The Diocese of Niigata (, Japanese: カトリック新潟教区 ) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church located in the city of Niigata in the ecclesiastical province of Tokyo in Japan. The apparitions of Our Lady of Akita were within its territory and Bishop John Shojiro Ito initially approved the apparitions in 1984.

History

French botanist Father Urbain Faurie was one of the early missionaries to the Niigata area, who arrived in Japan in July 1873. On August 13, 1912, the Apostolic Prefecture of Niigata was established from part of the Diocese of Hakodate. The first Apostolic Prefect was Msgr. Joseph Reiners S.V.D. of the Society of the Divine Word. On April 16, 1962 the Prefecture was raised to a Diocese; the first bishop was John Shojiro Ito. In 1984, the Grey Nuns of the Cross (Sisters of Charity of Ottawa) established the Élisabeth Bruyère Convent in the city of Yamagata, where they worked closely with the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. The sisters' apostolate includes parish ministry, teaching kindergarten, as well as, at the Maria Komakusa Day Care Center. They also minister to the elderly. On October 25, 2017, Bishop Kikuchi was appointed Archbishop of Tokyo. The See of Niigata became vacant and the Kikuchi was appointed Apostolic Administrator.

Leadership