Diocese of Knoxville

Erected on May 27, 1988, when Pope John Paul II carved it out of the Diocese of Nashville, the Diocese of Knoxville covers 36 counties across East Tennessee — roughly 14,200 square miles of Appalachian mountain country that has historically been one of the most heavily Protestant regions of the United States. The cathedral church is the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in Knoxville, and the diocese now has around 52 parishes. Catholic roots here go back to 1855, when Immaculate Conception Parish became the first Catholic church in Knoxville.