Roman Catholic Diocese of Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario

Diocese of Sault Sainte Marie Dioecesis Sanctae Mariae Ormensis
The Coat of Arms of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie
Location
Country	Canada
Territory	Southern Thunder Bay, Algoma, Sudbury and Nipissing Districts, Ontario
Ecclesiastical province	Archdiocese of Kingston
Metropolitan	Northern Ontario
Population - Catholics	230,000 (55.2%)
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	September 16, 1904
Cathedral	Precious Blood Cathedral, Sault Ste. Marie
Co-cathedral	Pro-Cathedral of the Assumption, North Bay
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Thomas Dowd
Metropolitan Archbishop	Michael Mulhall Archbishop of Kingston
Bishops emeritus	Jean-Louis Plouffe
Website
www.dioceseofsaultstemarie.org

The Diocese of Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario (French: Diocèse de Sault-Sainte-Marie, Latin: Dioecesis Sanctae Mariae Ormensis) was decreed on September 16, 1904 and is formed by the southern portions of the districts of Thunder Bay, Algoma, Sudbury and Nipissing.

The area has a long history within the Roman Catholic Church. The Recollets were the first missionaries in the Nipissing region around 1622. A number of Jesuits entered the area in 1641; Claude Pijart, being the leading missionary of that group. Their three missions were abandoned after a number of years, but Claude-Jean Allouez found converts still adhering to their faith in 1667.

In 1668 the mission of Sault Sainte Marie was founded by the Jesuits and used as a base for expeditions to adjacent areas. Priests who appear in historical accounts of the time include Gabriel Druillettes, Louis André, Henri Nouvel, and Pierre Bailloquet.

Little further expansion took place until about 1836 when Jean-Baptiste Proulx began an expansion which reached Fort William in 1849. Expansion after this point was rapid with hospitals and schools added to the parishes, churches and missions that marked this growth.