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Establishment Documents
Diocese of Atlanta
The Diocese of Atlanta was established by Pope Pius
XII on July 2, 1956.
The following is an English translation of the Apostolic letters of the
erection of the Diocese of Atlanta and of the nomination of the first Bishop of
Atlanta, Most Reverend Francis E. Hyland, D.D., J.CD.
DOCUMENT I
PIUS, Bishop, Servant of the Servants of God, for a Perpetual Remembrance.
We, who ever since the day on which the merciful God committed to Us the
government of the universal Christian family have striven mightily to make more
secure for all Our children the way of eternal salvation and to provide them
with every benefit of the Holy Catholic Religion, firmly believe that it is Our
duty to partition very extensive dioceses and to determine for them more
suitable boundaries. When, therefore, We learned that Our venerable Brother,
Gerald Patrick O'Hara, Archbishop-Bishop of Savannah-Atlanta, desiring to
provide in a more satisfactory manner for the needs of his vast diocese, begged
of this Holy Roman See that the aforesaid diocese, which comprises the entire
State of Georgia, be partitioned and that a new and more suitable diocese be
established, We willingly acceded to his petition.
Consequently, having asked the opinion of Our venerable Brother, Amleto
Giovanni Cicognani, Titular Archbishop of Laodicea in Phrygia and Apostolic
Delegate to the United States of America; having taken counsel of Our venerable
Brothers, the Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, members of the Sacred
Consistorial Congregation, with the consent likewise of those who have any
right in the partition, We, by Our supreme authority, decree the following.
We separate from the Diocese of Savannah-Atlanta the entire northern portion
of the territory, which extends to the south as far as the northern boundary
lines of the Counties of Richmond, Jefferson, Glascock, Washington, Wilkinson,
Twiggs, Bibb, Crawford, Taylor, Talbot and Harris. In the territory
circumscribed by these boundaries, We erect a new diocese, which We desire to
be called ATLANTA from the city of that name, the capital of Georgia. In this
city the Bishop shall establish his see and domicile, and shall have the chair
of his pastoral authority in the sacred edifice dedicated to Our Lord Jesus
Christ the King, which hitherto has enjoyed the dignity of a co-cathedral.
Consequently, to the sacred edifice, to the city and to the diocese of which We
speak, We grant all the honors and privileges which other churches, cities and
dioceses of equal rank enjoy. We invest the Bishop with the rights, powers,
privileges, honors and insignia and bind him to the duties and obligations
which proceed from the episcopal dignity. We constitute the new Diocese of
Atlanta a suffragan See of the Province of Baltimore, to whose Archbishop We
wish the Bishop of Atlanta and his successors to be subject.
Since, therefore, after this division of territory, the extent of the
Diocese of Savannah-Atlanta shall be restricted and confined on the north to
the northern boundary lines of those counties which We have mentioned above, We
decree that the said diocese, together with its cathedral church of St. John
the Baptist, shall hereafter be called simply SAVANNAH, after the city of
Savannah, in which the episcopal see and cathedral are already established; and
the same is to be said of the Bishop of the diocese.
In order that divine worship may be conducted in the cathedral church of
Atlanta in solemn and proper manner, and that the Bishop may avail himself of
the counsel and experience of men who are preeminent for their gifts of mind
and character, We wish that a college of canons be instituted; until this can
be accomplished, We permit the appointment of diocesan consultors in place of
canons. Moreover, the government and administration of the new diocese, the
establishment of the episcopal fund, the election sede vacante (when the See is
vacant) of the vicar capitular, and all other similar matters are to be
regulated by the prescriptions of the Code of Canon Law.
We command also that, as soon as the erection of the See of Atlanta shall
have been effected, the clergy are to be considered as being ascribed to that
Diocese in whose territory they lawfully reside; and that documents and deeds
which pertain in any way whatsoever to the new diocese are to be transmitted as
soon as possible by the Curia of Savannah to the Curia of Atlanta, to be
preserved in its archives.
To execute what We have decreed by these Letters, We designate Our aforesaid
venerable Brother, Amleto Giovanni Cicognani, or whoever at the time these
decrees are to be put into effect holds the office of Apostolic Delegate in the
United States of America; the one who executes this mandate shall enjoy all the
necessary faculties, including that of subdelegating any other ecclesiastical
dignitary, and he shall have the duty of preparing the documents relating to
the fulfillment of this mandate and of transmitting authentic copies thereof
without delay to the Sacred Consistorial Congregation.
