The attempts of the Romanians in Banat to join the Church of Rome go much before the Union of 1700. Thus, in 1454, only 15 years after the conclusion of the Council of Florence (where the two Churches separated in 1054 signed an act of reunion), Saint John of Capistrano preached in these regions. As a result, about 30,000 Romanians of the Caransebeş area joined the Roman Church. Unfortunately this promising beginning could go no further because of the opposition of Orthodox Serbs and of the Turks.

More than three centuries elapsed before a religious union with Rome was again considered. In 1738, the Latin Bishop of Cenad, Falkenstein, informed Viena about more and more Romanian priests' and faithful seeking reunion with Rome. These had an example in their brothers of Transylvania, where the union with the Church of Rome was consolidating. Bishop Falkenstein proposed to the Imperial Court the creation of a Catholic Diocese of Byzantine rite for the Romanians whose pastor he had already become; as for the priests who were to join the Catholic Church, he advised that they should enjoy all the rights of the Catholic priests.

Bishop's Falkenstein follower, Mgr. Stanislavich Nicolae, proposed the same thing to the Court in Viena: the creation of a Bishopric for the Romanians united to Rome, with its centre at Lugoj.

This idea took nearly a century to materialize, because the political and social circumstances were unfavourable. Starting with 1832, 1200 faithful of Chizdia became united to Rome; a more a more powerful trend in this direction started among the Romanians in Banat. After the canonic visits of Bishop Vasile Erdeli of Oradea in these parts, more were the communities that sook union to Rome. As a consequence, by 1848, 22 Greek-Catholic parishes were existing in Banat and many others were ready to join them.

Seeing this enthusiasm, Pope Pius IX created the Diocese of Lugoj, with the Bull Apostolicum Ministerium of 26.11.1853. It covered the counties of Caraş, Severin, Timiş-Torontal, Hunedoara and parts of Arad and Alba. At present it covers the same territory, in the districts of Timiş, Arad, Caraş-Severin, Hunedoara and, partly, Alba and Mehedinţi.

The first Bishop of the new diocese was Alexandru Dobra (1853-1870), enthroned by the Metropolite Alexandru Şterca-Şuluţiu on 28.10.1855. Through his great zeal, the diocese was rapidly organized and other 26 parishes joined the union with the Church of Rome. For the students of theology who were needy, Bishop Dobra left a fund amounting to 50,000 florins to be spent on scholarships.

The second Bishop of Lugoj was Ion Olteanu (1870-1873). He started a course of lectures in Moral Theology for the candidates to priesthood and he left a house to be used as the Bishop's residence. After his leaving for Oradea, Bishop Victor Mihali de Apşa (1874-1894) was entrusted with the pastoral care of the diocese. He had all the necessary time and energy to give new life to the diocese. He organized eight diocesan councils where the statutes of the canons were established, as well as those for the organizing of Church offices, for primary education and for the administration of the funds and foundations of the diocese. He visited nearly all the villages in his diocese and led the first Romanian pilgrimage to Rome, in 1893. After his election as Metropolite of Blaj, the diocese of Lugoj had a new Bishop, Mgr. Demetriu Radu (1897-1903), who continued the work of his predecessor and financed the erection of many churches and primary schools.

In 1901, he repaired the Monastery of Prislop, which had become a place visited by many pilgrims.

In 1903, Bishop Demetriu Radu was moved to Oradea and Bishop Vasile Hossu (1903-1912) was appointed his successor. He showed an outstanding pastoral solicitude, preaching with great conviction and visiting nearly all the villages of the diocese.

In 1912, Bishop Vasile Hossu was moved to Cluj and his place was occupied by the only local Bishop of the Greek-Catholics in Banat, Valeriu Traian Frenţiu (1912-1922), born in Reşiţa.

In 1922, when Bishop Frenţiu was moved to Oradea, Alexandru Nicolescu was appointed Bishop of Lugoj (1922-1936). In 1936, Bishop Nicolescu was called to Blaj where he became Metropolite and a new Bishop was appointed in his stead: Ioan Bălan (1936-1959). Until he was arrested and imprisoned in 1948, he published the Romanian translation of the New Testament and he was preparing a complete Romanian edition of the Holy Scripture. He was arrested on October 28th, 1948 and he received the proposal to join the Orthodox Church where he was promised a high rank in the hierarchy. He refused all compromise and received instead the crown of martyrdom in the Orthodox Monastery of Ciorogârla, where he was imprisoned.

After 1959, the Diocese of Lugoj had a secret Bishop, Ioan Ploscaru (1959-1995). Consecrated privately on November 30th, 1948 by the Apostolic Nuncio Patrick O'Hara, he was imprisoned between 1949 and 1964.

All those years, the Diocese could not have a visible leadership. Even after leaving prison, after the Amnesty Decree of 1964, a firm and open activity was impossible. It was only after December 1989 that the whole Diocese could be reorganized.

As there was much to do and he was growing old, Bishop Ioan Ploscaru asked the Holy See for a coadjutor. On July 20th, 1994, the Holy Father appointed a coadjutor Bishop for the Diocese of Lugoj: Alexandru Mesian, who had received the Orders in secret as a celibatary priest, in 1965, from Bishop Ioan Dragomir. During 1990-1994, he was General Vicar of the Diocese of Maramureş.

Mgr. Alexandru Mesian was consecrated Bishop at Blaj, on September 8th 1994 and became diocesan Bishop on November 20, 1995. He is the tenth Bishop of this diocese.