Diocese of Manchester

Established in 1884 when Pope Leo XIII carved it out of the Diocese of Portland, the Diocese of Manchester covers the entire state of New Hampshire — all 9,300 square miles of it. Saint Joseph Cathedral in downtown Manchester, which traces its roots to an 1869 Irish immigrant parish, serves as the mother church for 116 parishes. Pope John Paul II visited the diocese in 1982, drawing tens of thousands of the faithful to Holman Stadium in Nashua.