Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Diocese (Index)

Pope Pius X recognizing how necessary it is for the Church to develop in proportion to the opening up of new regions through greater facilities for communication, and the consequent wave of emigration, has continued the policy of Leo XIII, and erected each year a number of new sees or vicariates. As a result many dioceses have come into being since this encyclopedia was begun. The following list gives a brief account of the dioceses not described above, and in a few instances notes changes of boundaries of sees already described (see and, infra).

.—On 22 May, 1913, the Prefecture Apostolic of Rajpootana (q. v.) was erected into a diocese, suffragan to Agra. The see was fixed at the town of Aimer, which gives its name to the new diocese; the ecclesiastical boundaries are unchanged. Mgr. Henri Caumont, Capuchin, in religion R. P. Fortunatus a Turone, was appointed first bishop, 22 May, 1913.

, in Kurdistan, a Chaldean see united to that of Amadia on 23 April, 1895, from which it was separated on 24 Feb., 1910. It has been entrusted temporarily to the government of Mgr. Joseph Emmanuel Thomas, Patriarch of Babylon, who is empowered to appoint a vicar removable ad nutum to rule the diocese, which has 8 priests, 7 stations, 2 schools, and a Catholic population of 1500.

, in U. S. A., see.

, Canada.—To prevent ambiguity owing to the existence of the Diocese of Alexandria in the U.S.A., the official name of the Canadian see was changed on 15 Nov., 1910, to Alexandria in Ontario.

, is administered by the Bishop of Tinos and Mykonos (q. v.).

, in Brazil, suffragan of São Salvador de Bahia, erected on 15 Dec., 1909. It comprises the State of Sergipe (area 15,000 sq. miles), with 550,000 inhabitants in 28 parishes. It was previously part of the Archdiocese of São Salvador de Bahia. Mgr. José Thomé Gomes da Silva, b. at Martino, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, 4 Aug., 1873, ordained, 15 Nov., 1896, appointed to the see, 12 May, 1911, is the first bishop.

, also called Carabobo (q. v. infra).

, see this volume supra, s. v.

, in Brazil, suffragan of São Paolo, erected 7 June, 1908; it comprises 52 parishes in the southwestern part of the State of São Paolo, previously part of the Archdiocese of São Paolo. Its cathedral is dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows. Mgr. Lucio Antunes da Souza, b. at São Sebastião de Rio Verde, Minas Geraes, 13 April, 1863; ordained, 21 Dec., 1891; appointed to the see, 17 Oct., 1908, and consecrated at Rome, 15 Nov., 1908, is the first bishop.

, in Peru, suffragan of Lima, erected in 1909; it comprises the Department of Cajamarca (area 12,400 sq. miles), with a population of 442,000, which was previously part of the Dioceses of Chachapoyas and Trujillo. The town of Cajamarca (population 12,000) is situated in the Andes, 8700 feet high. It was there Atahualpa was captured by Pizarro. The town contains 6 churches, that of Santa Catalina being the cathedral, and has 6 primary schools for boys with 900 pupils, and 4 for girls with 300 pupils; there are 150 students in the secondary school of San Ramón, an old Bethlehemite convent. Mgr. Francisco de Paula Grosso, b. at Cajamarca, 8 March, 1852; ordained in 1875; nominated to the see, 21 March, 1910; consecrated at Lima, 10 July, 1910, is the first bishop.

, in the Philippine Islands, suffragan of Manila, erected on 10 April, 1910; it comprises Capul, Leyte, Samar, Biliran, and some smaller islands, and was previously part of the Diocese of Cebu. It contains 49 secular priests, 35 religious (chiefly Franciscans in Samar), 75 parishes, 195 missions, and 812,148 Catholics. The diocesan seminary is under the care of the Lazarists; the Sisters of Charity have the College of the Miraculous Medal for girls; both these institutes are at Calbayog. Mgr. Pablo Singzon de la Anunciación, b. in the Philippine Islands; appointed to the see on 12 April, 1910; consecrated on 12 June following in the Church of San Francisco, Manila, is the first bishop. He resides at Calbayog in Samar.

, in Colombia, see this volume supra, s. v.

, in Canada, suffragan of Edmonton, erected on 30 Nov., 1912; it was previously in the southern portion of the Diocese of St. Albert. Its boundaries are: east, the Provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan; south, the Canadian and United States frontier; west, British Columbia; north, the line separating the series of townships XXX and XXXI. On 1 June, 1913, Right Rev. John Thomas MacNally, D.D., ordained on 4 April, 1896, parish priest of Almonte, Lanark, Ontario, in the Diocese of Ottawa, was consecrated at Rome, first Bishop of Calgary.

