CHITTAGONG, DIOCESE of. – It is suffragan to Calcutta (India) and is entrusted to the missionaries of the Canadian province of the Congregation of the Holy Cross. It was erected in 1927 with territory Dacca (v.); the following year the districts of Shylet and Cachar, detached from the apostolic prefecture of Assam (now the diocese of Shillong), were added to it, and in 1940 the Burmese province of Arakan was detached from it (v. AKYAB).
The diocese today comprises the south-eastern part of Bengal, with an area of 76,629 sq. km and approximately 12,731,121 inhabitants, almost all Bengali by race and language. Of these, 7,684,578 are Muslims, 4,054,712 Hindus, 825,251 Buddhists, 51,167 animists, and approximately 102,368 Protestants. The Catholics (1948) number 11,033 and the catechumens 2,012. The first missionaries to come to C. were the Portuguese Jesuits in 1559, followed by the Augustinians. Around 1875 C. was attended to by the Benedictines of the Anglo-Belgian province, and since 1889 the religious of the Holy Cross have been working there. The diocese has 10 districts with 10 primary and 70 secondary stations, and with 4 churches and 10 chapels. Twenty-six priests (of whom 7 are indigenous), 18 brothers, 42 sisters, and 51 catechists work there. It maintains 36 elementary schools and 4 middle schools with approximately 2,000 pupils, 40 higher schools with 596 pupils, a vocational school with 78 pupils, and a normal school with 61 pupils. There are also 4 orphanages with 608 children and a home for the elderly with 23 residents. Catholic Action is still in its beginnings.
(phot. Enis)
CHIUSI – Portal of the church of S. Francesco (14th century).