HAMILTON, DIOCESI di. - City and diocese in Canada (North America). This locality was erected into a diocese on 17 February 1856, by dismemberment from the archdiocese of Toronto, of which it is a suffragan, and comprises the counties of Brant, Bruce, Grey, Haldimand, Malton, Wellington, Wenthorth, and part of the county of Dufferin, all in the province of Ontario.
The first bishop was J. Farrell (1820–73). The diocese contains 68 churches with a resident priest, 35 missions with a church, 1 seminary, 3 orphanages, 3 hospitals, 3 colleges, and 81 Catholic schools. The care of souls is entrusted to 102 diocesan priests and 56 religious (Basilians of Toronto, Jesuits, Resurrectionists). The Congregation of the Resurrectionists administers St. Jerome’s College in Kitchener. The total population is 505,951 inhabitants, while Catholics number 64,847. The territory of the diocese covers 9,000 sq. km.