ICA, DIOCESE OF. – City and diocese of Peru, erected as a bishopric by Pope Pius XII on 10 August 1946 with the apostolic constitution Ad maiorem Christifidelium utilitatem, by separating territory from the archdiocese of Lima and the diocese of Ayacucho. The diocese is a suffragan of Lima. The cathedral, known as La Merced, is dedicated to St Jerome.
The diocese covers an area of 25,379 sq km with a population of 144,747, of whom 144,547 are Catholic. It has 27 parishes served by 13 diocesan priests and 3 religious priests, one seminary, one male and one female religious community (1949).
BIBL.: AAS, 39 (1947), pp. 167-69. Enrico Josi
I. C. A. S.: V. ISTITUTO CATTOLICO ATTIVITÀ SOCIALI.