MOSSORÓ, DIOCESE OF — City and diocese in the State of Rio Grande do Norte in Brazil. Over an area of 18,365 sq. km., it has 400,000 inhabitants, of whom 350,000 are Catholic; it has 16 parishes, served by 13 diocesan priests and 20 regular clergy, a seminary, 4 male and 5 female religious communities.
The diocese was created by Pope Pius XI with the apostolic constitution *Pro ecclesiarum omnium* of 28 July 1934, by separating it from the diocese of Natal. The first bishop was Msgr. J. de Barros Camara (1936–1941), who was then transferred to Belém do Pará. The present bishop is Msgr. G. B. Portocarrero Costa, since 8 December 1943. It is a suffragan of Paraíba. The cathedral is dedicated to St. Lucy. The patroness of the diocese is the Immaculate Heart of Mary.