Roman Catholic Diocese of Yakima

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Yakima is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the central region of the U.S. state of Washington. Headquartered in Yakima, the diocese comprises Benton, Chelan, Douglas, Grant, Kittitas, Klickitat and Yakima Counties. The diocesan cathedral is St. Paul Cathedral, and the diocesan bishop is Joseph J. Tyson. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Seattle, and its metropolitan archbishop is Paul Etienne, Archbishop of Seattle.

Diocese of Yakima Dioecesis Yakimensis
St. Paul Cathedral
Location
Country	United States
Territory	Central Washington State
Ecclesiastical province	Province of Seattle
Population - Catholics	79,000[1] (12.2%)
Information
Denomination	Catholic
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	June 23, 1951
Cathedral	St. Paul Cathedral
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Joseph J. Tyson
Metropolitan Archbishop	Paul Etienne
Bishops emeritus	Carlos Arthur Sevilla, SJ
Map
Website
yakimadiocese.org

History

The diocese was canonically erected on June 23, 1951 by Pope Pius XII. Its territory was taken from the territory of the Dioceses of Seattle (which was concurrently elevated to an archdiocese) and Spokane. The diocese currently has 41 parishes and 7 Catholic schools.[1][2]

In 2011, under Bishop Joseph Tyson, the Diocese of Yakima began a migrant ministry program in which every seminarian assists and ministers to migrant workers.[3] This was inspired by the Youth Migrant Project in Burlington, Washington, in the Archdiocese of Seattle, where Bishop Tyson had been involved in ministry in his youth.[4]

On March 7, 2020, Fr. Alejandro Trejo, pastor of Our Lady of the Desert parish in Mattawa, Washington became the first priest in the United States to be diagnosed with COVID-19 during the coronavirus pandemic.[5]

Bishops of Yakima

The list of bishops of the diocese and their years of service:

1. Joseph Patrick Dougherty (1951–1969)
2. Cornelius Michael Power (1969–1974), appointed Archbishop of Portland in Oregon
3. Nicolas Eugene Walsh (1974–1976), appointed auxiliary bishop of Seattle
4. William Stephen Skylstad (1977–1990), appointed Bishop of Spokane
5. Francis George, O.M.I. (1990–1996), appointed Archbishop of Portland in Oregon and later Archbishop of Chicago (elevated to Cardinal in 1998)
6. Carlos Arthur Sevilla, S.J. (1996–2011)
7. Joseph J. Tyson (2011–present)

Schools

• La Salle High School, Union Gap
• Saint Paul Cathedral School, Yakima - Grades PK-8
• St. Joseph/Marquette School, Yakima - Grades PK-8
• St. Joseph School, Kennewick, WA - Grades PK-8
• Christ the King School, Richland, WA - Grades K-8
• St. Rose of Lima School, Ephrata, WA - Grades PK-6
• St. Joseph School, Wenatchee, WA - Grades PK-5

See also

• Catholic Church by country
• Catholic Church in the United States
• Ecclesiastical Province of Seattle
• Global organisation of the Catholic Church
• List of Roman Catholic archdioceses (by country and continent)
• List of Roman Catholic dioceses (alphabetical) (including archdioceses)
• List of Roman Catholic dioceses (structured view) (including archdioceses)
• List of the Catholic dioceses of the United States

References

1. "Diocese of Yakima". Catholic-Hierarchy. Retrieved 2014-04-16.
2. "Diocese of Yakima". Gcatholic.org. Retrieved 2014-04-16.
3. Muth, Chaz (11 October 2018). "Working alongside migrant laborers prepares seminarians for priesthood". Crux. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
4. Carroll, Megan (7 September 2017). "Parish Youth Spend Summer Serving Migrant Farmworker Families in Skagit Valley". Northwest Catholic. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
5. "Washington Catholic priest is first in US known to be diagnosed with coronavirus". Catholic Sentinel. 16 March 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2020.

External links

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Yakima Official Site