It is thought that the diocese was constituted as far back as the middle of the ninth century. The first occupant was styled Bishop of Fortriu, the name by which the kingdom of the northern Picts was then known. This bishop was also styled Abbot of Dunkeld, perhaps holding jurisdiction, formerly enjoyed by Iona, over the other Columban monasteries in Scotland. In 1127 King Alexander, who had already founded the Diocese of Moray farther north, erected Dunkeld into a cathedral church and replaced the Columban monks by a chapter of secular canons. The new bishopric appears to have included a great part of what afterwards became the Diocese of Argyll, and retained its jurisdiction over various churches representing old Columban foundations. There were thirty-five bishops of Dunkeld from its foundation until the suppression of the Catholic hierarchy during the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century. The Catholic Church restored the diocese on 4 March 1878, by decree of Pope Leo XIII. The cathedral chapter, erected in 1895, consisted of a provost and eight canons.
Present day
Dunkeld is a suffragan see of the Archdioceese of St Andrews and Edinburgh, and includes the counties of Perth, Angus, Clackmannan, Kinross, and the northern part of Fife. In 2020 the diocese comprised 45 parishes of 43,000 Catholics from a total population of 400,000 served by 35 priests and 4 deacons. In area the diocese is. The diocesan cathedral is dedicated to Saint Andrew and is located in Dundee rather than Dunkeld, Dundee being the residence of the majority of the Catholics of the diocese and the largest centre of population.
Due to the number of immigrants from Ireland during the 19th century, the see city of Dundee has always had a higher percentage of Catholics than other cities and towns on the East Coast. As a result, since that time, there have been a good number of primary and secondary schools in the diocese. As of 2010, the Diocese website listed 21 primary schools and 4 secondary schools: two in Dundee, St John's Academy in Perth and Kilgraston School in Bridge of Earn some few miles south-east of Perth.
Religious communities
There are 5 institutes of religious life for men: the Redemptorists who run a retreat centre at Kinnoull in Perth; the Pallotines at St. Joseph's, who serve the Polish community in Dundee; the CST Fathers in the parish of St. Clement of Rome; the SMA Fathers in Dunblane and the Marist Brothers who teach. Within the diocese there are 7 institutes of religious life for women: the Columban Sisters, the Little Sisters of the Poor, the Religious Sisters of Charity, the Servite Sisters, the Sisters of Mercy, the Society of the Sacred Heart and the Ursulines. These women are involved in a variety of ministries: teaching, administration, parish work and running a home for the elderly. The Diocese also operates its own facility for elderly people: St. Mary's Home in Monifieth as well as a day care centre attached to the home. In August 2015 the Little Sisters of the Poor, who had been resident at St. Joseph's, Wellburn for more than 150 years, announced that they could no longer continue to run their care home due to diminishing numbers of Sisters. The Diocese purchased the care home from the Sisters so that the care of the elderly mission at the home may continue. In 2015 a Care Home Manager was appointed to operate the facility on behalf of the Diocese, but given the age and condition of the premises, the home was closed in 2017.
