Diocese Study Released

The Diocese of Steubenville released a study on the current conditions of the church’s 13 counties.

A few years ago, it was announced the diocese would close by merging back to the Diocese of Columbus. The Steubenville Missionary Diocese was struck off from Columbus in 1944. Shortly after the announcement was made, the change was dropped following pushback from parish members.

The results of the study were shared with the public at a press conference by Bishop Edward Lohse who has been the apostolic administrator for the diocese since June of 2024.

Lohse revealed that between 1980 when many in the area were still employed in the coal mines or other industries, the population dropped 13.4 percent. During the same time, the population of the parishes decreased 46.5 percent.

In January 2015 several area Catholic Churches were closed including parishes at Flushing, Lafferty, Fairpoint, Maynard, Neffs and Powhatan Point. Memberships for those parishes were transferred to larger churches including Barnesville, Bellaire, St. Clairsville and Shadyside.

“The loss of population, we believe, is the greatest challenge facing the Diocese of Steubenville,” Lohse said. “Between 1980 and 2022, the general population of our 13 counties decreased by 13.4%.

“The Catholic population of the diocese over that same time decreased by 46.5%.”

Although the report notes the diocese is facing financial concerns, it does not make recommendations to remedy either the number of congregants or the financial issues facing the church.

The eight-page report is available online on the diocese’s website.