We desire that these Letters be effective now and in the future; that what
is decreed by these Letters be observed religiously by those whom they concern
and that these Letters attain the purpose for which they are issued. That the
efficacy of these Letters may not be obstructed by contrary prescriptions of
any kind, we abrogate all such prescriptions by these Letters. Therefore, if
anyone, no matter what his authority, shall either knowingly or unknowingly act
contrary to what We have decreed, We command that such acts be considered
entirely null and void. Moreover, no one may lawfully efface or destroy these
documents of Our will; indeed, to copies of these Letters and extracts
therefrom, which bear the seal of an ecclesiastical dignitary and the signature
of a public notary, there is to be accorded the very same credence that would
be given to these Letters themselves if they were exhibited. Should anyone
contemn or in any whatsoever detract from these Letters, let him know that he
thereby subjects himself to the penalties established by law for those who do
not fulfill the commands of the Sovereign Pontiffs.
Given at Rome, in St. Peter's, on the second day of July, in the year of Our
Lord nineteen hundred fifty-six, in the eighteenth year of Our Pontificate.
(c)Adeodato Giovanni Cardinal Piazza,
Secretary of the Sacred Consistorial Congregation
(s) Celso Cardinal Costantini,
Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church
(s) Alfonso Carinci, Archbishop of Seleucia,
Dean of the Apostolic Prothonotaries
(s)Amleto Tondini,
Regent of the Apostolic Chancery
(s) Silvio Sericano,
Prothonotary Apostolic
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DOCUMENT II
EXECUTORY DECREE
AMLETO GIOVANNI CICOGNANI,
by the Grace of God and the Apostolic See, Titular Archbishop of Laodicea in
Phrygia and Apostolic Delegate to the United States of America.
In virtue of the special faculty graciously granted Us by Our Most Holy
Father, Pope Pius XII, in the Apostolic Letters "Amplissimas
Ecclesias," given under seal and dated the second day of July in the year
of Our Lord nineteen hundred fifty-six, We by the present decree order that all
those things contained and prescribed in the above-mentioned Apostolic Letters
be executed.
It is Our will and decision that this Executory Decree of Ours be given its
full effect and its juridical force from the eighth day of November, nineteen
hundred fifty-six, all things to the contrary notwithstanding and all other
things prescribed by law being observed
In witness whereof, We have issued the present Decree signed by Our hand and
sealed with Our seal.
Given in Washington, at the Apostolic Delegation, on the seventh day of
October, on the feast of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in
the year nineteen hundred fifty-six.
(s)A. G. Cicognani,
Archbishop of Laodicea,
Apostolic Delegate
DOCUMENT III
PIUS, Bishop, Servant of the Servants of God, to Our venerable Brother,
FRANCIS E. HYLAND, hitherto Titular Bishop of Gomphi and now first Bishop-elect
of the Diocese of Atlanta, greetings and Apostolic Benediction.
Since the omnipotent God has wished Us to care for all the faithful of
Christ We zealously devote our energies to the end that we may, through the
ministrations of dedicated Bishops, promote the welfare of new dioceses and
provide for the needs of new flocks. It is with this consideration in mind
that, by the apostolic power invested in Us and after consultation with Our
venerable Brother, the Cardinal-Secretary of the Sacred Consistorial
Congregation, We release you from the ties of the Titular See of Gomphi and
appoint you Bishop of the new Diocese of Atlanta. We do this inasmuch as the
cathedral See of Atlanta, which We established on the second day of the present
month by the Apostolic Letters "Amplissimas Ecclesias" and declared a
suffragan See of the Province of Baltimore, must be provided with its first
Pastor. We hand over to you the government and the administration of the
spiritual and temporal affairs of this diocese; We grant you the honors and
rights and impose upon you the duties and obligations which proceed from such
an office. We dispense you from the requirement of making the profession of
Catholic faith as prescribed by the Code of Canon Law; but We wish you to take,
according to the customary formula, in the presence of any Bishop who is united
by the bonds of charity to the See of Peter, the oath of fidelity to Us and to
the Roman See; and the copy of the formula of this oath, which is enclosed with
these Letters, you will send as soon as possible, signed and sealed either by
you or by the same Prelate, to the Sacred Consistorial Congregation. In
conclusion, since the newly established Diocese of Atlanta is to be in all ways
nourished with love and care, it is Our prayer that you, who are distinguished
for virtue and who excel in holiness, always sustain by word and by example the
faithful of your diocese.
