The Diocese of Thunder Bay is a Catholic religious organization responsible for adminisitering parishes in the region. Established in 1952 as the Diocese of Fort William from the area of the Archdiocese of St. Boniface and the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie, the Diocese of Thunder Bay changed to its current name in 1970. The Diocese’s current area consists of the southwestern part of Ontario from the Manitoba border to just past Marathon on the north coast of Lake Superior.
During the Residential School System, several Catholic schools operated within diocesan boundaries. The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate acted as school administrators while several religious sisterhoods acted as teachers. Catholic entities operated these schools until 1969, when the Government of Canada took over school administration, though some Oblates and sisters remained as government employees.
During the 1990s, the public became more aware of the impacts of residential schools. This led to an increase in litigation against the Government of Canada, which culminated in the creation of the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement (IRSSA) in 2006. IRSSA outlined the process by which residential school litigation was carried out in addition to creating the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC). In IRSSA, the diocese is named as “The Roman Catholic Bishop of Thunder Bay.”
1911-2008