PASTO, DIOCESE OF. – A city and diocese in Colombia (South America), suffragan of the archdiocese of Popayán. It covers an area of 8,000 sq. km. with a population of 400,000, all Catholic, distributed in 55 parishes served by 79 secular priests and 58 regular clergy; it has 1 seminary, 6 male religious communities and 11 female (Ann. Pont., 1952, p. 312).
Founded in 1530 under the name of Villaviciosa, it was burned during the war of 1834 and later destroyed by an earthquake. By the bull of Pius IX *In excelsa militantibus Ecclesia* of 10 April 1859 it was separated from Popayán and erected as a diocese. On 23 December 1904 the apostolic prefecture of Caquetá was detached from II. It remains suffragan of Popayán.
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 those of St Dominic, St Francis, St Andrew, St Philip and others. There is also the College of St Philip Neri run by the Jesuits; a hospital and the convent of the Capuchins.