Page 23 - ROCHESTER
P. 23
Chapter2
The Bishops of the Diocese of
Rochester
During the 1840s, three dioceses – New York, Albany and Buffalo – covered all of New York state. In the fall of 1866, Buffalo’s Bishop John
Timon proposed to the bishops of the New York Province that the eastern portion of his diocese
Bishop John Timon, rst bishop
of the Diocese of Buffalo (1847-1867),
today constitute the Diocese of Rochester.
A 1904 photo of Bernard J. McQuaid, rst Bishop of Rochester (1868-1909).
The proposal was accepted, setting the wheels in motion for creation of the Diocese of Rochester. On Jan. 4, 1868, word came that Rome not only had approved the new diocese but also had named its inaugural bishop, Bernard J. McQuaid (1868-1909).
Pope Pius IX formally established the Diocese of Rochester on March 3, 1868, and Bishop McQuaid’s appointment became of cial that day as well.
Bishop Bernard
J. McQuaid’s coat of arms.
originally was shepherd of all 12 counties that
be made into a diocese of its own.
21
