About Diocese of Spokane
The Diocese of Spokane (Latin: Dioecesis Spokanensis) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church serving the 13 counties of Eastern Washington State, covering some 24,365 square miles (63,081 km²). Erected by Pope St. Pius X on December 17, 1913, and canonically announced on the patronal feast of Our Lady of Lourdes (February 11, 1914), it is a suffragan diocese in the Ecclesiastical Province of Seattle. Its mother church is the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes in Spokane, and it is currently led by Bishop Thomas A. Daly, the seventh bishop, appointed by Pope Francis in 2015. The diocese serves roughly 85,000–158,000 Catholics across 80 parish communities, 17 schools, a college seminary, a retreat center, and ministries that reach from the Cascade summit to the Idaho border.
- Bishop
- Thomas Anthony Daly
- Established
- 1913
- Cathedral
- Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes, 1115 W. Riverside Ave., Spokane, WA 99201
- Territory
- Thirteen counties of Eastern Washington: Okanogan, Ferry, Stevens, Pend Oreille, Lincoln, Spokane, Adams, Whitman, Franklin, Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield, and Asotin — approximately 24,365 square miles (63,081 km²).
- Parishes
- 80 parishes (plus 2 Catholic student centers)
- Province
- Archdiocese of Seattle (Ecclesiastical Province of Seattle)
Office of the Bishop
Pope Francis appointed Bishop Thomas A. Daly to lead the Diocese of Spokane on March 12, 2015, and he was installed on May 20, 2015 at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes. Born in San Francisco on April 30, 1960, Bishop Daly was ordained a priest on May 9, 1987 for the Archdiocese of San Francisco; he later served as Vocation Director (2001), President of Marin Catholic High School (2003), and Auxiliary Bishop of San José (2011–2015) before being named Spokane's seventh bishop. He has served on USCCB committees for Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations, and Home Missions, completed a three-year term as Chair of the Committee on Catholic Education in November 2024, and is Bishop Advisor to Serra International in the United States. His episcopal motto is 'Into your hands, Lord.'
- Bishop Thomas A. Daly — seventh Bishop of Spokane, installed May 20, 2015
- Former USCCB Committee on Catholic Education chair (2021–2024)
- Bishop Advisor to Serra International (USA)
Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes
The mother church of the Diocese of Spokane is the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes at 1115 W. Riverside Avenue. Parishioners trace its origins to August 1881, when Jesuit Father Joseph Cataldo bought a carpenter's shop on Main and Bernard and celebrated Spokane's first Catholic Mass for just five people. Five years later, a brick church dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes replaced the wooden shed; the Sisters of the Holy Names opened the parish school. The cornerstone for the present Romanesque Revival church (designed by Julian and Williams) was laid in 1903, the new school was completed in 1906, and the building was finished in 1908. On December 17, 1913, Our Lady of Lourdes was named cathedral of the new diocese. The cathedral was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1976 as a contributing property of the Riverside Avenue Historic District, and a comprehensive 2019 renovation installed a new marble altar and sanctuary, with a 2023 stained-glass restoration removing decades-old protective plastic. The Very Rev. Darrin Connall, VG, serves as rector.
- Founded 1881 as St. Joseph Mission in a converted carpenter shop
- Current Romanesque Revival church completed 1908; named cathedral 1913
- National Register of Historic Places, 1976
- Rector: Very Rev. Darrin Connall, VG
Catholic Schools
Catholic education in the Diocese of Spokane is anchored in seventeen schools serving preschool through grade 12 across Eastern Washington: four Catholic high schools (Gonzaga Preparatory School in Spokane, Chesterton Academy of Notre Dame in Spokane, DeSales High School in Walla Walla, and Tri-Cities Prep in Pasco) and thirteen parish-based primary and middle schools — including All Saints, Assumption, St. John Vianney, St. Thomas More, Trinity, Holy Family, Guardian Angel–St. Boniface (Colton), and Assumption (Walla Walla). Dr. TJ Romano, Ed.D., serves as Superintendent of Catholic Education with Dr. Sharon Hunt, Ed.D. as Associate Superintendent & Commissioner of Accreditation. Schools welcome families of all faith traditions, offer Educare infant and preschool care, before- and after-school programs, and special-needs inclusion, and require annual VIRTUS Safe Environment training for all faculty, staff, and volunteers. Tuition assistance is funneled through the Nazareth Guild.
- Gonzaga Preparatory School, Spokane
- Chesterton Academy of Notre Dame, Spokane
- DeSales High School, Walla Walla
- Tri-Cities Prep, Pasco
- All Saints, Assumption, St. John Vianney, St. Thomas More, Trinity (Spokane-area)
- Holy Family, Clarkston; Assumption, Walla Walla; Guardian Angel–St. Boniface, Colton
- Superintendent of Catholic Education: Dr. TJ Romano, Ed.D.
- Tuition assistance via the Nazareth Guild
Bishop White Seminary
Bishop White Seminary is the diocesan college seminary located adjacent to Gonzaga University in Spokane. Named for the second Bishop of Spokane, Charles Daniel White, it was founded in 1956 by Bishop Bernard Topel on the Gonzaga campus and provides human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral formation for seminarians from dioceses across the Western United States. In 2002, the Diocese of Spokane purchased the historic Huetter Mansion property one block east, moved it across the street, and on the Feast of St. John Vianney in 2009 Bishop William Skylstad blessed a new seminary building in Pope Benedict XVI's 'Year for Priests.' Seminarians take core classes at Gonzaga and supplement their theological studies through St. Patrick Seminary.
