The Diocese of Allegheny () was a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church, in the state of Pennsylvania from 1876–1889. It is currently an episcopal titular see, known in Latin as Dioecesis Alleghenensis.
History In November 1875, Bishop Michael Domenec of the Diocese of Pittsburgh traveled to Rome to request the division of the Diocese of Pittsburg, and the formation of a new diocese with Allegheny City as its see. Priests and people were taken by surprise when the division was announced.Canevin, Regis. "Pittsburgh." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 12. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 15 September 2021
The diocese was created on 11 January 1876 with territory split from the Diocese of Pittsburgh, as a fellow suffragan of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Philadelphia.Schmandt, Raymond H. "Bishop Michael Domenec and the Short-lived Diocese of Allegheny." Records of the American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia, vol. 101, no. 1/2, American Catholic Historical Society, 1990, pp. 1–19 Domenec was appointed as its first ordinary, and missioner John Tuigg of Altoona, vicar-general of Pittsburgh, was appointed to succeed him in Pittsburgh.
The Panic of 1873 had been a financial disaster for the Pittsburgh diocese. The division was unpopular in Pittsburgh, as it complicated the financial situation and left those by institutions most in debt to the Pittsburgh diocese.
Bishop Domenec resigned the See of Allegheny 27 July, 1877, and retired to his native land, where he died at Tarragona, 7 January, 1878. Bishop John Tuigg, who was serving as Bishop of Pittsburgh, was appointed Apostolic Administrator.
On 1 July 1889, the see was suppressed as a residential diocese and its territory was reunited with the diocese of Pittsburgh.
Former territory
At its creation, the Diocese of Allegheny covered eight counties and an area of , leaving the Diocese of Pittsburgh with six counties and an area of . Allegheny County was split unevenly between the two dioceses, with most of that county remaining in the Diocese of Pittsburgh.: "Thus the new diocese had eight counties, with about one fourth of Allegheny, or an area of about 6530 square miles; leaving the parent diocese six counties and about three fourths of Allegheny, with an area of about 4784 square miles."
The Rev. Andrew Lambing, an early historian of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, described the boundary lines as follows:
Titular Bishops
George L. Leech: 1972-1985 as bishop emeritus of the Diocese of Harrisburg Edward Egan: 1985-1988 as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York Patrick J. McGrath: 1988-1998 as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of San Francisco Robert Joseph McManus: 1998-2004 as auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Providence John Walter Flesey: 2004-incumbent as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Newark
References and works cited References
Works cited
Sources and external links GigaCatholic, with incumbent biographies New York Times story on the reconsolidation of the see with Pittsburgh (subscription required for full article)