ALEXANDRIA in LOUISIANA, Diocese of. — In the United States, a suffragan of New Orleans. Erected on 23 July 1853 under the name of Natchitoches, it was transferred to Alexandria on 6 August 1910. There are 56,251 Catholics in a total population of 884,053. The diocese comprises 50 parishes, served by 55 diocesan priests and 41 regular clergy.
BIBL.: J. D. G. Shea, History of the Catholic Church in the United States, IV, New York 1892, pp. 675-77; The Catholic Historical Review, 2 (1916-17), p. 135; J. H. O’Donnell, The Catholic Hierarchy of the United States, 1790-1922, Washington 1922; The Catholic Encyclopedia, I, rev. ed., 1936, p. 315 sq.; R. Baudier, The Catholic Church in Louisiana, New Orleans 1939; The Official Catholic Directory for 1939, part II, p. 238; E. Laurière, Histoire de la Louisiane française, 1673-1939, Paris 1940; Corrado Morin