EDMUNSTON, DIOCESE of. — City and diocese of Canada erected on 16 December 1944 by Pope Pius XII through the apostolic constitution Ad animarum bonum, by dismemberment of the diocese of Bathurst, as a suffragan of Moncton. It extends over 4,957 sq km. It has a population of 74,342, of whom 44,089 are Catholics (1949).
It comprises the counties of Madawaska (with 16 parishes and 3 missions), Victoria (with 4 parishes and 3 missions), and Restigouche (with 4 parishes), for a total of 24 parishes and 13 missions. It has 46 diocesan priests and 28 religious priests, one seminary, 4 male and 11 female religious communities. The Cathedral is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception.
BIBL.: AAS, 37 (1943), pp. 177–79; Le Canada ecclésiastique, 1949, Montréal 1949, pp. 493–99. Enrico Josi