents ever published - under the auspices of the 24 bishops of the Appalachian area. Would you believe that Bishop Michael Begley, retired bishop of Charlotte and myself are the only two living bishops among the signers of the Pastoral. I must take the time to quote from the final paragraph of that document which reflects the spirit of this occasion: “The dream of the mountain’s struggle we believe is the voice of God among us. Hopefully the Church might once again be known as - a center of the Spirit - a place where poetry dares to speak - where song reigns unchallenged - where art flourishes - where nature is welcome - where humble people and humble needs come first - where justice speaks loudly - where in a wilderness of idolatrous destruction - the great voice of God still cries out for life.” For me, that Pastoral Letter is the greatest legacy of Bishop Hodges of happy memory.

I must now skip quickly ahead because 150 years is a long time to cover. Your present bishop, the seventh for your diocese, is the first native of the Wheeling-Charleston diocese - not the first native West Virginian - to be your bishop. He has served you well for 11 years. We will leave it to historians to unfold his legacy. I do want to refer to your great millennium event, namely, your Diocesan Synod of June 11, 2000. Your Synod ushers in what Pope John Paul II calls “a springtime of hope.” At the promulgation of the Synod, your bishop declared, “This Synod is a call to the Church of Wheeling-Charleston to renew itself by a radical commitment to living and proclaiming the gospel.” The work of your Synod is not over, but has just begun. As Bishop Schmitt himself said of the Synod, “We must continue to search for ways to fan into flame the Spirit which has descended upon our diocese from its humble beginnings 150 years ago to the present.” I am sure each of you has memorized each article of the Synod. Seriously and more importantly, the decrees of the Synod cannot just remain words on paper. They must become guidelines for action.

You are a faithful and faith-filled people. Like Moses at Mount Nebo, you look out over the Promised Land. As one drives through the mountains here, it becomes perfectly clear that West Virginia is the Promised Land for you. Like the early Christians, you share life together with a common vision and a common goal. Your numbers are few as Catholics, yet you certainly make a tremendous difference in the spiritual life of all the people of West Virginia. And just as Jesus in today’s gospel sends forth 72 disciples to announce the reign of God - so does Jesus challenge you to go forth and proclaim the good news by being good news to others. Throughout your rich history, you have walked beautifully upon the mountains - bearing the gift of the gospel to God’s holy people. God has been your companion every step of the way. As you say so eloquently in your Sesquicentennial Prayer: “God of our history, we thank you for the 150 years we have spent in the Appalachian Mountains. In all of our time, you have been with us. To your name we give glory. Amen!”

+ Walter F. Sullivan
Bishop of Richmond