, in Cuba, suffragan of Santiago de Cuba, erected on 10 Dec., 1912. It comprises the Province of Camagüey (area 10,400 sq. miles), with a population of 121,000, which was previously part of the Diocese of Santiago de Cuba. The town of Camagüey contains 35,000 inhabitants, a Piarist college, several convents, and an ancient Catholic hospital, San Lazaro.

, in Brazil, suffragan of Marianna, erected in 1907; it lies in the State of Minas Geraes, and is bounded on the north and east by the Rio Grande, on the west by the Rio Furvo and Rio Sapucalvy, and on the south by the former limits of the Dioceses of São Paolo and Pouso Alegre. It contains 30 parishes and was previously part of the Diocese of Pouso Alegre. Mgr. João d'Almeida Ferrão, born at Campanha, 14 Aug., 1853; ordained, 25 June, 1876; appointed to the see, 29 April, 1909; and consecrated on 12 Sept. following is the first bishop.

in Brazil, suffragan of São Paolo, erected on 7 June, 1908. It has 35 parishes formerly part of the Archdiocese of São Paolo. The town of Campinas contains 16,000 inhabitants. Mgr. João Baptista Correa Nery is the first bishop. He was born at Campinas, 6 Oct., 1863; ordained, 11 April, 1886; appointed to the See of Spirito Santo, 22 Aug., 1896; consecrated on 1 Nov. following; transferred, 18 May, 1901, to the See of Pouso Alegre, and to Campinas on 9 Aug., 1908.

, in Venezuela, suffragan of Caracas, erected on 4 May, 1847. It was formerly called the Diocese of Barquisimeto (q. v.), but by a Decree of 12 Feb., 1907, the episcopal residence was changed to Valencia, the capital of the State of Carabobo, and the name of the see was changed to Carabobo. The present bishop is Mgr. Aguedo Felipe Alvarado, b. at Bobara, 5 Feb., 1845; appointed 16 Aug., 1910. (See XV, 333.)

, in the Argentine Republic, erected on 21 Jan., 1910; it comprises the Province of Catamarca (area, 47,530 sq. miles), with 107,000 inhabitants, and the Territory of the Andes (area, 35,100 sq. miles), with 2500 inhabitants (mostly Indians). See, XV, 85.

, in Texas, U.S.A., suffragan of New Orleans, erected on 23 March, 1912, before which it had formed the Vicariate Apostolic of Brownsville (q. v.). At the beginning of the year 1913 there were in the diocese 73 churches and chapels, 35 priests, 19 of whom are Oblates of Mary Immaculate, 9 parochial schools and 5 academies with 1150 pupils, and a Catholic population of 82,400 out of 116,850 inhabitants. Rt. Rev. Paul J. Nussbaum, C.P. (b. Philadelphia, 1870), was consecrated first bishop on 20 May, 1913.

, in the Argentine Republic, suffragan of Buenos Aires, erected on 21 Jan., 1910; it comprises the Provinces of Corrientes (area, 31,800 sq. miles), with 322,000 inhabitants, and Misiones (area, 8500 sq. miles), with 44,000 inhabitants, which were formerly part of the Diocese of Paraná (q. v.). At the time of the separation Corrientes was a vicariate forane, with 20 parishes, while Misiones had 1 parish and 3 chaplaincies. Mgr. Luiz A. Niella, b. at Corrientes, 24 April, 1854; ordained, 2 Feb., 1879; appointed 3 Feb., 1911; consecrated, 4 June, 1911, is the first bishop.

, in Brazil, suffragan of Cuyabá, erected on 10 March, 1910. It was formerly part of the Diocese of Cuyabá. The town of Corumbá, situated on the Rio Paraguay, in the southwest of the State of Matto Grosso, is strongly fortified and contains about 15,000 inhabitants. The principal churches are those of Nossa Senhora de la Candelaria and Nossa Senhora de los Remedios. The first bishop is Mgr. Cirillo de Paula Freitas, who was born at Capellinha, Matto Grosso, 15 March, 1860; ordained, 30 May, 1885; appointed coadjutor Bishop of Cuyabá and titular Bishop of Eucarpia, 27 March, 1905; he was consecrated on 7 Jan., 1906, and transferred to Corumbá on 13 March, 1911.

, in Minnesota, U.S.A., suffragan of St. Paul, erected on 31 Dec., 1909. It was formerly part of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and comprises the following counties: Becker, Beltrami, Clay, Clearwater, Hubbard, Kittson, Marshall, Mahnomen, Norman, Pennington, Polk, Red Lake, and Rosseau, having an area of 16,598 sq. miles. In the diocese there are 34 priests, of whom 19 are secular; 21,147 Catholics; 52 churches, 12 stations and 4 chapels; 7 parochial schools with 995 pupils; 2 orphan asylums; 2 Indian industrial schools with 260 pupils, and 2 hospitals. The Sisters of St. Benedict have charge of the industrial schools and the hospitals; the Sisters of St. Joseph have 2 academies for girls with 310 pupils; the Benedictine Fathers have 9 missions among the Chippewa Indians. Right Rev. Timothy Corbett, b. at Mendotta, Minnesota, in 1861; ordained, 12 June, 1886; appointed to the see, 9 April, 1910; and consecrated at St. Paul on 19 May following, is the first bishop.

