KANSAS CITY, DIOCESI of. — City in the State of Missouri, in the United States of America. The diocese comprises the part of the State of Missouri south of the river of the same name and the areas east and west of the counties of Moniteau, Miller, Camden, Laclell, Wright, Douglas, and Ozark, covering a total area of 23,539 square miles.
It has a population of 1,216,239 inhabitants, of whom 85,000 are Catholics. It has 101 parishes, 69 chapels, 32 missions, and 2 stations; 142 diocesan priests and 106 religious priests; one seminary (St. John's Catholic Seminary); 13 male religious communities, including the Benedictine abbey of Conception; 26 female religious communities; two colleges, 16 diocesan high-schools, and 62 parish schools. In 1949 there were 844 conversions.
The diocese was created by Leo XIII on 10 September 1880; its first bishop was Msgr. J. J. Hogan, transferred to it from the diocese of St. Joseph, of which he became apostolic administrator. In 1896 he received as coadjutor Msgr. J. J. Glennon, promoted in 1903 to archbishop of St-Louis and in 1946 made a cardinal (1862-1946). Successors: T. F. Lillis (1913-38); from 1938, Msgr. E. V. O'Hara.
The Cathedral is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception: the diocese is suffragan to St-Louis.