
On this map of Washington State, the boundaries of the new diocese of
Yakima were marked in Archbishop Connolly’s characteristic soft blue
pencil. Courtesy of the Archives of the Archdiocese of Seattle.
A commonplace map of Washington State, mounted on cardboard, with
some scrawled markings on it in thick blue pencil, has been preserved
for decades in the Archives of the Archdiocese of Seattle. But this is
no ordinary map. The markings were made by Archbishop Thomas Connolly,
and they date from the time when Seattle was elevated from a diocese to
an archdiocese.
The boundaries of our diocese have changed many times in the 165
years since its creation. From 1853 to 1868, Bishop Blanchet was
responsible not only for all of what is now Washington State, but parts
of Idaho and Montana as well, as far east as Missoula. In 1868, the
territory was reduced to the boundaries of Washington Territory. In
1913, the boundaries changed again with the creation of the Diocese of
Spokane, which split the state roughly in two. Each of these changes
reflected the Church’s response to the growing population in the area,
as resources were reallocated and leadership bolstered to ensure the
most effective preaching of the Gospel in the region.
In the years following World War II, Washington State boomed. Between
1940 and 1950, the population increased from 1.2 to nearly 2.4 million.
This population growth was not only in the major centers, but in the
rural areas, especially in central Washington. The completion of Grand
Coulee Dam in 1942 created about one million acres of new farmland. Soon
migrant workers from Mexico were pouring into the region, almost all of
them Catholic. Bishop Connolly of Seattle and Bishop White of
Spokane struggled to respond to their needs.
In September, 1950, the celebration of the Centennial of the Diocese
in a newly-redecorated St. James Cathedral brought 32 bishops to
Seattle, along with the Apostolic Delegate, Archbishop Amleto Cicognani.
It was on this occasion that the idea for a new diocese first surfaced.
The creation of a new diocese in the Yakima Valley would ensure better
spiritual care for the population there, and would allow Seattle and
Spokane to focus on their own booming centers. At the same time,
elevating Seattle to an Archdiocese would reflect the growing importance
of the city as commercial and industrial center. It would also
acknowledge the vigor of the local Church, even though the Catholic
population was not large compared with other Archdioceses. During
Cicognani’s visit to Seattle, he and Connolly talked about the
possibilities, marking proposed boundaries for the new diocese on a map,
scribbling things out, drawing things in.
It took several months, but Pope Pius XII saw things Connolly’s way.
On June 23, 1951 (the date scrawled in pencil at the top of the map of
Washington State) the Pope issued a decree creating the new diocese of
Yakima and appointing Connolly’s right-hand man, Msgr. Joseph Dougherty,
its first bishop. With the same decree, he elevated Seattle to an
Archdiocese, with Connolly as the first Archbishop of Seattle.
On July 18, the changes were formally announced. They made for big
news in Seattle. Archbishop Connolly was interviewed by KJR Radio, at
the time Seattle’s most popular radio station. A recording of the
interview survives in the Archives, so it is possible to hear the deep
and mellow voice of our first Archbishop commenting on the news and
graciously receiving the congratulations of the radio announcer. “The
response has been quite enthusiastic and very friendly,” he told KJR’s
listeners, and observed that it was “very interesting to note the
interest of our non-Catholic friends.” He added that he expected many of
his brother bishops to attend the formal ceremony in September, since “I
have expatiated at length on the glories and the beauties of our
evergreen playground.”
Connolly was right—29 bishops, 20 monsignori, and more than 300
priests attended the ceremonies at St. James Cathedral on September 26,
in which Connolly received the pallium, the sign of his new rank, and
Msgr. Dougherty was consecrated the first bishop of Yakima.
According to the Progress, the ceremonies were “thrillingly-perfect,”
“imposing,” and “brilliant with beauty and the light of faith.”
Father Thomas Mulligan, SS, formerly the president of St. Edward’s
Seminary, gave the sermon. His discourse on the role of the bishop could
not have been altogether encouraging to the newly-consecrated Bishop
Dougherty. “For the love of his flock, the Bishop undertakes a multitude
of onerous and unattractive tasks. The government of his diocese
involves a great amount of planning, directing, developing, financing,
in a complicated work of administration that is never fully done. It
involves many heart-breaking responsibilities, and—alas—the shepherd may
sometimes be forced to ask hard things of his priests and people, even
though in loving them more, he be loved less.”
The grand ceremonies closed with the singing of the National Anthem:
the elevation of Seattle to an Archdiocese was not only an
ecclesiastical moment, but a civic one. And it all began with a few
pencil markings on a map!
Corinna Laughlin, Pastoral Assistant for Liturgy
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