[1] The Diocese of Wichita covers the following Kansas counties: Allen, Bourbon, Butler, Chase, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Cowley, Crawford, Elk, Greenwood, Harper, Harvey, Kingman, Labette, Marion, McPherson, Montgomery, Morris, Neosho, Reno, Rice, Sedgwick, Sumner, Wilson, and Woodson counties in south central and southeast Kansas.

[3] Pope Pius IX in 1850 erected the Vicariate Apostolic of Indian Territory East of the Rocky Mountains.

This huge jurisdiction contained the present-day states of Kansas, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana.

[7][5] In 1855, Miège moved his episcopal see in Leavenworth in eastern Kansas in order to better minister to the growing number of Catholic European settlers there.

[12] Kansas grew so rapidly over the next ten years that Fink petitioned the Vatican to establish two new dioceses in the western part of the state.

[1] In 1888, Leo XIII appointed Reverend John J. Hennessy of the Diocese of St. Louis to replace O'Reilly.

In 1890, Hennessy persuaded the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother to take over management of St. Francis Hospital in Wichita.

[15] Hennessy broke ground for the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Wichita in 1906 and laid the cornerstone the following October; it was dedicated by Cardinal James Gibbons in 1912.

[16] When Schwertner arrived in Wichita, the diocese contained 110 priests, 81 parishes, 49 parochial schools, and eight hospitals to serve a Catholic population of 36,905.

[17] By his final year as bishop in 1939, the diocese had 56,248 Catholics, 155 priests, 97 parishes, 65 parochial schools, and 13 hospitals.

[21] Winkelmann also supported the American Civil Rights Movement, and stated that his self-confessed mission was "to preach equality of man and dignity and worth.

In 2003, after only two years in Wichita, John Paul II named Olmsted as bishop of the Diocese of Phoenix.

[26] John Paul II appointed Monsignor Michael Jackels of the Diocese of Lincoln as bishop of Wichita in 2005.

Diocesan records would later show as many as fifteen accusations to the diocese of sexual abuse against Larson going back to 1981.

"[36] In September, 2019, Bishop Kemme published a list of 15 diocesan priests that faced credible accusations of sexual abuse of minors.

[37] In November 2021, Kemme placed Reverend Michael Schemm from Resurrection Parish in Bel Aire on suspension pending investigation.

Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett reported that the statute of limitations for this case had expired.

The diocese instituted "Virtus Training" for all individuals serving in the diocese;"Members of the clergy, religious, employees and each volunteer who has regular contact with a minor is required to attend a live awareness session called Protecting God's Children for Adults.

"[40]Reverend Emil Kapaun (1916–1951), US Army chaplain, a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, and a candidate for canonization The Thomas B. Fordham Institute in 2008 published a study on urban catholic schools in the United States.