The Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlottetown () is a diocese of the Catholic Church in Canada. It is a suffragan diocese comprising the entire province of Prince Edward Island. Originally carved from the Archdiocese of Quebec on August 11, 1829, it was then transferred to the Archdiocese of Halifax–Yarmouth on May 4, 1852. It is the second-oldest English-speaking diocese in Canada. Its seat is the Cathedral-Basilica of Saint Dunstan, located at #45 Great George Street in downtown Charlottetown. History Early history Then known as Île Saint-Jean, the island was initially part of the vast Diocese of Quebec. In the spring of 1721, René-Charles de Breslay and Marie-Anselme de Metivier, priests of the Society of Saint Sulpice, arrived at the Acadian settlement of Port-LaJoye and built a small church dedicated to Saint John the Evangelist. It was then handed-over to Franciscans priests from Louisbourg (in modern-day Nova Scotia) two years later. By 1752, four more small parishes were then established. In 1758, however, following the Île Saint-Jean campaign, British authorities expelled the Acadians. Scottish immigration and establishment Roughly three years after separation from Nova Scotia and becoming its own colony, a further expansion of the Church on now-renamed Saint John's Island began in 1772, when the first band of about 200 Scottish Catholic immigrants set foot, led by the layman John MacDonald of Glenaladale. The idea was conceived and the financed by two bishops of the Scottish Catholic Church — John MacDonald and George Hay — in order to relieve the persecution of Catholics on Uist. They were accompanied by James MacDonald, a cousin of John of Glenaladale. MacDonald was well-suited for the assignment, as he was fluent in Gaelic, English, Latin, and French. Another group of Scots settled in 1790, led by Angus MacEachern, to join their families who had migrated earlier. MacEachern was fluent in English, French, and Gaelic. He traveled extensively throughout the Maritimes as a missionary. He built the original Saint Dunstan's in 1816. MacEachern served as an auxiliary bishop of Quebec from 1821 until 1829, when he became the first-ever Bishop of Charlottetown. Split and transfer to new metropolitan see On September 30, 1842, the diocese was then split off when the new Diocese of Saint John in New Brunswick was created. Ten years later, on May 4, 1852, the diocese was officially transferred to the recently elevated Archdiocese of Halifax (now Halifax–Yarmouth). Education Saint Dunstan's