Diocese of Visakhapatnam
Its territory, which extends in south-central India, already formed part of the diocese of Mylapore from 1606.
From 1834 it belonged to the apostolic vicariate of Madras, but no properly missionary work was begun there until 1845, when it was erected into an autonomous mission entrusted to the Missionaries of St Francis de Sales of Annecy. Later, on 3 April 1850, it was constituted as a vicariate. On 10 September 1886 it was raised to the status of a diocese, made a suffragan of the metropolitan see of Madras in 1887.
The first missionaries of St Francis de Sales, arriving at Vizagapatam (now V.), found there an old Theatine priest, the last survivor of what had been the mission of Golconda. There was a small number of Catholics scattered in a few places, mostly European soldiers. In 1850 the number of Catholics was estimated at about 4,000, including those living in the district of Nagpur, which was detached from Vizagapatam to form a diocese in 1887. On 18 July 1928 the “sui iuris” mission of Cuttack was separated from it, now a diocese entrusted to the Spanish Province of the Congregation of the Mission. The diocese covers an area of 107,520 sq km with a population of 7.5 million souls (1952). The overwhelming majority of the inhabitants are pagans (Brahmins or animists), 45,000 are Muslims, 58,000 Protestants, and 33,834 Catholics with 5,341 catechumens. There are 6 parishes, 20 primary mission stations and 180 secondary ones, served by 13 secular priests and 33 religious, 2 male and 11 female congregations, 370 male and 240 female teachers. The diocese has no seminary and sends its aspirants to the priesthood (44 in all) to the seminaries of neighboring dioceses.
Charitable works: 1 hospital with 24 beds, 4 dispensaries or clinics with a total of 25,000 consultations annually, 12 orphanages with 608 boys and girls. The baptisms of adults “extra articulum mortis” administered in 1951 were 373, i.e. 10 per priest. The work of conversion is slow and difficult.