The Diocese of Biloxi is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church that encompasses 17 counties in south Mississippi. It was erected on March 1, 1977, when it was split from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jackson. The Diocese of Biloxi is a suffragan diocese the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Mobile, though for its first three years the diocese was in the province of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. The Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in Biloxi, Mississippi, is the diocese's cathedral. History Pope Paul VI erected the Diocese of Biloxi, with territory taken from the Diocese of Natches-Jackson on 1 March 1977. On 29 July 1980, Pope John Paul II elevated the Diocese of Mobile to a metropolitan archdiocese and designated the Diocese of Biloxi as a suffragan of the new metropolitan see. On December 16, 2016, the Vatican announced that Pope Francis had accepted Bishop Roger Morin's resignation and appointed Louis Kihneman III, Vicar General of the Diocese of Corpus Christi, Texas, as Morin's successor. Bishops Bishops of Biloxi Joseph Lawson Howze (1977–2001) Thomas John Rodi (2001–2008), appointed Archbishop of Mobile Roger Morin (2009–2016) Louis Frederick Kihneman (2017–present) Other priest of this diocese who became bishop Ronald Paul Herzog, appointed Bishop of Alexandria in 2004 High schools Our Lady Academy, Bay St. Louis Resurrection High School, Pascagoula Sacred Heart High School, Hattiesburg St. Patrick Catholic High School, Biloxi Saint Stanislaus College, Bay St. Louis Closed schools: Mercy Cross High School*, Biloxi St. John High School*, Gulfport * Closed in 2007 and replaced by St. Patrick Catholic High School. See also Catholic Church by country Catholic Church hierarchy List of the Catholic dioceses of the United States References Catholic Hierarchy – Diocese of Biloxi External links Roman Catholic Diocese of Biloxi Official Site Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary 1977 establishments in Mississippi Christian organizations established in 1977 Catholic Church in Mississippi Biloxi Biloxi