FARO, DIOCESE OF. – A city and diocese in southern Portugal, capital of the Algarve province. It covers an area of approximately 5,072 sq. km. with a population of 317,628, of whom 303,747 are Catholic. It comprises 67 parishes, served by 66 diocesan priests and some regular clergy (1948).
Occupied by the Moors, it was reconquered in 1260 by Don Alfonso III. Near the city lie the ruins of the ancient centre of Orobona, the original episcopal see, which was transferred around 1189 to Silves or Algarve and subsequently to Faro on 30 March 1577. Among its principal monuments are the Cathedral, a fine Gothic structure of the 13th century largely rebuilt by the Italian architect Francesco Saverio Fabbri at the behest of Bishop Avelar; noteworthy within are the interior lined with *azulejos* and the relics chapel erected by Bishop Pereira de Silva, who is also buried there. Near the Cathedral stand the ruins of the ancient Capuchin convent of the 14th century in Romanesque style. Also worthy of note is the church attached to the Convent of St Francis, built in the 16th century, and the Arco da Vila, the monumental city gate, likewise the work of architect Fabbri.