JASSI (JASI), DIOCESE of. – City and diocese in Romania. It extends over 45,000 sq km, with a population of 400,000 inhabitants, of whom 140,000 are Catholics; in 1949 they were distributed among 109 parishes with 46 diocesan priests and 52 religious priests (Annuario Pontificio 1951, p. 223).
The diocese was created by Leo XIII on 27 June 1884, when he established the apostolic vicariate of Moldavia as an episcopal see, with its residence at J.
BIBL.: N. Jorga, Histoire de l'Église roumaine, II, Bucarest 1909, p. 324; S. Vailhé, Jassy, in Cath. Enc., VIII, p. 325. Enrico Josi