SAN GIOVANNI NEL CANADÀ (SAINT JOHN), DIOCESI di. - City and diocese in the province of New Brunswick (Canada), S. G. is the oldest incorporated city in North America. It dates back to 1785.
The first missionaries in what was then Acadia were the Jesuits Biard and Massé, in 1611; they remained there after the destruction of Port Royal in 1613, and were subsequently succeeded by the Recollects. With the foundation of Québec, a renewed interest in Acadia became apparent; mons. de St-Vallier went there in person in 1686. The first church of S. G. was opened on 1 Nov. 1815. In Aug. 1829, Charlottetown, on Prince Edward Island, was raised to a diocese with jurisdiction over New Brunswick until 30 Sept. 1842, when the province was erected into a diocese. A division was then made in the diocese of New Brunswick with the creation of S. G. in the southern part of the province, and mons. Giovanni Sweeney (consecrated on 15 Apr. 1860) was appointed bishop.
A suffragan of Moncton, the diocese has a total population of 192,357 inhabitants, of whom 40,000 are Catholics; 57 diocesan priests and 15 religious (Redemptorists) exercise the sacred ministry in its 65 churches, 30 parishes, and 40 missions. Its charitable institutions consist of a home for the aged, 1 hospital, and 3 orphanages.