Caxias, Diocese of. — In Brazil; State of Rio Grande do Sul. Erected on 8 Sept. 1934, by separation from the archdiocese of Porto Alegre, of which it is a suffragan.
It is situated in a region colonized by Italian immigrants and is the largest wine-producing center in Brazil; it covers an area of 12,416 sq. km., with a population of 220,000 inhabitants, of whom 216,000 are Catholics, distributed in 41 parishes. The secular clergy consists of 53 diocesan priests and 60 regulars (Franciscans, Capuchins, Scalabrinians, Passionists, Josephites). The Missionary Sisters of St Charles, the Sisters of St Joseph, those of the Heart of Mary of Our Lady of the Apparition, and the Sisters of the Pious Schools together run 15 girls’ schools, 6 hospitals, an orphanage, a parish school, and a novitiate. Patroness of the cathedral and of the diocese is St Teresa. The diocesan seminarians pursue their studies at the central seminary of São Leopoldo.