- Named for Bishop Charles Daniel White
- Founded 1956 by Bishop Topel; new building blessed 2009
- Located adjacent to Gonzaga University
- Five-Day Healing Retreat, Eight-Day Ignatian Retreat, Miserando service program
Immaculate Heart Retreat Center
The Immaculate Heart Retreat Center at 6910 S. Ben Burr Road, Spokane, was established by Bishop Bernard Topel in 1967 and is today a flagship ministry of the diocese. Rooted in the Catholic faith, it offers directed and private silent retreats, 8-Day Ignatian Holy Week retreats, Ignatian 4-Day and Weekend retreats, Icon retreats, 24-Hour Sacred Art retreats, Mother–Daughter weekends, Apologetics retreats, and 12-Step Serenity retreats, as well as individual spiritual direction. A Women's Auxiliary, founded to support the center's spirituality and fundraising, meets the second Tuesday of each month (August–May). Director Rick McLean leads a staff and volunteer corps that welcomes people of all faiths seeking renewal.
- Founded 1967 by Bishop Topel
- Located at 6910 S. Ben Burr Rd., Spokane, WA 99223
- 8-Day Ignatian, Icon, Sacred Art, 12-Step Serenity retreats offered
- Women Auxiliary supports mission and fundraising
Catholic Foundation of Eastern Washington & Nazareth Guild
The Catholic Foundation of Eastern Washington supports the long-term financial mission of the diocese and its parishes, while the Nazareth Guild underwrites tuition-assistance grants so that students who cannot afford the full cost of Catholic education can still attend diocesan schools — with a special focus on those serving the underserved and under-resourced. Both entities are accessible through the diocesan Ministries directory.
- Catholic Foundation of Eastern Washington — endowed giving
- Nazareth Guild — Catholic-school tuition assistance
Holy Cross Funeral & Cemetery Services
Holy Cross Funeral & Cemetery Services is the diocesan Catholic funeral and cemetery ministry, listed among the official ministries of the diocese from its Spokane offices. It provides Catholic funeral rites, burial, and cremation services in accordance with Church teaching for families across the diocese.
- Diocesan Catholic funeral and cemetery ministry
- Listed at 12 E 5th Ave., Spokane, WA 99202
History of the Diocese
Spokane is the inheritor of more than 175 years of Catholic missionary history in the Pacific Northwest. From the first Mass at Kettle Falls in 1838 and Fr. Pierre-Jean DeSmet's 1840 journeys to the founding of the Diocese of Walla Walla (1847), its renaming as Nesqually (1850) and then Seattle (1907), and finally the 1913 carving-out of Spokane, the story culminates in the establishment of what is now a 13-county, 24,365-square-mile diocese led by its seventh ordinary. Key milestones include Bishop White's Native American missions (1930s), Bishop Topel's seminary and retreat boom (1955–1978), the 1951 loss of territory to the new Diocese of Yakima, the 2004 Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and the 2014 promotion of Bishop Cupich to Archbishop of Chicago.
- 1838 — First Mass in Washington State near Kettle Falls
- 1847 — Diocese of Walla Walla erected
- 1913 — Diocese of Spokane erected Dec. 17
- 1951 — Diocese of Yakima erected from Spokane and Seattle territory
- 2004 — Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing; $48M+ settlement
- 2014 — Bishop Cupich named Archbishop of Chicago (Cardinal 2016)
- 2015 — Bishop Thomas A. Daly installed May 20
Parishes & Catholic Student Centers
With 80 parish communities spread across the 13 counties of Eastern Washington, the diocese ranges from Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes in Spokane itself, to mountain and reservation missions such as Pure Heart of Mary in Northport, Sacred Heart in Brewster (English/Spanish), Immaculate Conception in Oroville (English/Spanish), and Holy Rosary in Tonasket (English/Spanish). Two Catholic student centers serve the Inland Northwest's public universities: the Catholic Newman Center at Eastern Washington University in Cheney and St. Thomas More at Washington State University in Pullman.
- 80 parishes plus 2 Catholic student centers (EWU, WSU)
- Spanish-language Masses offered at Brewster, Oroville, Tonasket, Omak, Suncrest, and others
- Mission parishes serving the Colville and Spokane Indian Reservations
Sex-Abuse Crisis & Bankruptcy
The diocese confronted a major sexual-abuse crisis in the early 2000s, leading to its December 2004 Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing — among the earliest such filings by a U.S. diocese. The plan of reorganization committed the diocese to at least $48 million in compensation to victims, funded through insurance carriers, sale of church property, contributions from Catholic groups, and the parishes. In April 2007, four prominent donors wrote Bishop Skylstad asking him to resign, calling the settlement a 'complete disaster.' In May 2012 the diocese reached a mediated settlement with litigants, and in 2015 it settled with its former legal firm, avoiding trial. The process shaped the episcopal tenures of Bishops Skylstad, Cupich, and Daly, and remains a defining chapter in the diocese's modern history.
- Chapter 11 bankruptcy filed December 2004
- $48M+ settlement to victims
- Settlement with former legal firm in 2015
Getting Involved & Safe Environment
All diocesan and school faculty, staff, and volunteers must complete annual Safe Environment Training through the VIRTUS Program, a hallmark of the diocese's child-protection work since the bankruptcy era. The diocese invites Catholics to encounter, live, and proclaim the Gospel through parish life, Catholic schools, the retreat center, Bishop White Seminary, the Nazareth Guild, Serra vocations work, and the Catholic Foundation of Eastern Washington.
- VIRTUS Safe Environment training required annually
- Parish life, schools, retreat center, seminary, Nazareth Guild, Serra
- Catholic Foundation of Eastern Washington for endowed giving
