Diocese of Jefferson City, USA 🇺🇸

Continent: North America

Rite: Roman (Latin)

Type: Diocese Diocese

Name: Jefferson City / Civitatis Ieffersonien(sis) (Latin)

Ecclesiastical Province: Saint Louis

Depends on: Dicastery for Bishops

Website:

Celebrations

Patron Saint: Immaculate Heart of Mary

Cathedral Dedication Anniversary: May 6

Liturgical Calendar 📅

History

1956.07.02: Established as Diocese of Jefferson City / Civitatis Ieffersonien(sis) (Latin) (from Metropolitan Archdiocese of Saint Louis and Diocese of Kansas City, from the suppressed Diocese of Saint Joseph and became suffragan of Saint Louis)

Contact Info

Address: 2207 West Main St., P.O. Box 104900, Jefferson City, MO 65110-4900, USA

Phone: +1 (573) 635-9127

Present Prelates

Bishop (2025.08.19 – ...):

Bishop Ralph Bernard O’Donnell (56)

Ordinaries

Bishops of Jefferson City (Roman Rite)

Bishop Ralph Bernard O’Donnell (56)
(2025.08.19 – ...)

Bishop of Jefferson City (USA)

Servite Domino In lætitia

Born:	1969.08.31 (Omaha, NE, USA)
Ordained Priest:	1997.06.07
Consecrated Bishop:	2025.10.28

Priest of Omaha (USA) (1997.06.07 – 2025.08.19)

Bishop of Jefferson City (USA) (2025.08.19 – ...)

Bishop William Shawn McKnight (57) (later Archbishop)
(2017.11.21 – 2025.04.08)

Metropolitan Archbishop of Kansas City (USA)

Gratias agamus Domino

Born:	1968.06.26 (Wichita, KS, USA)
Ordained Priest:	1994.05.28
Consecrated Bishop:	2018.02.06

Priest of Wichita (USA) (1994.05.28 – 2017.11.21)

Bishop of Jefferson City (USA) (2017.11.21 – 2025.04.08)

Metropolitan Archbishop of Kansas City (USA) (2025.04.08 – ...)

Bishop John Raymond Gaydos
(1997.06.25 – 2017.11.21)

With a shepherd’s care

Born:	1943.08.14 (St. Louis, MO, USA)
Ordained Priest:	1968.12.20
Consecrated Bishop:	1997.08.27
Died:	2025.09.06 (Kirkwood, MO, USA † 82)

Priest of Saint Louis (USA) (1968.12.20 – 1997.06.25)

Bishop of Jefferson City (USA) (1997.06.25 – 2017.11.21)

Bishop Michael Francis McAuliffe
(1969.07.02 – 1997.06.25)

In truth and charity

Born:	1920.11.22 (Kansas City, KS, USA)
Ordained Priest:	1945.05.31
Consecrated Bishop:	1969.08.18
Died:	2006.01.09 (Kansas City, MO, USA † 85)

Bishop of Jefferson City (USA) (1969.07.02 – 1997.06.25)

Bishop Joseph Mary Marling, C.PP.S.
(1956.08.24 – 1969.07.02)

Per Sanguinem Crucis

Born:	1904.08.31 (Centralia, WV, USA)
Ordained Priest:	1929.02.21
Consecrated Bishop:	1947.08.06
Died:	1979.10.02 (Kansas City, MO, USA † 75)

Titular Bishop of Thasus (1947.06.07 – 1956.08.24)

Auxiliary Bishop of Kansas City–Saint Joseph (USA) (1947.06.07 – 1956.08.24)

Bishop of Jefferson City (USA) (1956.08.24 – 1969.07.02)

Titular Bishop of Lesina (1969.07.02 – 1976.01.16)

Special Churches

Cathedral: Cathedral of St. Joseph, Jefferson City, Missouri
Former Cathedral: Church of St. Peter, Jefferson City, Missouri
National Shrine: National Shrine of Mary, Mother of the Church, Laurie, Missouri
Jubilee Churches in the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy (2016)
Jubilee Churches in the Holy Year 2025

Churches by City (117)

Kansas City–Saint Joseph (←), Des Moines (↖), Davenport (↑), Peoria (↗), Springfield in Illinois (↗), Saint Louis (→), Springfield–Cape Girardeau (↓)

Statistics (2022.12.31)

Area: 57,287 km²

Population: 74,757 Catholics (8.1% of 925,262 total)

Pastoral Centres: 92 parishes, 6 missions

Personnel: 98 priests (diocesan), 93 deacons, 20 religious (1 brother, 19 sisters), 7 seminarians