GARZON, diocese of. – City and diocese of Colombia, in the department of Huila (State of Tolima), 377 km from Bogotá. It was established as a diocese (Diocesis Garzomenis) by Pope Leo XIII on 20 May 1900, with its residence in Neiva, and comprises the provinces of Garzon and Neiva, which until then had formed part of the diocese of Tolima. This diocese is suffragan to the archbishopric of Popayan. Its first pastor was Msgr. Stefano Rojas.
Within its jurisdiction it comprises an area of 20,700 sq. km, with 232,000 inhabitants, of whom 231,000 are Catholics, distributed among 50 parishes with 65 diocesan priests, 16 religious priests, 4 male and 17 female religious communities (1949). It has a flourishing seminary at its see. The Cathedral, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, is noteworthy.