MÉRIDA, ARCHDIOCESE OF
Archdiocese and capital of the homonymous state in Venezuela (South America), situated in the north-western part of the state.
It has an area of 53,900 sq. km., with a population of 455,000, of whom 454,000 are Catholics. It comprises 77 parishes, served by 65 diocesan priests and 24 regular clergy; it has a seminary, 5 male religious communities and 15 female ones (Ann. Pont., 1951, p. 269).
The diocese was created on 17 Feb. 1777, under the name of M. de Maracaybo, but it had its first bishop only in 1782 and in 1804 became a suffragan of Santiago de Venezuela. The cathedral chapter was established in 1792. On 12 Oct. 1922 Pope Pius XI, with the apostolic constitution *Ad munus Nobis*, detached 24 parishes from the diocese of M. to form the new diocese of San Cristóbal (AAS, 15 [1923], pp. 99-102); and on 19 June 1923, with the apostolic constitution *Inter praecipuas*, he raised it to the rank and dignity of a metropolitan see, assigning to it as suffragans the dioceses of Zulia and San Cristóbal de Venezuela (AAS, 15 [1923], pp. 533-535).
The first bishop of the diocese was Giovanni Ramos de Lora, a Franciscan (1782-93), succeeded by Emanuele Candidi de Torryos, a Dominican (1793-94). Among the more recent bishops may be mentioned Antonio R. Silva, who governed the church for 33 years (1894-1927), and the present incumbent, Acacio Chacón, who has governed it for 24 years.
The patroness of the diocese is the Immaculate Conception.