LYDENBURG, DIOCESE. - In the eastern part of the Transvaal. Erected on 12 June 1923 as an apostolic pre-
fecture with territory detached from the then vicariate of the Transvaal (now the archdiocese of Pretoria and the diocese of Johannesburg), and entrusted to the missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It was raised to an apostolic vicariate on 9 Dec. 1948, and to a diocese on 11 Jan. 1951 with the establishment of the ecclesiastical hierarchy in the Union of South Africa.
It has an area of 79,393 sq. km., with 795,000 inhabitants, of whom 7,650 are Catholics. It has 14 parishes and 18 churches, with primary and secondary stations, served by 30 religious priests, assisted by 2 male and 5 female religious communities; 38 schools (including 2 vocational schools) and 7 charitable and welfare institutions, including 3 hospitals and two orphanages (Ann. Pont., 1951, p. 679).