Diocese of Allentown
Alanopolitan(us)
Suffragan diocese · Latin Church · Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States
The Diocese of Allentown is a Latin Church diocese in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, established in 1961 and suffragan to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Bishop Alfred A. Schlert, installed in 2017, leads the diocese.
The see
- Rank
- Suffragan diocese
- Tradition
- Latin Church
- Erected
- 28 January 1961
- Latin
- Alanopolitan(us)
- Patron
- Mary, Mother of the Church
- Annuario code
- 001000653
The see in figures
- Catholics
- 205,000
- Population
- 1,301,308
- Catholic shareof the people living within its bounds
- 15.8%
- Priests
- 210
- Catholics per priest
- 976
- Extent
- 7,182 km²
- Catholics per km²
- 29
Figures as recorded in the register, from the Annuario Pontificio and the see's own published statements. Shares and ratios are computed from the two figures shown beside them.
The bishop
- Bishop
- Alfred A. Schlert
- Born
- 24 July 1961
- Birthplace
- Easton
A see whose chair stands empty is recorded as vacant rather than filled with a guess. On what a bishop is, see the bishop.
The cathedral
Cathedral of Saint Catharine of Siena stands in Allentown, the church that holds the cathedra from which this see takes its name.
On what a cathedral is, see the cathedral; every see church on earth is gathered at the cathedrals.
The province of Philadelphia
A suffragan of Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
The sees of this province:
- Archdiocese of PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia
- Diocese of Altoona-JohnstownAltoona
- Diocese of ErieErie
- Diocese of GreensburgGreensburg
- Diocese of HarrisburgHarrisburg
- Diocese of PittsburghPittsburgh
- Diocese of ScrantonScranton
On how the Church is ordered into provinces, see the diocese.
History
The Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania in the United States is home to the Catholic Diocese of Allentown (Latin: Diœcesis Alanpolitana), a suffragan see of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Its territory takes in Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Northampton and Schuylkill counties, and its mother church is the Cathedral Church of Saint Catharine of Siena in Allentown. Alfred A. Schlert serves as bishop. As of 2025 the diocese counted a registered population of 205,000 across 78 parishes.
Catholic Intelligence
Get early access
We are indexing the whole visible Church: every diocese and parish on earth, searchable and mapped, with Mass times, clergy, and diocesan contacts. Launching soon. Sign up to be first in when it opens, starting with [object Object].
One email at launch. Nothing else.
Already have access? Sign inSources
The see's own website · Wikipedia
Compiled from the published statements of the see and the references of the Holy See, among them the Annuario Pontificio. Corrections: hello@catholicintelligence.com.