Roman Catholic Diocese of Nelson
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Nelson is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Vancouver.
Diocesan demographics
The diocese contains 31 parishes. Serving or retired in the diocese are 28 diocesan priests, 7 religious priests ministering to 75,000 Catholics. It also has 13 religious sisters and supports 7 Catholic schools. This diocese covers two time zones with the East Kootenay and Columbia Valley on Mountain Time and the rest on Pacific time.History
In the late 1830s French Canadians in the Oregon Territory petitioned the Quebec bishops to have missionary priests sent beyond the Rocky Mountains. In response to this plea, Fathers François-Norbert Blanchet and Modeste Demers were sent West to a remote part of the Quebec diocese referred to as New Caledonia by the Hudson’s Bay Company. While at Boat Encampment on the Columbia River, Blanchet and Demers celebrated Mass on October 10, 1838 the first Mass celebrated in what later became the Diocese of Nelson.During the years of westward expansion and settlement, the spiritual needs of the region presently administered by the Diocese of Nelson came under the jurisdiction of various bishoprics:
• Vicariate Apostolic of the Oregon Territory, 1843-1846
• Diocese of Vancouver Island, 1846-1863
• Vicariate Apostolic of British Columbia, 1863-1890
• Diocese of New Westminster, 1890-1908
• Archdiocese of Vancouver, 1908-1936
On February 22, 1936, Pope Pius XI erected the Diocese of Nelson to cover the Kootenay and Okanagan regions of southeastern British Columbia.
Bishops
Ordinaries
- Martin Michael Johnson, appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Vancouver, British Columbia
- Thomas Joseph McCarthy, appointed Bishop of Saint Catharines, Ontario
- Wilfrid Emmett Doyle
- Peter Joseph Mallon, appointed Archbishop of Regina, Saskatchewan
- Eugene Cooney
- John Corriveau
- Gregory John Bittman
Other priest of this diocese who became bishop
- Bartolomeus Van Roijen, appointed Bishop of Corner Brook and Labrador, Newfoundland in 2019
Churches
- St. Rita's
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Creston
- Holy Cross
- Holy Family
- St. Rita's
- Sacred Heart
- Sacred Heart
- Canadian Martyrs
- Immaculate Conception Church
- St. Pius X
- Corpus Christi
- St. Charles Garnier
- Our Lady of Lourdes
- Sacred Heart
Nelson
- Christ the King
- St. Anne's
- St. Ann's
- St. John Vianney's
- St. Peter's
- St. Francis of Assisi
- Sacred Heart
- St. Michael's
- Holy Child
- Our Lady of Perpetual Help
- St. Anthony / St. Francis Xavier
- Our Lady of Lourdes
- St. Edward's
Education
Catholic high schools
| School | City | Est. | Website | Enrollment |
| Immaculata Regional High School | Kelowna | 1960 | https://web.archive.org/web/20090501042437/http://immaculata.kelowna.bc.ca/ | ~350 |
Catholic elementary schools
Religious institutes
Religious institutes of men
- Order of St. Augustine
- Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate
- Order of Friars Minor, Capuchin
- Order of the Friars Minor
- MSTU Order
- Order of St. Basil
Religious institutes of women
- Sisters of the Atonement
- Sisters of Charity of Halifax
- Sisters of Charity of St. Louis
- Daughters of Providence
- Congregation of Notre Dame