Currently
With a population of 52,000 Catholics, the diocese makes up about 2 percent of East Tennessee’s total population. The diocese is currently home to 44 parishes and two quasi-parishes. These parishes are served by 54 diocesan priests, 16 religious priests, 8 extern priests, 24 deacons, 10 brothers, and 33 sisters. Eleven religious institutes are represented in the diocese.
Perpetual adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament is available at many of the parishes and Masses are offered in a wide array of languages. This is chosen so that the spiritual needs of all parishioners are met. These languages include Spanish, Vietnamese, American Sign Language, and Latin. Ruthenian Catholics of the Byzantine Rite began celebrating the Divine Liturgy at Holy Family Church in Seymour, TN in 1999. They recently have changed locations to the old Holy Ghost Catholic Church building in Knoxville, TN at 9:30am on Sundays. Also, there is a Ukrainian Greek Catholic mission, St. Thomas the Apostle, also of the Byzantine Rite, that is currently celebrating the Divine Liturgy in the chapel of the Chancery in Knoxville, TN since May 2008 at 10:00am on Sundays.
With the influx of large numbers of Hispanic Catholics looking for work, the diocese faces many new challenges. If the estimates are correct and there are about 50,000 new Hispanic immigrants in the area, their number nearly doubles the area’s current official Catholic population. The clergy and laity of the diocese are working to welcome these new neighbors.
Read more about this topic: Roman Catholic Diocese Of Knoxville