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Suffragan diocese Winona, Minnesota, United States

Diocese of Winona-Rochester

Vinonaën(sis)-Roffen(sis)

Latin Church

The Diocese of Winona-Rochester is a Latin Church diocese covering 20 counties of southern Minnesota, erected in 1889 and suffragan to the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. Robert E. Barron has served as its ninth bishop since 2022.

On the map

Esri
Winona, United States, drawn to the town rather than to the door: the register holds no verified address for its cathedral.

Every see on one map: browse the dioceses. Churches with recorded hours: find Mass times.

Established
1889
Catholics
114,255
Priests
88
Territory
31,810 km²

Parishes and churches

115 listed churches in our records. Open a parish for Mass times, confession, directions and sources where recorded.

This is our recorded coverage, not an official diocesan parish count. Confirm service times with the parish before travelling.

The bishop

Bishop
Robert E. Barron

Explore the ministry of the bishop.

The cathedral

Cathedral of the Sacred Heart stands in Winona, the church that holds the cathedra from which this see takes its name.

Its co-cathedral is Co-Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, Rochester.

On what a cathedral is, see the cathedral; every see church on earth is gathered at the cathedrals.

History

Southern Minnesota in the United States is served by the Diocese of Winona-Rochester (Latin: Dioecesis Vinonaënsis-Roffensis), a Catholic diocese and suffragan of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Winona is its mother church, joined by the Co-Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Rochester.

This see in the wire

Stories that name this see

The wire's resolver matched this see in the text of each story.

  • Bishop Robert Barron preaches at vespers on eve of Archbishop Sheen's beatification

    Bishop Robert Barron of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester preached a homily during vespers on Sept. 23 at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis to prepare for the beatification of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski of St. Louis presided over the evening prayer, which was attended by between 1,000 and 1,500 people, including cardinals, bishops, priests, religious, and lay faithful. Organizers chose St. Louis as the site for the beatification to accommodate the large crowds, though the cause for Sheen's canonization was originally introduced by his home Diocese of Peoria. During his nearly 19-minute reflection, Bishop Barron described Sheen as a pivotal figure in modern Church history who used electronic media to evangelize the world. Barron identified Sheen's friendship with Jesus Christ as the root of his holiness and noted that the archbishop served as a model and inspiration for his own evangelization work.

    Sep 27, 2026 · Bishops · 7 sources

  • Bishop Barron addresses proselytism on EWTN

    Bishop Robert Barron of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester addressed the distinction between aggressive proselytism and Christian proclamation during an interview on EWTN’s The World Over with Raymond Arroyo. Barron responded to a new Vatican document marking the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, which discourages single-minded proselytism and defensive entrenchment. He noted that Pope Francis has defined proselytism as obnoxious evangelization characterized by an overbearing or browbeating approach. While Barron supports respectful interreligious dialogue, he argued that the Church must continue to announce Jesus in a friendly and nonthreatening manner. Barron suggested that the Church should emphasize proclamation more clearly, stating that the Church is not a debating society but exists to proclaim the truth in love. He expressed a desire to move away from the term proselytizing because of its varied modern uses.

    Sep 18, 2026 · Bishops · 3 sources

  • Trump appoints Bishop Robert Barron to US Commission on International Religious Freedom

    President Donald Trump nominated Bishop Robert Barron of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. Barron, who currently serves on the Religious Liberty Commission, joins two other nominees, pastor Andrew Brunson and Joe Grogan. The commission is an independent federal body that monitors religious freedom violations abroad and provides recommendations to the president, the State Department, and Congress. Its work includes tracking the direct persecution of religious communities, imprisonments based on faith, and state restrictions on worship. Barron stated it is an honor to accept the invitation and noted the bipartisan nature of the commission. He joins a list of previous Catholic members, including Archbishop Charles Chaput, Father Thomas Reese, and Bishop William Murphy.

    Sep 18, 2026 · Religious Freedom · 3 sources

  • U.S. Fire Insurance pays Diocese of Winona-Rochester $30 million

    Sep 9, 2026 · Dioceses · 2 sources

  • Insurer pays $30 million to settle abuse claims against Diocese of Winona-Rochester

    Sep 8, 2026 · Dioceses · 3 sources

Filed by the see itself

Published on the see's own news feed. A diocese reports on the whole Church, so these are often about somewhere else.

12 stories in the wire either name this see or come from its own feed. Read the wire.