Viedma, Diocese of

VIEDMA, DIOCESI di. – City and diocese in the province of Rio Negro (Argentina).

It has an area of 691,679 sq. km. and a population of 220,000, of whom 190,000 are Catholics; it has 23 parishes served by 15 diocesan priests and 82 religious priests; it has 19 male and 15 female religious communities (Ann. Pont. 1953, p. 423). It is suffragan to La Plata.

The diocese was established by Pope Pius XI with the apostolic constitution Nobilis Argentinae Nationis of 20 April 1934, and encompasses the territories of Rio Negro, Chubut, Santa Cruz, and Tierra del Fuego, which were separated from the archdiocese of Buenos Aires.

The church dedicated to Maria Ausiliatrice was raised to the rank and dignity of a cathedral.