The Diocese of Springfield in Illinois () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in south central Illinois in the United States. The prelate is a bishop serving as pastor of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield The Diocese of Springfield in Illinois is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Chicago. The metropolitan bishop of Springfield in Illinois is the Archbishop of Chicago. On April 20, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI named Thomas J. Paprocki as the ninth bishop of Springfield in Illinois. Territory The Diocese of Springfield in Illinois comprises the following counties: Adams, Bond, Brown, Calhoun, Cass, Christian, Clark, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, Douglas, Edgar, Effingham, Fayette, Greene, Jasper, Jersey, Macon, Macoupin, Madison, Menard, Moultrie, Montgomery, Morgan, Pike, Sangamon, Scott, and Shelby. The counties are organized into five deaneries: Alton, Jerseyville, Mattoon, Quincy and Springfield. 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 over missions 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 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.A group of Springfield Catholics in 1840 petitioned the Vatican to establish an Illinois diocese in their city, but it was denied. Instead, the Vatican created the Diocese of Chicago in 1843, with jurisdiction over all of Illinois. On July 29, 1853, Pope Pius IX erected the Diocese of Quincy, based in Alton, Illinois. He appointed Reverend Joseph Melcher of the Archdiocese of St. Louis to serve as bishop both in Quincy and Chicago. However, Melcher refused the appointment. The pope did not appoint another bishop for Quincy. Diocese of Alton Four years later in