Given at Castel Gandolfo, the seventeenth day of the month of July, in the
year of Our Lord nineteen hundred fifty-six, in the eighteenth year of Our
Pontificate.
(s)Celso Cardinal Costantini,
Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church
(s)Amleto Tondini,
Regent of the Apostolic Chancery
(s)Alberto Serafini,
Prothonotary Apostolic
(s)Cesare Frederici
Prothonotary Apostolic
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Archdiocese of Atlanta
The Archdiocese of Atlanta was established by Pope
John XXIII.
Official document establishing the Archdiocese of Atlanta.
John, Bishop and Servant of the Servants of God -- to perpetuate the memory
of this act.
Following in the footsteps of our predecessors of happy memory, when the
good hope arises that things pleasant and useful will arise for the Christian
people from a change of boundaries, we not only accept such a change, but we
make it most willingly.
In this present instance, our esteemed brother, Aegidio Vagnozzi, titular
Archbishop of Mira and Apostolic Delegate to the United States of America,
after seeking the advice of our esteemed brother, Lawrence Joseph Sheehan,
Archbishop of Baltimore, petitioned the Holy See of Peter that the episcopal
Church of Atlanta be elevated to the rank of Metropolitan and that a new
ecclesiastical province be established. We ourselves received the advice of our
esteemed brothers, the Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church who are in charge of
consistorial affairs, and we considered the judgment of those who have some
right or who regard themselves as having some privilege in this matter.
Therefore, by our supreme apostolic power we establish and order these things
which follow:
We elevate the Church of Atlanta to the rank and dignity of a Metropolitan
see to which we give all rights and honors attached by common law to Churches
of this kind. Likewise we honor the Bishop of Atlanta with the archiepiscopal
dignity and, at the same time, with metropolitan dignity. Upon this office have
been imposed the burdens and obligations which are proper to a metropolitan
see, and to it, of course, have been granted the rights, privileges and
insignia which are fitting to the office. Among the privileges will be these:
within the boundary of his own jurisdiction he will be able both to wear the
pallium -- which privilege, however, must be asked and obtained in public
consistory --and to have the cross precede him in sacred ceremonies. Moreover,
we establish the new ecclesiastical province, which is to he called Atlanta,
which will consist of these dioceses: Charleston, Miami, Raleigh, Saint
Augustine and Savannah. We remove these dioceses from the metropolitan
jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Baltimore and make them subject pro
tempore to the Archbishop of Atlanta. Our esteemed brother, Aegidlo
Vagnozzi, about whom we have spoken, will be responsible for the necessary
completion of the matters which we have ordered in this letter of ours. We have
granted him all powers necessary for effecting the matter. If it should seem
best to him, he may delegate these powers to any man provided that the one
delegated enjoy ecclesiastical rank. After the required details have been
attended to, the same person will order documents to be prepared and he will
quickly send the same documents with true copies to the Sacred Consistorial
Congregation. If at that time when this decree should be executed, another is
in charge of the Apostolic Delegation in the United States of America, we
impose upon him the burden of completing the matters which we have decreed. We
desire that this decree become effective now and that it continue to be
effective in the future, indeed with this result that the decrees given in this
letter may be guarded religiously by those whose responsibility they are and
that therefore they may obtain their force.
Wherefore, if anyone, endowed with any authority whatsoever, whether
knowingly or through ignorance, shall have acted contrary to what we have
decreed, we order it to be regarded absolutely invalid and ineffective.
Moreover, let it be permitted to no one either to destroy or corrupt these
documents or our will; rather that same loyalty must in every nay be given to
the copies and excerpts of this letter which would be given for this letter if
it were displayed. These copies and excerpts, whether printed or handwritten,
should bear the seal of a dignitary of ecclesiastical rank and at the same time
should be notarized by some public official. If anyone anywhere shall spurn
these decrees of ours or shall detract from them, let him know that he will
receive the penalties established by law for those who do not obey the commands
of the sovereign Pontiffs.
Given at Rome, in Saint Peter's on the tenth day of the month of February in
the 1962nd year of the Lord, in the fourth year of our pontificate.
(s) James l. Copello
Chancellor of the
Holy Roman Church
(s) H. J. Cicognani
for the public affairs of the Church
(s Francis Tinello
regent of the apostolic chancery
(s) Caesar Federici, prot. Apos.
(s) Joseph Rossi, prot. Apos.
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