The Congregation for Bishops announced Tuesday that the Diocese of Winona will now be called the Diocese of Winona-Rochester and that St. John the Evangelist Church of Rochester will be designated as a co-cathedral.

“This is a significant moment in our diocese’s history,” said Bishop John M. Quinn of the Vatican’s announcement. “My heart is lifted by this news as I know that the presence of a co-cathedral in Rochester will provide unique ways to share the gospel in our diocese’s fastest growing city.”

In 2015, an initial inquiry was sent to the Vatican’s Congregation for Bishops, asking for the designation of a co-cathedral in Rochester.

The Cathedral is generally located in the major metropolis of a diocese. At the time the Diocese of Winona was established, Winona was a key location, by the railroad and along the Mississippi River. Now, 128 years later, populations have shifted. Rochester has become the third largest city in Minnesota, and three-quarters of the diocese’s population resides in the region between Rochester and Mankato.

The Congregation for Bishops subsequently sent the diocese requirements for the process and directed the establishment of a diocesan planning committee. This committee determined that St. John the Evangelist Church should be elevated to the status of a co-cathedral.

The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Winona will not change in status. It will continue to be the seat of the diocese and will host diocesan celebrations, Masses and ordinations.

A liturgical ceremony is scheduled for June 24, 2018, at which the Papal Nuncio Archbishop Christophe Pierre, Pope Francis’ delegate to the United States, will formally designate St. John the Evangelist Church as the co-cathedral.