There has been a Catholic presence in the city of Detroit since
the parish of Ste Anne was founded in 1701. The city was first
made a part of the Diocese of Bardstown, Kentucky in 1808 and
then it became a part of the Diocese of Cincinnati in 1821. Pope
Leo XII named Detroit as a diocese in 1827 but for some reason
his proclamation was not implemented. Once again, in 1833,
Detroit was made a diocese with Father Frederick Rese as it’s
first bishop and Ste Anne as it’s first cathedral. March 8,
1833, was the official date that the Diocese of Detroit was
founded. That was 179 years ago today. The territory of that
initial diocese included all of Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota,
and the Dakotas east of the Mississippi River. When Michigan
officially became a state in 1837, the boundaries of the diocese
were realigned to match the state boundaries. As of 1841, the
Diocese of Detroit had 18 priests, 30 churches, and some 24,000
Catholics. The population continued to grow and many new
churches sprang up around the st