CATAMARCA, DIocese of. – Capital city of the homonymous province in the Argentine Republic; the city was founded in 1683 by Fernando Mendoza Mate de Luna, governor of Tucumán, under the name of S. Fernando del Valle de C. The diocese was erected on 21 January 1910, covers an area of 120,799 km², and is a suffragan of Salta.
It has 16 parishes, 36 diocesan priests and 17 regular clergy, and one seminary; out of a population of 145,216, 143,000 are Catholics. The first bishop was Msgr. B. Piedrabuena. The cathedral is dedicated to the Most Holy Virgin of the Valley, much venerated. Other churches include those of St Francis, with a Baroque façade, the Carmine, and the Good Shepherd, among others. On 22 May 1920 the Andean territory was detached from Catamarca and joined to the diocese of Salta.