WARANGAL, Diocese of. - Erected by decree of the S. Congr. de Prop. Fide of 8 Jan. 1953, by detachment from the Indian diocese of Hyderabad of the three civil districts of Warangal, Karimangar and Nalgonda.
It is entrusted to the priests of the Pont. Institute of Foreign Missions of Milan, who, having left the reduced diocese of Hyderabad to the care of the native clergy, withdrew into the territory of the new circumscription.
Constituted a suffragan of Madras, it borders on the dioceses of Hyderabad, Guntur, Vijayavada and Visakhapatnam. The language spoken by the majority is Telugu. It is situated in central India and has an area of 18,840 sq km and a population of 3 million inhabitants, of whom 22,500 are Catholics, 300,000 Muslims and the rest pagans. The episcopal see is W., capital of the district of the same name, a city easily accessible from the various mission stations, which number about 18 with 300 sub-stations, and a center of notable importance where the missionaries are building a cathedral, schools, a hospital and whatever is needed for a diocesan seat. Thirty fathers of the Pont. Inst. of Foreign Missions work there, assisted by some brothers and a fair number of sisters of various religious congregations. There are some charitable and social institutions in the process of development. There is no seminary.
Bibliography
Pompeo Borgna