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Diocese of Rochester

Roffen(sis) in America

Suffragan diocese · Latin Church · Rochester, New York, United States

The Diocese of Rochester is a Latin Rite diocese covering twelve counties in western New York. Erected in 1868, it is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of New York and is led by Bishop John S. Bonnici, installed as the tenth bishop in March 2026.

The see

Rank
Suffragan diocese
Tradition
Latin Church
Erected
3 March 1868
Latin
Roffen(sis) in America
Patron
St. John Fisher
Annuario code
001002760

The see in figures

Catholics
350,000
Population
1,570,000
Catholic shareof the people living within its bounds
22.3%
Priests
251
Catholics per priest
1,394
Extent
22,719 km²
Catholics per km²
15

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
John S. Bonnici
Born
17 February 1965
Birthplace
New York

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 the Sacred Heart stands in Rochester, 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 New York

A suffragan of Archdiocese of New York.

The sees of this province:

On how the Church is ordered into provinces, see the diocese.

History

Upstate New York is served by the Diocese of Rochester (Latin: Dioecesis Roffensis), whose metropolitan is the archbishop of New York. The cathedral parish is the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Rochester. Roughly 350,000 Catholics live within the diocese, which maintains 22 diocesan elementary schools and seven independent parochial high schools. John Bonnici is the bishop.

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Sources

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.