MANAGUA, ARCHDIOCESE of. - Capital city and archdiocese in Nicaragua (Central America).
It extends over 5,000 sq. km., with a population of 1,202,866 inhabitants, of whom 1,142,622 are Catholics, distributed among 14 parishes served by 27 diocesan and 22 regular priests (Annuaria Pontificio, 1951, p. 262).
The diocese was created on 26 Feb. 1531 under the name of Nicaragua and raised to an archdiocese by Pope Pius X through a decree of the S. Congregazione Concistoriale of 20 Oct. 1915, removing it from the jurisdiction of the archdiocese of Guatemala and assigning to it jurisdiction over the five departments of M., Masaya, Carazo, Matagalpa, and Jinotega. On the same date, the dioceses of Granada and León were assigned to M. as suffragans. Pope Pius XI, by the apostolic constitution Animarum saluti of 19 Dec. 1924, detached the departments of Matagalpa and Jinotega from the archdiocese of M., erecting the diocese of Matagalpa as a suffragan of M.
The Cathedral is dedicated to St. Stephen.