SEYCHELLES (Port Victoria), Diocese of. - It comprises all the islands of the S. archipelago. They are located in the Indian Ocean to the northeast of Madagascar and opposite Mombasa, from which they are about 1800 km away.
Ecclesiastically the S. islands were united with the island of Mauritius (v. PORT LOUIS) until 26 Nov. 1852, when
SÉVIGNÉ, MARIE DE RABUTIN CHANTAL, M.me de - Portrait. Painting by P. Mignard (1612-95) - Florence, Uffizi Gallery.
they were detached from it and erected into an apostolic prefecture. On 30 Aug. 1880 this was elevated to an apostolic vicariate, then on 21 July 1892 to a diocese (suffragan of Colombo, Ceylon), which finally on 13 June 1899 was declared immediately subject to the Holy See. The population is in great majority of French origin and culture. Even politically all the S. Islands depended on France and were occupied by the English during the Napoleonic wars. The diocese is currently entrusted to the Capuchins of the Swiss Province and has an area of 252 sq km. with a population of 34,677 inhabitants, of whom 31,485 are Catholics (of these only 134 are foreigners and 292 of mixed stock), 2,781 Protestants, 108 Muslims and 303 pagans), it has 20 foreign priests, 15 foreign brothers, 33 foreign sisters, 24 native sisters, a preparatory seminary and 2 major seminarians, 14 principal mission stations and 10 secondary ones, 11 churches and 16 chapels, 2 orphanages with 27 orphans and a hospice for the elderly, 25 schools with 4169 pupils of both sexes, two periodicals with a circulation of about 3000 copies. The « Legio Mariae » and the « Ligue ouvrière féminine » flourish there.