PATNA, DIOCESE OF - Tibet (v.) was entrusted in 1703 to the Capuchins, who were definitively expelled from the country in 1745, and then from Nepal, where they had taken refuge, in 1769, and settled in Bettiah and Patna.
In 1784 a part of the mission of the Jesuits of the Mughal Empire was united with that of the Tibetan Capuchins, and on 24 Aug. 1820 the apostolic vicariate of Tibet-Hindustan was erected, comprising more or less the entire northern part of India, with its seat at Agra. On 7 Feb. 1845 the northern part was detached under the name of the apostolic vicariate of Patna, and the southern region took the name of the apostolic vicariate of Agra. With the restoration of the hierarchy in 1886, the latter became the archdiocese of Agra and that of Patna became the diocese of Patna, which in 1887, after ceding a tract of territory to the archdiocese of Calcutta, changed ALLAHABAD, DIOCESI DI (v.). From Allahabad the district of Champaran was detached in 1892, where since 1769 there had been a flourishing mission at Bettiah, as well as some other districts, and thus the apostolic prefecture of Bettiah was erected, entrusted to the Tyrolean Capuchins, who were later expelled by the British government in 1914. From the territory of the apostolic prefecture of Bettiah and a strip of territory from the diocese of Allahabad south of the Ganges, a new diocese was erected on 10 Sept. 1919 under the name of Patna, suffragan to Calcutta and entrusted to the Society of Jesus.
It is divided into 4 districts, which contain 32 primary stations and 108 secondary stations, 16 churches and 56 chapels. It has an area of 231,507 sq. km. and a population of about 33 million, of whom 30,000 are Catholics, 12,000 Protestants, two and a half million Muslims, 30 million industrial workers, and 630,000 animists. The language used by the majority is Hindi; in the eastern part of the diocese Santali is spoken, and in Nepal, Nepali.
The missionary personnel consists of 11 Indian secular priests, 70 Jesuit fathers and 12 fathers of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis, to whom, since 1938, the part inhabited by the Santali was entrusted. There are about fifteen brothers, around 160 sisters, 100 catechists, 100 male teachers and 54 female teachers, with a total of 39 elementary schools, 15 middle schools, 7 high schools, 4 vocational schools, and 1 normal school. Charitable works include 2 hospitals, 10 orphanages, and 5 homes for the elderly. There are numerous Marian congregations for men and women.