What were the top archdiocesan stories from the past decade?

• Some numbers from the past decade
• Here are a few of the major statistics from our archdiocese from the first decade of this century:
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  • 11,420 — Number of people welcomed into the Catholic Church.
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  • 12,426 — Number of Catholic high school graduates.
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  • 29 — Number of men ordained to the priesthood.
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Here are a few of the major headlines from our archdiocese during the first decade of this century:

• 2000
  • Archdiocesan celebration of the Great Jubilee Year draws 30,000 to the RCA Dome.
     
• 2001
  • Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh is executed at the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute on June 11.
  • Archdiocese receives $10 million grant from Lilly Endowment, Inc. for education programs.
  • Archdiocesan pilgrims en route to Switzerland witness the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks while on a layover in New York.
  • Journey of Hope 2001, a spiritual blueprint, helps Catholics pass on the faith in the new millennium.
  • 24,000 young people attend the National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis.
     
• 2002
  • Archdiocese begins implementing the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People” in the wake of the clergy sex-abuse crisis.
  • Eight men are ordained to the priesthood, the most in a single class since 1974.
  • Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein celebrates his 10th anniversary as the Archbishop of Indianapolis.
     
• 2003
  • Catholic Charities of South Central Indiana merges with St. Elizabeth’s Regional Maternity Center in New Albany.
     
• 2004
  • National Black Catholic Convocation held in downtown Indianapolis.
  • St. Elizabeth’s Pregnancy and Adoption Services facilities in Indianapolis and other archdiocesan properties sustain damage during a tornado.
  • First class of deacon aspirants begin four-year program to prepare for ordination.
  • Archbishop Buechlein inaugurates Bishop Simon Bruté House of Formation at Marian College in Indianapolis.
  • Six Catholic schools in archdiocese are named Blue Ribbon Schools.
     
• 2005
  • Archdiocese participates in the response to Hurricane Katrina and the Indian Ocean tsunami.
  • The Cause of Canonization of Bishop Simon Bruté is opened.
     
• 2006
  • First class graduates from Seton Catholic High School in Richmond.
  • St. Theodora Guérin, foundress of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, is canonized on Oct. 15 at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City.
     
• 2007
  • The bishops of Indiana release a pastoral letter on immigration.
  • An arson fire destroys St. Anne Church in New Castle.
  • Archbishop Buechlein celebrates 20 years as a bishop.
  • SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral celebrates its centennial year.
     
• 2008
  • Archbishop Buechlein is diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. After completing several months of chemotherapy and radiation therapy treatments, his cancer is in remission.
  • 25 men are ordained permanent deacons for the first time in the history of the archdiocese.
  • Local Catholics, including youth, travel to Washington, D.C., and New York to see Pope Benedict XVI.
  • Archdiocese hosts National Catholic Educational Association Convention.
  • The Archdiocese of Indianapolis purchases the Carmelite Monastery of the Resurrection, the home of a community of 10 Carmelite nuns in Indianapolis, and Bishop Simon Bruté College Seminary moves into it.
  • Legacy for Our Mission archdiocesan capital campaign wraps up after garnering $104 million in pledges from 33,000 Catholics.
     
• 2009
  • May 3 Mass at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis culminates 175th anniversary of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.
  • Father Paul D. Etienne is appointed the new bishop of the Diocese of Cheyenne, Wyo. †