There are 166 dioceses in Roman Catholic Church in India. Dioceses refer to the see or districts supervised by the Bishop. A diocese is further divided into Parishes. Out of all the Roman Catholic dioceses in India 8 are Syro-Malankara, 29 are Syro-Malabar and 129 are Latin. The organization of these dioceses comprise of 30 ecclesiastical provinces which include 2 Syro-Malankara provinces, 5 Syro-Malabar and 23 Latin rites.
Roman Catholic Dioceses of South India
In south India, Roman Catholic Diocese of Cuddapah is situated in the city of Cuddapah of Hyderabad. It was established in October 1976 and includes 51 parishes which serve about 81,580 Catholics in the diocese. Roman Catholic Diocese of Belgaum is located in Belgaum city of Bangalore Cathedral of Our Lady of the Family Rosary of Fatima is known as the mother parish of the diocese. It is a famous landmark of the city which stands in the cantonment area of Belgaum. Roman Catholic Diocese of Coimbatore is situated in Coimbatore. Initially it was established in the year 1850 as Apostolic Vicariate of Coimbatore but was later promoted to the position of Diocese of Coimbatore in September 1886. Roman Catholic Diocese of Kottar is another diocese of south India located in Kottar city of Kanyakumari District. Apart from these, other Roman Catholic dioceses of South India includes Diocese of Alleppey, Diocese of Eluru, Diocese of Nellore, Diocese of Vijayawada, Diocese of Kottapuram, Diocese of Sivagangai, Diocese of Ootacamund, Diocese of Vellore, Diocese of Nalgonda Diocese of Shimoga, Diocese of Mangalore, Diocese of Chikmagalur, Diocese of Bellary and many more.
Roman Catholic Dioceses of East India
Roman Catholic Diocese of Jalpaiguri is located in Jalpaiguru city. The diocese was founded in January 1952. Established in 1870, Diocese of Krishnagar is located in Krishnagar in the Ecclesiastical province of Kolkata. Diocese of Buxar had been created in December 2005. It is further subdivided into 13 parishes. Situated in Balasore, Diocese of Balasore had been founded in June 1968 as Apostolic Prefecture of Balasore. It was promoted as Diocese in 1989. In Muzaffarpur, Roman Catholic Diocese of Muzaffarpur stands which was established in March 1980. Roman Catholic Diocese of Aizawl, situated in Aizwal city was founded in January 1952 as Apostolic Prefecture of Haflong and was promoted as a diocese in June 1969. Roman Catholic Diocese of Raiganj was established in June 1978 and is situated in Raniganj city. In addition to this, other Roman Catholic dioceses of East India include Diocese of Bhagalpur, Diocese of Berhampur , Diocese of Rourkela, Diocese of Sambalpur, Diocese of Darjeeling, Diocese of Asansol, Diocese of Bagdogra, Diocese of Baruipur etc.
Roman Catholic Dioceses of North India
A number of dioceses are also located in northern part of the country. Diocese of Allahabad, situated in Allahabad, was established in the year 1845 as Apostolic Vicariate of Patna. Later in September 1886 it was promoted as Roman Catholic Diocese of Allahabad. In Varanasi, Roman Catholic Diocese of Varanasi is situated. Established in 1946 as Apostolic Prefecture of Gorakhpur, it was promoted as Diocese of Varanasi 1970. Roman Catholic Diocese of Jammu-Srinagar is situated in the cities of Srinagar and Jammu. It was established in 1952 in the month of June. Diocese of Jalandhar stands in the city of Jalandhar. After its establishment in 1952, it was promoted as Diocese of Jalandhar in December 1971. Other Dioceses of north India include Diocese of Shimla and Chandigarh, Diocese of Jhansi, Diocese of Meerut, Diocese of Bareilly, Diocese of Ajmer and many more.
Roman Catholic Dioceses of West India
Diocese of Nashik was created in May 1987 in Nashik. Roman Catholic Diocese of Ahmedabad is situated in Ahmedabad in the Ecclesiastical province of Gandhinagar. It was established in the year 1949. Roman Catholic Diocese of Baroda was founded in 1966 in the city of Baroda. Roman Catholic Diocese of Sindhudurg was established after it split off from the Diocese of Poona in the year 2005. This diocese covers a few districts including Ratnagiri , Sindhudurg and Kolhapur. It is further categorized into 19 parishes. Other dioceses of west India are Diocese of Kalyan, Diocese of Vasai, Diocese of Poona, Diocese of Amravati, Diocese of Aurangabad, Diocese of Chanda etc.
Roman Catholic Dioceses of Central India
Diocese of Gwalior is situated in Gwalior city. Roman Catholic Diocese of Jabalpur was founded in July 1932 as the Apostolic Prefecture of Jubbulpore but was later promoted as the diocese of Jubbulpore in 1954. Another one is Diocese of Satna . It comes under Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. It was erected in 1977 in the month of February. Roman Catholic Diocese of Indore is based in Indore. It was established in 1952 and spreads over the three districts of western Madhya Pradesh. Apart from this other Roman Catholic Dioceses of Central India Diocese of Jhabua Diocese of Khandwa , Diocese of Sagar , Diocese of Ambikapur, Diocese of Jagdalpur, Diocese of Jashpur, Diocese of Raigarh etc.
