ALLAHABAD, DIOCESE OF. - A city in northern India, capital of the district and of the Ornitian region. Its position at the confluence of two sacred rivers, the Ganges and the Jumna, confers a sacred character upon it, whence the various names by which it has been designated: the ancient one of Prayag or "the pre-eminent confluence"; of Triveni or "the three ways," constituted by the three rivers: Ganges, Jumna and the new Ganges which results from them; and then of A. or "the abode of Allah," given to it in the first half of the 17th century by the Shah Jahan. The most famous of the cities in its region is Benares, on the Ganges, stronghold of Hinduism, crowded with temples.
Ecclesiastically, A. is now a suffragan diocese of Agra. But formerly it belonged to the vast Apostolic Vicariate of Tibet-Hindustan, or of Agra, erected in 1820; then to the Apostolic Vicariate of Patna, detached from the former (1845) and later made a diocese (1886) under the name of A. The territory, still very extensive, was reduced by the subsequent erection of the Apostolic Prefecture of Bettiah (1892), of the Diocese of Patna (1919), of the Apostolic Prefecture of Jubbulpore (1932), of Jhansi (1940), of the Diocese of Lucknow (1940) and finally of the Apostolic Prefecture of Gorakhpur (1946). On this occasion the diocese passed from the Capuchins to the indigenous secular clergy.
Evangelization has always proceeded slowly because of the obstacles raised on all sides by entrenched superstition, the fanaticism of the pagans, and the various uprisings against the English occupiers.
The diocese has an area of 120,000 sq. km., and a population (1939) of 28 million, of whom Catholics, including catechumens, are about 17,000; the rest are Protestants, Jews, Mohammedans (8 million), and pagans (about 20 million). It has 22 churches, of which 5 are parishes and 25 quasi-parishes, and 16 chapels. There are 57 secular priests, of whom 19 are Indian; assisted by Christian Brothers and 145 sisters from various congregations, numbering 145, of whom 16 are Indian and 17 Anglo-Indian. There are 21 elementary schools with 460 pupils; 7 secondary schools with 1,072 pupils; 8 higher schools with 1,632 pupils; and 2 professional schools with 34 pupils. There is also 1 hospital and 26 dispensaries, orphanages and homes for the aged.