The Roman Catholic Diocese of London () is a Latin rite suffragan of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Toronto in Ontario, southeastern Canada. The present episcopal see of the Diocese, St. Peter's Cathedral, was built in a French Gothic Revival style from 1880 to 1885. It was raised to the status of a minor basilica by Pope John XXIII in December, 1961. Statistics and Extent The Diocese covers the counties of Middlesex, Elgin, Norfolk, Oxford, Perth, Huron, Lambton, Kent and Essex. As of 2020, it pastorally served 444,310 Catholics (22.8% of 1,944,182 total) on 21,349 km² in 130 parishes and 1 mission with 136 priests (101 diocesan, 35 religious), 73 deacons, 474 lay religious (1 brother, 473 sisters) and 11 seminarians. The Diocese also runs St. Peter's Seminary, which is now affiliated with the University of Western Ontario. In 2019, the Survivor's Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) confirmed that 36 priests were credibly accused of sexually abusing minors. Following media coverage of the list, the Diocese waived confidentiality of their previous settlements. When interviewed about the list compiled by SNAP, Bishop Ronald Fabbro of the Diocese of London indicated that four other priests whose names were not on the list were accused of sexual abuse of minors. Bishop Fabbro refused to disclose the names of the priests. His decision faced considerable backlash from survivors and advocates. History The Diocese of London was created on February 21, 1856 by Pope Pius IX, on territory carved out of the then Roman Catholic Diocese of Toronto (now a Metropolitan Archdiocese), along with the Diocese of Hamilton, Ontario. Pierre-Adolphe Pinsonnault was named the first Bishop of London on May 18 of that year. On 1859.02.02 it was renamed as Diocese of Sandwich / Sandvicen(sis) (Latin), as its first Bishop Pinsoneault moved the seat of the diocese to Sandwich, on the Detroit River On 1869.11.15 it was renamed back as Diocese of London / Londonen(sis) (Latin), the diocesan see having been returned under second Bishop John Walsh. On 2020.05.21 an Ontario appeals court dismissed a bid by the Diocese of London to drop a lawsuit filed by Irene Deschenes, who claimed that notorious predator priest Charles Henry Sylvestre sexually abused her when she was a minor between 1970 and 1973. Deschenes first began legal action against the Diocese of London in 1996. Sylvestre pled guilty in August 2006 to sexually abusing 47 females, whose