Diocese of Allentown

We are a Roman Catholic family of faith, centered in the Holy Eucharist, faithful to the Church's teachings, bringing the Light of Christ to each other and to our community.

The Diocese of Allentown was formed on January 28, 1961, when Pope John XXIII signed a document separating the counties of Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Northampton and Schuylkill from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The news became public February 15.

The following April 11, Bishop Joseph McShea, then auxiliary bishop of Philadelphia, was installed as the first Bishop of Allentown by Archbishop Egidio Vagnozzi, Apostolic Delegate to the United States in the new Cathedral Church of Saint Catharine of Siena in Allentown.

Bishop Thomas Welsh succeeded Bishop McShea in 1983, followed by Bishop Edward Cullen in 1998 and Bishop John Barres in 2009. Like Bishop McShea, Bishops Welsh and Cullen were former Auxiliary Bishops of Philadelphia.