Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts

The Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts was established on June 14, 1870, carved from the Diocese of Boston to serve the four western and central counties of Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden. It spans roughly 2,822 square miles and includes 93 parishes. St. Michael's Cathedral in Springfield is the diocesan seat. The area's Catholic roots trace to Irish immigrants who came in the 1820s to dig canals and build railroads, making western Massachusetts one of New England's earliest Catholic communities outside Boston.