The Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint John's—Basseterre is a diocese

Diocese

A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...

 of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 in the Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

. The diocese encompasses the islands of Antigua and Barbuda

Antigua and Barbuda

Antigua and Barbuda is a twin-island nation lying between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It consists of two major inhabited islands, Antigua and Barbuda, and a number of smaller islands...

, Saint Kitts and Nevis

Saint Kitts and Nevis

The Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis , located in the Leeward Islands, is a federal two-island nation in the West Indies. It is the smallest sovereign state in the Americas, in both area and population....

, Montserrat

Montserrat

Montserrat is a British overseas territory located in the Leeward Islands, part of the chain of islands called the Lesser Antilles in the West Indies. This island measures approximately long and wide, giving of coastline...

, Anguilla

Anguilla

Anguilla is a British overseas territory and overseas territory of the European Union in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Saint Martin...

 and the British Virgin Islands

British Virgin Islands

The Virgin Islands, often called the British Virgin Islands , is a British overseas territory and overseas territory of the European Union, located in the Caribbean to the east of Puerto Rico. The islands make up part of the Virgin Islands archipelago, the remaining islands constituting the U.S...

. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Castries, and a member of the Antilles Episcopal Conference

Antilles Episcopal Conference

The Antilles Episcopal Conference is a Roman Catholic episcopal conference. Its members are bishops and archbishops from current and former British, Dutch, and French colonies and dependencies in the Caribbean , Central America, and northern South America. The conference's membership includes five...

.

The diocese was erected in January 1971, and unlike many other dioceses, it has two cathedrals: Holy Family Cathedral

Holy Family Cathedral (St. John's)

Holy Family Cathedral is the main cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of St. John's-Basseterre and is located in the city of St.John's in Antigua and Barbuda.This cathedral holds the episcopal seat of the diocesan bishop Donald J. Reece....

 in St. John's, Antigua, and the Co-Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Basseterre

Basseterre

Basseterre , estimated population 15,500 in 2000, is the capital of the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis in the West Indies. Geographically, the Basseterre port is located at , on the south western coast of Saint Kitts Island, and it is one of the chief commercial depots of the Leeward Islands...

, St. Kitts.

Both cathedrals are the seat of the bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

, the Most Rev. Gabriel Malzaire.He was born in Dominica and preceded after archbishop

Archbishop

An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...

, the Most Rev. Donald J. Reece in 2009.

Bishops

• Joseph Oliver Bowers
  Joseph Oliver Bowers
  Joseph Oliver Bowers, S.V.D. is a prelate of the Roman Catholic Church from Dominica. At the age of he is the third-oldest Roman Catholic bishop and the oldest in the Caribbean....
  
  , S.V.D (1971–1981)
• Donald James Reece (1981-2007) (Apostolic Administrator 2007-2011)
• Kenneth David Oswin Richards (2011- )