WHEELING, Diocese of. - Diocese and city in the State of West Virginia (United States of America). The diocese of W. covers a territory of 21,355 sq. km. in the State of West Virginia and 7,817 in the State of Virginia, with a total population of 2,481,848, of whom only 92,357 are Catholics; it has 106 diocesan priests, 46 religious from 9 different congregations, 85 parishes, 26 chapels, 68 missions, 28 stations, 21 women’s congregations (510 sisters), 29 seminarians, 4 orphanages, and 9 hospitals.
The first parish priest of W. in 1829 was the Rev. Francis Rolf, though some priests had already visited the territory. W. was elevated to city status in 1795 and was already an episcopal see (23 July 1850) when the Diocese of Richmond was divided, its western portion becoming the new diocese. Bp. Richard Whelan of Richmond was appointed its first bishop. At the time of its foundation, the diocese had only 4 churches, 2 priests, and 5,000 to 6,000 faithful scattered over an area of 2,000 sq. miles. By the time of Bp. Whelan’s death in 1866, it already counted 23 churches, 16 priests, and 8 seminarians.