# Roman Catholic Diocese of Nelson

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Nelson (Latin: Dioecesis Nelsonensis) (erected 22 February 1936) 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. (As of March 2011) 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 (Mica Dam area), 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 (1936–1954), appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Vancouver, British Columbia
* Thomas Joseph McCarthy (1955–1958), appointed Bishop of Saint Catharines, Ontario
* Wilfrid Emmett Doyle (1958–1989)
* Peter Joseph Mallon (1989–1995), appointed Archbishop of Regina, Saskatchewan
* Eugene Cooney (1996–2007)
* John Corriveau (2007–2018)
* Gregory John Bittman (2018-present)

### Other priest of this diocese who became bishop

* Bartolomeus Van Roijen, appointed Bishop of Corner Brook and Labrador, Newfoundland in 2019

## Education
### Catholic high schools

| School | City | Est. | Website | Enrollment |
| Immaculata Regional High School | Kelowna | 1960 | https://www.immaculatakelowna.ca | ~350 (co-ed) |

### Catholic elementary schools

| School | City | Est. | Website |
| Holy Cross | Penticton | | http://www.holyc.com/ |
| Our Lady of Lourdes | West Kelowna | | https://www.olol-bc.com/ |
| St. Joseph | Nelson | | http://www.stjosephnelson.ca/ |
| St. Mary's | Cranbrook | | http://www.stmarysschool.ca/ |
| St. Joseph | Kelowna | 1938 | http://www.stjosephkelowna.ca/ |
| St. Michaels Catholic | Trail | | http://www.smces.ca/index.html |

## 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 (SA)
* Sisters of Charity of Halifax (SC)
* Sisters of Charity of St. Louis (SCSL)
* Daughters of Providence (FDLP)
* Congregation of Notre Dame (CND)