In the 100 years since its founding, the Rockford Diocese has grown to include almost half a million Catholics, Bishop Thomas Doran said Friday.Doran enthusiastically described the expansion of the Catholic Church nationally and locally at an annual media luncheon.
“The growth of this diocese reflects the growth of the Catholic Church at large,” Doran said.
He said 20 percent to 25 percent of Americans were Catholic, and 435,000 Catholics were registered at parishes within the Rockford Diocese.
“Those numbers will continue to increase,” Doran said. “The diocese is about 10 times what it was in 1980.”
Monsignor David Kagan also spoke during the event, and he said that a number of religious in the diocese recently had received Papal Honors.
Doran also discussed the number of priests within the diocese. When the diocese was founded, he said, there were only 64 priests. But today the diocese includes 210 priests, 165 of whom are active.
Since last September, the diocese has been celebrating its centennial.
Area Catholics have been mindful of the landmark year by praying a special centennial prayer for the diocese.
The prayer was even printed on bookmarks for children in diocesan Catholic schools.
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