Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet in Illinois

Diocese of Joliet in Illinois Dioecesis Joliettensis in Illinois
Location
Country	United States
Ecclesiastical province	Chicago
Metropolitan	Chicago
Statistics
Area
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2010) 1,904,000 655,051 (34.4%)
Parishes	120
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Rite	Latin Rite
Established	December 11, 1948 (75 years ago)
Cathedral	Cathedral of St. Raymond Nonnatus
Patron saint	St. Francis Xavier
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	R. Daniel Conlon
Auxiliary Bishops	Joseph M. Siegel
Emeritus Bishops	Joseph Leopold Imesch
Map
File:Diocese of Joliet in Illinois map 1.png
Website
www.dioceseofjoliet.org

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet in Illinois (Latin: Dioecesis Joliettensis in Illinois) is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. It comprises the City of Joliet in Illinois and its surrounding counties: DuPage, Ford, Grundy, Iroquois, Kankakee, Kendall and Will. It is governed by a bishop, who is a suffragan of the Archbishop of Chicago. The mother church is the Cathedral of St. Raymond Nonnatus.

On Tuesday, May 17, 2011, the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Pietro Sambi, announced that Pope Benedict XVI named Bishop R. Daniel Conlon, 62, until then Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Steubenville in Steubenville, Ohio (part of the Ecclesiastical Province of Cincinnati, Ohio), as Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet (part of the Ecclesiastical Province of Chicago, Illinois), succeeding Archbishop James Peter Sartain, who was named archbishop of the Seattle, Washington in September 2010.

History

Cathedral of St. Raymond Nonnatus

In 1808, the area that is now known as Joliet was governed by the Diocese of Bardstown, present-day Archdiocese of Louisville in Kentucky. In 1824, administration of the area was transferred to the Archdiocese of Saint Louis in Missouri. Another period of reorganization for the expanding American Catholic community led to the transfer of administration over Joliet to the now-defunct Diocese of Vincennes, present-day Archdiocese of Indianapolis. In 1836, with the construction of the I&M canal, Irish immigrants swarmed into the area. Fr. John Plunkett was assigned to provide to the spiritual needs of the workers. He established St. Patrick Church, which is still operating, as the first church in the Joliet area.

With the industrialization of Illinois and the emergence of Chicago as an important center of commerce for the nation, the new churches and missions in the Joliet area flourished. Its congregants were mostly newly arrived immigrant laborers from Europe and several generations of local farmers.

In 1948, the Diocese of Joliet was formally established to meet the demands of the exponential growth of Catholicism in the region, resulting from local post-World War II housing developments and commercial modernization.

Bishops

Ordinaries

• Martin Dewey McNamara (1948–1966, Died)
• Romeo Roy Blanchette (1966–1979, Resigned)
• Joseph Leopold Imesch (1979–2006, Retired)
• J. Peter Sartain (2006–2010, Appointed Archbishop of Seattle)
• R. Daniel Conlon (2011–present)

Auxiliary bishops

• Raymond James Vonesh (1968-1991), retired
• Daniel Kucera, OSB (1977-1980), appointed Bishop of Salina
• Daniel L. Ryan (1981-1984), appointed Bishop of Springfield in Illinois
• Roger Kaffer (1985-2002), retired
• James Edward Fitzgerald (2002-2003), retired
• Joseph M. Siegel (current since 2009)

High schools

• Benet Academy, Lisle
• Bishop McNamara High School, Kankakee
• Chesterton Academy of the Holy Family, Downers Grove
• Immaculate Conception High School, Elmhurst
• Joliet Catholic Academy, Joliet
• Montini Catholic High School, Lombard
• Providence Catholic High School, New Lenox
• St. Francis High School, Wheaton

External links

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet Official Site
• Cathedral of Saint Raymond Nonnatus
• Catholic Hierarchy.org
• Diocese of Joliet Diocesan Directory