COIMBATORE (Coimbatur), DIOCESE OF. — On 16 March 1845 the apostolic vicariate of the Coromandel Coast was divided to create the pro-vicariate of C., which was elevated in 1850 to an apostolic vicariate and finally, in 1886, to a diocese. The mission was served by the Paris Foreign Missions Society until 1940, when it passed, with some territorial limitations, to the indigenous clergy.
The area of the diocese is 18,122 sq km, and the population is about 2,850,000, of whom 2,700,000 are Hindus, 64,000 Muslims, 44,000 Catholics and 30,000 Protestants.
There are 50 indigenous priests, 20 seminarians and some religious. The sisters number about 200. There are 34 quasi-parishes, 32 churches with a resident priest and 64 without. There are 45 elementary schools, 10 middle schools and 3 high schools with 11,000 pupils. Works of assistance and charity are fairly well developed. The diocese is a suffragan of Pondicherry.