LUCKNOW, DIOCESE of. – Situated in northern India. It was erected on 12 January 1940 and entrusted to the Capuchins. Its territory was detached from the diocese of Allahabad and, to a lesser extent, from the archdiocese of Agra, of which it was declared a suffragan. The difficult work of evangelizing this part of India is owed to the Capuchins, especially since the apostolic vicariate of Patna was raised to a diocese with its see at Allahabad (1886). In the city of L. (600,000 inhabitants), which during the British regime became the capital of central India and the seat of the civil government of the United Provinces, Catholic employees also settled; they were visited periodically by the missionaries. Churches and schools were subsequently opened in various places, until the diocese of L. was established and entrusted to the Capuchins of the province of Bologna.
It has an area of 75,000 sq. km. and 12,000,000 inhabitants, of whom only 5,000 are Catholics; the others are Hindus (10 million), Muslims (one and a half million), and the remainder Parsis and Buddhists. It has 29 churches, 10 of them parishes, served by 26 regular priests, assisted by 1 religious community and 5 women’s communities. It has 8 educational institutions (Annuario Pontificio, 1951, p. 256).
A minor seminary has been opened to recruit indigenous vocations. Pious associations and associations of Catholic Action are not lacking. The following are published: Catholic Life, a monthly parish bulletin; The diocese of L., the official diocesan bulletin; and Action, the annual bulletin of Catholic Action.