PARANÀ, ARCHDIOCESE of. - City and archdiocese of Argentina (South America), capital of the province of Entre Rios, situated on the left bank of the river of the same name.
It has an area of 75,000 sq. km. and a population of 840,000 inhabitants, of whom 735,000 are Catholics; it has 55 parishes served by 97 diocesan and 77 regular priests; it has 1 seminary, 7 male and 51 female religious communities (Ann. Pont., 1952, p. 310).
The diocese was created by Pius IX with the bull of 13 June 1859 as a suffragan of Buenos Aires. The first bishop was Msgr. José Gabriel Segura y Curas, who took possession of the see on 3 June 1860. His successors were Msgrs. José María Gelabert y Crespo (1865); Rosendo de la Lastra y Gordillo (1909); Abel Bazan y Bustos (1911). Pope Pius XI, by the apostolic constitution Nobilis Argentinae nationis of 20 Apr. 1934, raised the diocese of P. to metropolitan status, assigning to it as suffragans the dioceses of Corrientes and Santiago del Estero.
The first and present archbishop is Msgr. Z. L. Guilland, elected on 18 Sept. 1934 and consecrated on 3 March 1935.