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 share
- 22.3%
- Priests
- 251
- Catholics per priest
- 1,394
- Extent
- 22,719 km²
- Catholics per km²
- 15
of the people living within its bounds
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:
- Archdiocese of New YorkNew York
- Diocese of AlbanyAlbany
- Diocese of BrooklynBrooklyn
- Diocese of BuffaloBuffalo
- Diocese of OgdensburgOgdensburg
- Diocese of Rockville CentreRockville Centre
- Diocese of SyracuseSyracuse
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.
What is kept by invitation
The record above is published because it is public: what this see is, when it was erected, who holds its chair, and where it stands among its neighbours.
The working record is not. The chancery's address, telephone and email, the clergy of the see, and the hours of Mass, confession and adoration in the parishes within it are kept for members, and a person reads every request.
Sources
The see's own website · Wikipedia
This record is compiled from the published statements of the see and the references of the Holy See, among them the Annuario Pontificio. On the method, see the keeping of the record. Whoever finds an error is asked, in charity, to write: [email protected].