CHILLÁN, DIOCESE of. - In Chile, suffragan of S.ma Concezione. Erected on 18 Oct. 1925, it comprises the province of Nuble and part of that of Maule, with an area of 11,564 sq. km. and a population of approximately 287,279 inhabitants, of whom 258,552 are Catholics, divided among 26 parishes. The clergy consists of 35 secular priests and 40 regulars; there is a minor seminary (1948).
There are numerous male religious families (Franciscans, Dominicans, Mercedarians, Jesuits [who in C., until 1938, had their novitiate, now transferred to Santiago], Trinitarians, Redemptorists, Carmelites). Among the female congregations are: the sisters of the institute of the B. Vergine Maria, who direct a secondary school in C.; the sisters of the Purissima, of the Buon Pastore of Angers, the Hospitallers of the S. Cuore di Gesù, etc. The diocesan clergy directs in C. the episcopal college and the Cauquenes institute. Under Spanish rule, C. was the centre of Jesuit missions in the region. In 1939 the diocese was struck by a violent earthquake that caused approximately 50,000 deaths and very serious damage to many churches and parish houses.