NEOSOLIO (Slovak: Banská Bystrica), DIOCESE of. Diocese in Slovakia, erected on 13 March 1776 by separating it from the territory of the archdiocese of Strigonia, of which it remained a suffragan until 1937, when it became immediately subject to the Holy See.
The church of St Francis Xavier of the Jesuit College was chosen as the cathedral, having become vacant after the suppression of the Society of Jesus. The bishops, however, resided in the castle of Svätý Kríž nad Hronom until 1943, when the new bishop A. Skrabik transferred the residence to N.
Of the bishops of N., the most illustrious is Stefano Moyses (1850–69). In the diocese is the Marian shrine of Staré Hory, where the “Madonna of the Slovak Mountains” is venerated.
Statistics (1948): area 5,424 sq. km., Catholics 231,078 out of 312,350 inhabitants, parishes 119, diocesan priests 202, male religious houses 7 with 60 religious, female religious houses 17 with 303 religious.