SIRA, DIOCESE OF. — Latin bishopric on the island of the same name since 1207. Until the Greek War of Independence (1821–29), it encompassed almost the entire population of the island; however, after the immigration—especially of refugees in the year of the Chios catastrophe (1822) and others in the third decade of the following century—the Catholic population lost its preponderance, so that there are now 27,000 Orthodox and only 11,000 Catholics. Nevertheless, in the course of the last few centuries, the Catholics have made an excellent contribution to the development of Catholicism in the archbishopric of Athens.
Indeed, the first Apostolic Delegate of Greece was the bishop of S., Luigi Maria Bianchis, O.F.M. A hero of the faith was one of his predecessors: Andrea Carga, O.P., martyred on 17 October 1617 by the Turks for the Catholic faith in the port of S. Since 1833, the Orthodox have had a resident metropolitan in S.