, in Matto Grosso, Brazil, was raised to the archiepiscopal rank, 10 March, 1910, when the Diocese of San Luiz de Cáceres and Corumbá were separated from it. The present occupant of the see, Mgr. Carlos Luiz d'Amour, was born at São Luiz de Maranhão, 3 July, 1836; consecrated, 28 April, 1878, and made archbishop on 5 April, 1910.

, suffragan of Dubuque, erected on 12 August, 1911. It comprises the 23 counties previously forming the western half of the Diocese of Davenport. The diocese contains 60 secular priests, 3 Benedictine Fathers, 4 communities of Sisters of St. Benedict, 3 of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 9 of the Sisters of Mercy, who have an hospital at Des Moines, and two at Council Bluffs, 3 of the School Sisters of St. Francis, 2 of the Sisters of the Holy Humility of Mary, 1 of Franciscan Tertiary Sisters, and 1 of Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. There are also 79 churches, 3 stations, 6 chapels, 17 parish and mission schools with 2437 pupils, 2 girls' academies and about 25,000 Catholics. The first bishop is the Right Rev. Austin Dowling, ordained, 24 June, 1891; appointed to the see, 31 Jan., 1912; and consecrated on 25 April, 1912.

, in Canada.—On 30 Nov., 1912, when the southern half of the Diocese of St. Albert was erected into a new diocese, Calgary, the remaining portion, was erected into an archdiocese and the episcopal residence transferred from the town of St. Albert to Edmonton, which gives its name to the new metropolitan see. The suffragans of Edmonton are the Diocese of Calgary, and the Vicariates Apostolic of Athabaska and Mackenzie. Mgr. Emile Joseph Legal, O.M.I., born at St. Jean de Boiseau, France, on 9 Oct., 1849, is the first archbishop.

, in Brazil, suffragan of Olinda, erected on 5 Dec., 1910, comprises 18 parishes lying beyond the Rio Maxató and previously part of the Diocese of Olinda. Mgr. Augusto Alvaro Alvares da Silva, b. at Recife, 8 April, 1876; ordained in 1900; and appointed to the see on 12 May, 1911, is the first bishop.

, in Spain, was raised from being a Vicariate Apostolic to the rank of a diocese on 19 Nov., 1910. It is immediately subject to the Holy See, and has been entrusted to the care of the Benedictines of the Monte Cassino Congregation. Right Rev. Henry Gregory Thompson, O.S.B., born at Mold, Wales, 27 March, 1871; professed, 15 Aug., 1896; appointed to the see, 10 Nov., 1910, and consecrated at Ramsgate, England, on 21 Nov., 1910, is the first bishop. Gibraltar contains about 16,000 Catholics; 46 priests, of whom 19 are secular; and 7 churches and chapels.

, Greek Rite, erected on 8 June, 1912, for the Catholics of pure Greek Rite scattered through Hungary. The diocese has been endowed by the Hungarian Government, and is under the jurisdiction of the Propaganda. It comprises 8 parishes in Eperies, 70 in Munkacs, 35 in Fogaras, 1 in Gran, 44 in Grosswardein (Greek), and 4 in Szamos-Ujvár. After three years the sole liturgical language is to be ancient Greek. Hajdu-Dorogh is suffragan to the Latin See of Gran. See "Acta Apost. Sedis", IV (1912), 429-35.

, suffragan of Manila, erected on 10 April, 1910, comprises the Provinces of Batangas, Laguna, Mindoro, Tayabas, with the districts of Infanta and Principe having an area of 12,208 sq. miles. Tayabas was formerly part of the Diocese of Nueva Cáceres. The diocese contains 75 priests, of whom several in Mindoro are Augustinians, and a few in Laguna, Minims; 72 churches and a number of mission chapels, and about 650,000 Catholics. The first bishop is Mgr. Giuseppe Petrelli, born in the Diocese of Fermo, Italy, 1871; appointed 12 Apr., 1910; consecrated 12 June, 1910.

.—As the sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes is situated in the Diocese of Tarbes, the name of Lourdes, by a Decree of 29 March, 1912, has been added, merely ad honorem, to that of Tarbes in the official title of the see.

, in Cuba, suffragan of Santiago de Cuba; erected on 10 Dec., 1912, comprises the Province of Matanzas formerly part of the Diocese of San Cristóbal de la Habana. The town of Matanzas lies 54 miles east of Havana and has a population of 36,000. The first bishop is the Right Rev. Charles Warren Currier, born in St. Thomas, West Indies, 22 March, 1857, ordained 24 Nov., 1880, at Amsterdam, Holland, and consecrated at the Collegio Pio Latino Americano, Rome, on 6 July, 1913.

