Rockford, Diocese of (ROCKFORDIENSIS), created September 23, 1908, comprises Jo Daviess, Stephenson, Winnebago, Boone, McHenry, Carroll, Ogle, DeKalb, Kane, Whiteside, Lee, and Kendall Counties in the northwestern part of the State of Illinois. The diocese has an area of 6867 sq. miles, and a Catholic population of 50,000, mostly Irish and Germans or their descendants. The total population of the twelve counties that form the diocese, according to the last census, is 414,872. The entire territory of the Diocese of Rockford was a part of the Archdiocese of Chicago until September 23, 1908. The city of Rockford has a population of 48,000; it is a manufacturing center. The Right Reverend Peter James Muldoon, formerly Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago, was appointed the first Bishop of Rockford, and took possession of his see, December 15, 1908. There are in the diocese (1911), 99 secular priests, 64 churches with resident priests, 18 missions with churches, 3 high schools, 25 parochial schools with an attendance of 3850, 5 hospitals, 1 maternity home, 1 home for aged, and Mt. St. Mary’s Academy for Girls (St. Charles) with an attendance of 84.
J. J. FLANAGAN