Allentown Diocese

Diocese of Allentown Dioecesis Alanpolitana
The coat of arms of the Diocese of Allentown
Location
Country	United States of America
Territory	Pennsylvania counties of Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Northampton and Schuylkill, in the United States
Ecclesiastical province	Archdiocese of Philadelphia
Statistics
Area	2,773 sq mi (7,180 km2)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2015) 1,272,212 258,997 (20.4%%)
Parishes	89
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	January 28, 1961
Cathedral	Cathedral of Saint Catharine of Siena
Patron saint	Saint Catherine of Siena
Secular priests	210
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Alfred Andrew Schlert
Metropolitan Archbishop	Charles Joseph Chaput, OFM Cap Archbishop of Philadelphia
Emeritus Bishops	Edward Peter Cullen
Map
Website
allentowndiocese.org

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown (Latin: Dioecesis Alanpolitana) is a Latin rite diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia in the Eastern United States.

Its cathedral is the Cathedral Church of Saint Catharine of Siena, located in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It was announced on December 9, 2016 that Pope Francis had transferred Allentown Bishop John O. Barres and that Barres would serve as Bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre in Long Island, New York.

The diocese covers the Pennsylvania counties of Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Northampton and Schuylkill. It has a Catholic population of 258,997 as of 2015, approximately 20.4% of the total population; it maintains 89 parishes, 34 Catholic elementary schools, 6 Catholic high schools and two Catholic colleges, as well as 244 priests (active, retired & religious).

As per 2014 it pastorally served 301,000 Catholics (23.3% of 1,291,000 total) on 7,183 km² in 102 parishes and 26 missions with 236 priests (173 diocesan, 63 religious), 93 deacons, 399 lay religious (78 brothers, 321 sisters) and 17 seminarians.

The diocese was founded on January 28, 1961 by Pope St. John XXIII by splitting the Archdiocese of Philadelphia; the first bishop, Joseph Mark McShea, was installed on April 11 of that year.