FUNCHAL, DIOCESE of. - Capital of the Island of Madeira (Portugal), in the Atlantic.
The diocese was erected in 1514 by Leo X, through the bull Pro excellenti proeminentio, almost a century after its discovery by the Portuguese (1410). The first bishop was Diogo Pinheiro.
Clement VII elevated it to the dignity of a metropolitan see on 31 Jan. 1533, but in practice it was only the brief Romani Pontificia of Paul III, in the time of Archbishop Martino de Portugal, that defined the boundaries of the new ecclesiastical province, which included all the territories discovered and conquered by the Portuguese.
It currently comprises the Island of Madeira and Porto Santo, with an area of 787 sq. km. and 250,124 inhabitants, of whom 247,800 are Catholics, distributed among 50 parishes, served by 107 diocesan priests and 12 regular clergy; one seminary, 5 male religious communities, and 27 female ones.