CAMPECHE, DIOCESI di. — In the Republic of Mexico, erected by Leo XIII on 2 Dec. 1895 by the constitution Praedecessorum nostrorum, separating it from the diocese of Yucatán, of which it is now a suffragan. Until now it has been governed by 7 bishops.
It comprises the State of C. and a large part of the federal territory of Quintana Roo, with an area of 71,000 sq. km and a population of 110,000 inhabitants (half Indigenous and the other half white or mestizo); 109,000 Catholics.
The diocese has 67 churches and is divided into 19 parishes, with 16 diocesan priests and 3 religious priests (1948). The shortage of clergy is due in part to the recent religious persecutions, during which the seminary and Catholic schools were closed.
The episcopal see is C., formerly S. Francisco de C., founded by Francisco de Montojo in 1540. Immediately after the city’s foundation, construction began on the first church, S. Maria de la Concepción, now the cathedral, an imposing and massive building resembling a fortress. The first missionaries in the region were the Franciscans, alongside whom the Jesuits also worked from 1572 onward. Well-known sanctuaries are those of Our Lady of Hool and S. Roma.