TRINCOMALIE, DIOCESE of. - It is situated on the island of Ceylon.
On 3 Dec. 1838 the vicariate of Ceylon was erected; later, on 17 Feb. 1845, its division into the two vicariates of Colombo and Jaffna was decided upon, and was subsequently confirmed in 1848. On 20 Apr. 1883 the Apostolic Vicariate of Kandy was erected by detachment from the Apostolic Vicariate of Colombo. In 1886 the diocese of Colombo was raised to an archdiocese, and Kandy and Jaffna were constituted suffragan dioceses. In 1893, from the territory of Jaffna—at the same time as that of Galle, formed by detachment from Colombo—the diocese of T. was detached, entrusted to the Society of Jesus, and declared suffragan to the archdiocese of Colombo. It borders on the Indian Ocean and the dioceses of Jaffna, Kandy, and Galle.
The most recent statistics (1952) give the following figures: area, 5,048 sq. km.; population, 297,500, of whom 19,572 are Catholics, 2,500 Protestants, 121,000 Muslims, 128,400 Hindus, and 26,000 Buddhists. The diocese is divided into 3 districts or rural vicariates, with 13 parishes, 53 churches, and 41 chapels. It has 15 diocesan priests and 23 religious; 4 male and 5 female religious communities; 49 educational and 7 charitable institutions; and 2 seminaries. The diocese also possesses a printing press, where, among other things, the periodical Singing Fish is printed, with a circulation of 550 copies. The Conferences of S. Vincenzo de' Paoli, Catholic Action associations, the Legion of Mary, etc., are flourishing. The episcopal residence is in the city of Batticaloa.