About our Diocese

The Rockford Diocese serves an area eleven counties wide in Northern Illinois.  It stretches from McHenry and Kane Counties, East, to the Mississippi River, West.  And from the llinois/Wisconsin border, North to Whiteside, Lee and DeKalb counties, South.

There are 105 parishes and missions within the Rockford Diocese.   These churches are served by approximately 162 active diocesan and religious order priests who in turn minister to over 360,000 Roman Catholic faithful.  In many parts of the diocese increased numbers of people are moving in with population growth taking place mainly in the Fox Valley (the eastern edge of the diocese).

The Hispanic population is also very strong especially in Kane County where Elgin, Aurora and Carpentersville see the largest numbers.

The parishes of the Rockford Diocese serve a rural and suburban population.  The smallest parish of the diocese is St. Patrick in Albany at 52 families.  The largest parish is St. Patrick Parish in St. Charles at 4,560 families.   The median size of a parish in the diocese is roughly 588 families.