It has an area of 32,244 sq. km. with a population of 307,000 inhabitants, of whom 300,000 are Catholic; it has 20 parishes served by 72 diocesan priests and 7 religious; it has a seminary; 3 male and 8 female religious communities (Ann. Pont. 1953, p. 420).
The province of Nayarit, inhabited by Indian tribes, was visited in 1668 by the Franciscans J. Caballero and Juan B. Ramirez, who tried in vain to bring Christianity there. In 1711 Fr. Margil from the convent of Zacatecas attempted once more to reach the region. Finally, in 1716 the Jesuit Thomas de Solchaga managed to penetrate those mountains and to sow the first seeds of Christianity there. From that time onward, missions gradually began to flourish. Until 1807 the Franciscans administered the area. Pope Leo XIII on 23 June 1891 erected the diocese of T. as a suffragan of Guadalajara.