SAN GIORGIO DI TERRANOVA, DIOCESE of. - City and diocese in the province of Terranova, Canadà. Around 1850 a population of approximately 2,000 souls settled in the western part of the island of Terranova, but there were no resident priests, except for the chaplains of French ships.
The first priest to settle in the diocese was Rev. Alessandro Belanger, but because of the difficulties of travel he always remained at the bay of S. Giorgio. On 2 Nov. 1868, Rev. Tommaso Sears, the true apostle of the diocese, came from the diocese of Antigonish. On 9 May 1870, the territory was raised to an apostolic prefecture and Msgr. Tommaso Sears was appointed apostolic prefect. By apostolic letter of Leo XIII, dated 2 Apr. 1892, the prefecture was raised to an apostolic vicariate, and by decree of 18 Feb. 1904 the apostolic vicariate became a diocese.
S. G. di T., now part of Canadà, has a
Catholic population of 20,351 souls, evangelized by 16 secular priests and 6 religious (Redemptorists). There are 39 churches and 130 schools. The metropolitan see is S. G. di T.