Changes

The original see was canonically erected by [[Pope Pius IX]] on July 19, 1850 as the Diocese of Saint Paul of Minnesota. The Diocese's territory was taken from the Dubuque diocese, and its authority spread over all of Minnesota Territory, which consisted of the area which now composes the states of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, which consist the modern archdiocese's ecclesiastical province. The Diocese was originally erected as a suffragan see of the Archdiocese of Saint Louis. Its first Ordinary was Bishop Joseph Crétin, whose name, along with that of another notable early bishop, John Ireland, has since become embedded into the culture of the region. In February, 1875 it was transferred from the ecclesiastical province of St. Louis to that of Milwaukee. [[Pope Leo XIII]] elevated the see to the rank of archdiocese on May 4, 1888 and its name was changed to reflect this. [[Pope Paul VI]] once again instituted a name change for the see on July 11, 1966. Reflecting the growth of the Roman Catholic Church in the region, it became the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, the name it retains today. The present diocesan bishop of the Archdiocese is His Excellency, the Most Reverend Archbishop John Nienstedt, who succeeded to the post on the retirement of his predecessor, Archbishop Harry Flynn, on May 2, 2008.