The Diocese of Rockford () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in the northern Illinois region of the United States. The prelate is a bishop serving as the pastor of the Mother Church, the Cathedral of Saint Peter in the City of Rockford. Pope Benedict XVI appointed David Malloy, as the ninth and current bishop on March 20, 2012. He was installed on May 14, 2012. A suffragan diocese of the Province of Chicago, the metropolitan bishop of Rockford is the Archbishop of Chicago. Territory The Diocese of Rockford comprises the counties of Boone, Carroll, DeKalb, Jo Daviess, Kane, Lee, McHenry, Ogle, Stephenson, Whiteside and Winnebago. History Early history During the 17th century, present day Illinois was part of the French colony of New France. The Diocese of Quebec, which had jurisdiction over the colony, sent numerous French missionaries to the region. After the British took control of New France in 1763, the Archdiocese of Quebec retained jurisdiction in the Illinois area. In 1776, the new United States claimed sovereignty over the area of Illinois. In 1785, Archbishop John Carroll of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, then having jurisdiction over the entire United States, sent his first missionary to Illinois. In 1787, the area became part of the Northwest Territory of the United States. With the creation of the Diocese of Bardstown in Kentucky in 1810, supervision of the Illinois missions shifted there. In 1827, the new bishop of the Diocese of St. Louis assumed jurisdiction in the new state of Illinois. In 1834, the Vatican erected the Diocese of Vincennes, which included both Indiana and Illinois. With the creation of the Diocese of Chicago in 1843, all of Illinois was transferred there from the Diocese of Vincennes. Diocese of Rockford Pope Pius X erected the Diocese of Rockford on September 27, 1907, and established it on September 23, 1908. Its territory of 12 counties was taken from the Archdiocese of Chicago. The pope appointed Auxiliary Bishop Peter Muldoon of the Archdiocese of Chicago as the first bishop of Rockford. With the 1917 entry of the United States into World War I, Muldoon ministered to soldiers and recruits at Camp Grant, the US Army facility in Rockford. He died in 1927. Auxiliary Bishop Edward Hoban of the Archdiocese of Chicago was named by Pope Pius XI in 1928 as bishop of Rockford. During his tenure,