Roman Catholic Diocese of Yakima


The Roman Catholic Diocese of Yakima is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the central region of the U.S. state of Washington. Headquartered in Yakima, the diocese comprises Benton, Chelan, Douglas, Grant, Kittitas, Klickitat and Yakima Counties. The diocesan cathedral is St. Paul Cathedral, and the diocesan bishop is Joseph J. Tyson. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Seattle, and its metropolitan archbishop is Paul Etienne, Archbishop of Seattle.

History

The diocese was canonically erected on June 23, 1951 by Pope Pius XII. Its territory was taken from the territory of the Dioceses of Seattle and Spokane. The diocese currently has 41 parishes and 7 Catholic schools.
In 2011, under Bishop Joseph Tyson, the Diocese of Yakima began a migrant ministry program in which every seminarian assists and ministers to migrant workers. This was inspired by the Youth Migrant Project in Burlington, Washington, in the Archdiocese of Seattle, where Bishop Tyson had been involved in ministry in his youth.
On March 7, 2020, Fr. Alejandro Trejo, pastor of Our Lady of the Desert parish in Mattawa, Washington became the first priest in the United States to be diagnosed with COVID-19 during the coronavirus pandemic.

Bishops of Yakima

The list of bishops of the diocese and their years of service:
  1. Joseph Patrick Dougherty
  2. Cornelius Michael Power, appointed Archbishop of Portland in Oregon
  3. Nicolas Eugene Walsh, appointed auxiliary bishop of Seattle
  4. William Stephen Skylstad, appointed Bishop of Spokane
  5. Francis George, O.M.I., appointed Archbishop of Portland in Oregon and later Archbishop of Chicago
  6. Carlos Arthur Sevilla, S.J.
  7. Joseph J. Tyson

    Schools