Diocese of Gaylord

The Diocese of Gaylord was established on July 20, 1971, carved from the Dioceses of Saginaw and Grand Rapids to serve the 21 northernmost counties of Michigan's Lower Peninsula — roughly 11,171 square miles of forests, small towns, and Great Lakes shoreline. Its approximately 77 parishes are anchored by St. Mary, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral in Gaylord, whose cornerstone was laid in 1975 by the diocese's first bishop, Edmund Szoka.