The Roman Catholic Bishop of Springfield, a corporation sole, is the civil corporate name for the Diocese of Springfield. The Bishop of Springfield is the head of the corporation. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, which was erected on June 14, 1870, operates under both civil law and canon law (the law of the Church). It is comprised of 79 parishes and 7 missions with more than 199,289 Catholics. There are 184 priests throughout the four western counties of Massachusetts (Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden and Hampshire).
The diocese educates over 2,500 students in 12 elementary schools, two high schools. There are also two Catholic colleges in the Diocese of Springfield. Mercy Medical center, an affiliate of Trinity Healthcare, also operates in Springfield.
On December 14, 2020 Bishop William D. Byrne, a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington, was ordained and installed as 10th Bishop of Springfield. He succeeded Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski who was named Archbishop of St. Louis. Retired Bishop Timothy A. McDonnell (8th Bishop of Springfield) continues to reside in the diocese and takes part in the life of the Catholic community here.
There are several religious houses in our diocese, including the cloistered orders of the Visitation and Dominican nuns and numerous motherhouses including Sisters of St. Joseph, Sisters of Providence, Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Assisi and Daughters of the Heart of Mary. Other orders are present in the diocese. Among the religious men represented in the diocese, we have the Marian Fathers & Brothers, Franciscans, LaSalettes, Passionists and Stigmatines.