, in Brazil, suffragan of Marianna, erected on 10 Dec., 1910. It was separated from the Diocese of Diamantina, and comprises the northern portion of the old diocese, lying beyond the rivers Jacquetahy, Jequitinbonha, Machubas, São Francisco, and Urucuja. The first bishop is Mgr. João Antonio Pimenta, b. at Capellinha, Minas Geraes, 12 Dec., 1859; ordained, 10 June, 1883; consecrated, 20 May, 1906, as coadjutor Bishop of São Pedro do Rio Grande do Sul and titular Bishop of Pentacomia. He was transferred to Montesclaros on 7 March, 1911.

, Canada, erected 1 Aug., 1913, comprises the former northern part of the Diocese of Ottawa, with 30,000 inhabitants, 50 priests, and 36 churches. Mgr. F.-X. Brunet is the first bishop.

, in Brazil, suffragan of Olinda; erected on 11 Nov., 1909. It comprises the State of Rio Grande do Norte, having an area of 22,196 sq. miles and a population of 407,000 inhabitants. The territory was formerly part of the Diocese of Parahyba. The town of Natal is a seaport, lying about 150 miles north of Pernambuco, and contains 13,700 inhabitants. The first bishop is Mgr. Joaquim Antonio de Almeida, b. at Goyaninha, Rio Grande do Norte, 17 Aug., 1868; ordained, 12 Dec., 1894; consecrated Bishop of Piauhy, 4 Feb., 1906; and transferred to Natal on 23 Oct., 1910.

, in Brazil.—On 5 Dec., 1910, the Diocese of Olinda (q. v.) was raised to the archiepiscopal rank. Its suffragan sees are Floresta, Fortaleza, Natal, and Parahyba. Mgr. Luiz Ramon da Silva Britto is the first archbishop.

, in Salvador, suffragan of San Salvador, erected on 11 Feb., 1913. It is bounded on the north by Honduras, on the east by Honduras and the Bay of Fonseca, on the south by the Pacific Ocean, and on the west by the Río Lempa; thus it comprises the Provinces of San Miguel, La Unión, Morazan, and Usulután, formerly part of the Diocese of San Salvador. The town of San Miguel has a population of 25,000.

.—By a Decree of 11 Feb., 1913, the Diocese of San Salvador (q. v.), was withdrawn from the metropolitan jurisdiction of Guatemala, and its territory divided into three parts; the western portion becoming the Diocese of Santa Ana, the eastern that of San Miguel, and the central retaining the name of San Salvador. Santa Ana and San Miguel were made suffragans to San Salvador. The archdiocese now comprises the Provinces of Cabañas, Chalatenanco, Cuscatlán, La Libertad, La Paz, San Salvador, and San Vicente. The first archbishop is Mgr. Antonio Adolfo Pérez, b. at San Salvador on 20 March, 1839.

, in Salvador, suffragan of San Salvador, erected on 11 Feb., 1913; it comprises the western portion of the old territory of the Diocese of San Salvador, thus including the Provinces of Ahuachapán, Santa Ana, and Sonsonate. The town of Santa Ana has a population of 48,000, Sonsonate has 17,000.

, Abbey nullius of, in Brazil, erected on 11 July, 1911. On 26 Aug., 1912, Mgr. Raymond-Dominique Carrerot, O.P., prior of the Convent of Conceição from 1900, was appointed first prelate. He was born at Pamiers, France, on 1 Jan., 1863, studied at Salamanca, was ordained in 1885; in 1887 he went to Brazil to evangelize the Indians. He was consecrated at Toulouse on 10 Oct., 1912. The boundaries assigned to the new prelature are: on the S. the Rio Tapirapé, on the E. the Araguaya from the mouth of the Tapirapé to the town of São João, where the Araguaya meets the Tocatins; on the N. the Tocatins as far as Jaraba thence a right line drawn to Alta Mira on the Xingu; on the W. the Xingu as far as the mouth of the Fresco, thence to the source of the Fresco, and then a right line to the source of the Tapirapé. This comprises the southeast corner of the State of Para and the northeast of the State of Matto Grosso, and roughly lies between 5° and 13. S. lat. and 49° and 53° W. long. The population consists mainly of Cayapos, Caraja, Taraja, and Chavante Indians. This mission was begun in 1896 and the town of Conceição founded by the Dominicans. There is a convent of Dominican Sisters at Conceição.

, in India.—When this see was raised to the archiepiscopal rank in 1910, the Holy See postponed the designation of its suffragan sees. On 22 May, 1913, the new ecclesiastical province was completed and the Diocese of Lahore, and Prefecture Apostolic of Kafiristan and Kashmir were made suffragans of Simla.