As a Diocese we are both large and small. With 1.6 million parishioners the Diocese of Brooklyn has the largest Catholic population among the 164 dioceses in the United States. Only four of the 36 archdioceses are larger. Despite our size, our land area of 179.25 square miles makes us the smallest territorially of the 200 dioceses/archdioceses in the country.

A further distinguishing characteristic is that we have the honor of sharing a city — New York — with another See — the Archdiocese of New York — an arrangement unique in this country and perhaps in the world.

At the turn of the 20th century we were known as a "Diocese of Immigrants" because of the massive migration from Europe through Ellis Island. Today, we are a "Diocese of Immigrants" once again, enriched by new arrivals not only from Europe, but also from Latin America, the West Indies, Asia, and Africa. On any given weekend in Brooklyn and Queens, Mass is celebrated and confessions are heard in at least 19 languages — from Spanish, Creole, and Korean to the dialects of Ghana, Pakistan, and China.

The Diocese of Brooklyn was formed in 1853 and encompassed all of Long Island, from the Brooklyn waterfront to Montauk, Orient Point, and Fisher's Island, until l957 when the Holy See, aware of the growing population, divided the Diocese and established the Diocese of Rockville Centre to serve the Catholics on the eastern end of the Island.

Today, the Diocese of Brooklyn is comprised of two of our nation's most populated counties — Kings and Queens — providing spiritual, educational, and social ministries to nearly 450,000 Catholic families.