Talca, Diocese of

TALCA, DIOCESE of. – City and diocese in the Republic of Chile, in South America.

The diocese extends over the civil provinces of Falca and Curicò and has an area of 17,000 sq km, with a population of 320,000, of whom 290,000 are Catholics. It has 40 parishes, served by 56 diocesan priests and 65 religious; it has 1 seminary, 15 male and 20 female religious communities (Ann. Pont. 1953, p. 415).

The diocese was created by Pius XI on 16 October 1925 by the apostolic constitution Apostolici numeris. It is a suffragan of Santiago del Cile. The Cathedral is dedicated to St Augustine. The religious history of T. merges with that of Santiago.