SAVANNAH-ATLANTA, Diocese of. – Cities and diocese in the State of Georgia, United States of America.
The diocese, which has a total population of 3,444,578 inhabitants, of whom only 32,409 are Catholic, covers an area of 58,980 square miles. There are 143 diocesan priests, 93 religious from 9 different congregations, 44 parishes, 48 chapels, 29 missions, 40 stations, 27 brothers, 306 religious women from 15 different congregations, 19 seminarians, 3 orphanages, and 4 hospitals.
The Diocese of Savannah was created by Pius IX on 19 July 1850 and originally included the entire State of Georgia and the eastern part of Florida as far as the Appalachicola River. The portion located in the State of Florida was separated in 1857 to form the Apostolic Vicariate of Florida, which later became the Diocese of St. Augustine in 1870. The name of the diocese was changed by Pius XI in 1937 to that of Savannah-Atlanta. It is a suffragan of Baltimore.