PONCE, DIOCESI of. — City and diocese of Central America on the island of Puerto Rico; immediately subject to the Holy See.
It has an area of 1,200 sq. km., with a population of 1,000,000 inhabitants, of whom 900,000 are Catholics; 157 churches and 38 parishes with 25 diocesan priests and 88 religious; 20 male and 24 female religious communities (Ann. Pont., 1952, p. 322).
The city was founded in 1680 under the name of Our Lady of Guadalupe of P.; on 21 November 1924 it was raised to the status of a diocese by Pius XI, through its separation from the diocese of Puerto Rico.
The Cathedral is dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe.
BIBL.: anonymous, s. V. in Enc. Eur. Am., XLVI, pp. 236–38; AAS, 17 (1923), pp. 441–43. Enrico Josi