POUSO ALEGRE. – City and diocese in the State of Minas Geraes in Brazil. It has a population of 530,000 inhabitants, of whom 525,000 are Catholics, distributed among 34 parishes, served by 36 diocesan priests and 16 religious priests; it has a seminary, 3 men’s religious communities and 5 women’s (Ann. Pont., 1952, p. 328).
The diocese was created by Pope Leo XIII with the bull Regio latissime potens of 4 Aug. 1900, by partitioning the dioceses of S. Paulo and Mariana. It was at first a suffragan of Rio de Janeiro, then, from 1906, of Mariana. On 3 Feb. 1916, part of its territory was detached to create the new diocese of Guaxupé. The first bishop was Mgr. J. Nery, transferred in 1908 to Campinas. The Cathedral is dedicated to Senhor Bom Jesus dos Martires; the diocese has S. Sebastian as its patron.