Caxias del Maranhão, Diocese of. — In the State of Maranhão (Brazil), a suffragan of São Luís do Maranhão, it extends over the eastern region of the State, which is hot but very fertile in cotton, rice, rubber, *carnuaba* palm, and also livestock.
It covers approximately 92,538 sq. km., has 350,000 inhabitants, 17 parishes, and is served by diocesan and Lazarist religious priests (1948). The cathedral is dedicated to Our Lady of Health, the diocese to the Immaculate Conception and St. Joseph. Caxias has been a city since 1836 and has 65,000 inhabitants. Previously called Aldeias Altas, the city was sacked during the bloody *balaios* insurrection (1838–41). Its current importance is due to its central position between the port of São Luís and the interior of the States of Maranhão and Piauí. It was therefore established as the episcopal see of the diocese, its territory having been detached from the archdiocese of São Luís on 22 July 1939.