Patna, Diocese of

PATNA, Diocese of. - The mission of Tibet (v.) was entrusted in 1703 to the Capuchins who, having been definitively expelled from that country in 1745, and then from Nepal where they had taken refuge, in 1769, settled at Bettiah and P.

In 1784 a part of the mission of the Jesuits of the Empire of the Great Mogul was united with the Tibetan one of the Capuchins, and on 24 Aug. 1820 the apostolic vicariate of Tibet-Hindostan was erected, comprising more or less the whole northern part of India, with its seat at Agra. On 7 Feb. 1845 the northern part was detached from it under the name of the apostolic vicariate of P., and the southern region took the name of the apostolic vicariate of Agra. With the erection of the hierarchy in 1886 the latter was raised to the archdiocese of Agra and the former to the diocese of P., which then in 1887, with the cession of a stretch of territory to the archdiocese of Calcutta, changed its name to that of Allahabad (v.). From Allahabad there were detached in 1892 the district of Champaran, where since 1769 a flourishing mission had existed at Bettiah, as well as certain other districts, and thus the apostolic prefecture of Bettiah was erected, entrusted to the Tyrolese Capuchins, who were later expelled by the English government in 1914. From the territory of the apostolic prefecture of Bettiah and from a strip of territory of the diocese of Allahabad south of the Ganges, a new diocese was erected on 10 Sept. 1919 under the name of P., a suffragan of Calcutta and entrusted to the Society of Jesus.

It is divided into 4 districts, in which there are 32 primary stations and 108 secondary stations, 16 churches and 56 chapels. It has an area of 231,507 km², and a population of about 33 million inhabitants, of whom 30 thousand are Catholics, 12 thousand Protestants, two and a half million Muslims, 30 million Hindus and 630,000 animists. The language used by the majority is Hindustani; in the eastern part of the diocese Santali is used, in Nepal Nepali. The personnel of the mission consists of 11 Indian secular priests, 70 Jesuit fathers and 12 Franciscan fathers of the Third Order Regular, to whom, since 1938, the part inhabited by the Santals was entrusted. The brothers number about fifteen, the sisters about 160, the catechists 100, the masters 100 and the mistresses 54, with a total of 39 elementary schools, 15 middle schools, 7 higher schools, 4 vocational schools, 1 normal school. The works of charity are represented by 2 hospitals, 10 orphanages and 5 homes for the aged. The Marian congregations, both male and female, are numerous.

Pompeo Borgna