Diocese of Grand Rapids

Diocese of Grand Rapids Dioecesis Grandcataractensis
Grand Rapids Diocese Coat of arms
Location
Country	United States
Territory	Counties of Ottawa, Kent, Ionia, Muskegon, Newaygo, Oceana, Montcalm, Mecosta, Lake, Mason, and Osceola
Ecclesiastical province	Detroit
Statistics
Area	6,795 sq mi (17,600 km2)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2006) 1,308,000 166,000  (12.7%)
Parishes	82
Schools	29
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	May 19, 1882 (134 years ago)
Cathedral	Cathedral of Saint Andrew
Patron saint	St. Andrew
Secular priests	110
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	David J. Walkowiak
Metropolitan Archbishop	Allen Henry Vigneron
Vicar General	William H. Duncan
Map
Website
www.dioceseofgrandrapids.org

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids (Latin: Dioecesis Grandcataractensis) is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in western Michigan, in the United States. It comprises 102 churches in 11 counties in West Michigan. It is a suffragan see to the Archdiocese of Detroit. The mother church of the diocese is the Cathedral of Saint Andrew. On April 18, 2013, Pope Francis accepted Bishop Walter A. Hurley's resignation and appointed the Rev. David J. Walkowiak to be the twelfth Bishop of Grand Rapids.

The diocese was created on May 19, 1882 by Pope Leo XIII. Its territory was taken from the Diocese of Detroit. It lost territory in 1938 when the Diocese of Saginaw was established and again on December 19, 1970 when both the Diocese of Gaylord and the Diocese of Kalamazoo were created.St. Adalbert Church in Grand Rapids was raised to a minor basilica in 1979.

Today, the Diocese of Grand Rapids encompasses the Catholic community in eleven counties in the mid-western part of Michigan’s lower peninsula. This water image further underscores the defining presence of Lake Michigan, the western boundary of the Diocese of Grand Rapids, and in religious terms, the defining presence of Christ: “Jesus stood up and exclaimed, ‘Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as scripture says: ‘Rivers of living water will flow from within him.’.” (John 7:37-38)