Diocese of Knoxville Dioecesis Knoxvillensis | |
|---|---|
_-_exterior.jpg) Most Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral | |
 Coat of arms | |
| Location | |
| Country |  United States |
| Territory | East Tennessee |
| Ecclesiastical province | Louisville |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 14,242 sq mi (36,890 km2) |
| Population - Total - Catholics | (as of 2011) 2,350,312 70,000 (2.8%) |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Established | May 27, 1988 (36 years ago) |
| Cathedral | Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus |
| Patron saint | Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary[1] |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Bishop | James Mark Beckman |
| Metropolitan Archbishop | Shelton Fabre |
| Vicar General | David A. Boettner |
| Bishops emeritus | Richard Stika |
| Map | |
 | |
| Website | |
| dioknox.org | |
The Diocese of Knoxville (Latin: Dioecesis Knoxvillensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in eastern Tennessee in the United States. It was founded on May 27, 1988, from the eastern counties of what was then the Diocese of Nashville. The diocese is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Louisville.
The Mother Church is the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in Knoxville. The two oldest churches are Saints Peter and Paul Basilica Parish of Chattanooga and Church of the Immaculate Conception Parish of Knoxville, both founded in 1852.
The diocese is one of the fastest growing dioceses in the entire United States, along with the neighbor diocese of Nashville, thanks mainly to high conversion ratings and immigration from Catholic countries. [2]