Pasto, Diocese of

PASTO, Diocese of. - City and diocese of Colombia (South America), suffragan of the archdiocese of Popayan. It has an area of 8,000 sq km with a population of 400,000 inhabitants, all Catholics, distributed in 55 parishes, served by 79 diocesan priests and 58 regulars; it has 1 seminary, 6 male religious communities and 11 female ones (Ann. Pont., 1952, p. 312).

Founded in 1539 under the name of Villaviciosa, it was set on fire during the war of 1834 and then destroyed by an earthquake. By the bull In excelsa militantibus Ecclesia of Pius IX, dated 10 April 1859, it was separated from Popayan and erected as a diocese. On 23 December 1904 the apostolic prefecture of Caquetà was separated from P. It is a suffragan of Popayan. Among the bishops of the diocese are remembered the Jesuit Ignacio León Velasco, and Fr. Ezequiel Moreno, whose cause of beatification has been introduced. Among the churches of the diocese are remembered the church of St. Dominic, of St. Francis, of St. Andrew, of St. Philip and others. There is furthermore the College of St. Philip Neri directed by the Jesuit fathers; a hospital and the convent of the Capuchins.

Enrico Josi