ST. FRANCIS, Wis. — A year to the day after his installation as the 11th archbishop of Milwaukee, Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki announced January 4 that he had directed archdiocesan attorneys “to file a petition for a Chapter 11 reorganization of its financial affairs under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.”
Milwaukee is the largest archdiocese to file for Chapter 11. The Archdiocese of Portland, Ore., with approximately 390,000 Catholics, filed for bankruptcy in July 2004. In February 2007, the Diocese of San Diego, with nearly 900,000 Catholics, filed for Chapter 11 protection.