WARANGAL, DIOCESI of. - Erected by decree of the S. Congr. de Prop. Fide of 8 Jan. 1953, by separation 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. Istituto delle Missioni Estere of Milan, who, having left the reduced diocese of Hyderabad to the care of the native clergy, have withdrawn into the territory of the new circumscription.
Made 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 remainder pagans. The episcopal see is W., capital of the district of the same name, a city easily accessible from the various mission stations, of which there are about 18 with 300 sub-stations, and a centre of considerable importance, where the missionaries are building a cathedral, schools, a hospital, and whatever is needed for a diocesan capital. Thirty fathers of the Pont. Ist. delle Missioni Estere work there, assisted by several brothers and a considerable number of nuns from various religious congregations. There are several charitable and social institutions in the course of development. There is no seminary.