Chronology of Catholic Dioceses:Notes on the Diocese of Laredo

On 3 July 2000, it was made public that the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, has erected the diocese of Laredo in Texas, USA, detaching it from the diocese of Corpus Christi and from the archdiocese of San Antonio, making it a suffragan of the same Matropolitan Archdiocese of San Antonio. The new Diocese will be made up of seven South Texas counties, which were taken from the Diocese of Corpus Christi and the Archdiocese of San Antonio. Maverick, Zavala, Dimmit and half of La Salle County will be relinquished by the Archdiocese of San Antonio and the other half of LaSalle County together with Webb, Zapata, and Jim Hogg County will be contributed by the Diocese of Corpus Christi.

Area: area 27,482 kmq, population 262,252, Catholics 199,142 (about 80 percent), parished 27, missions 21, schools 8, priests 46, religious 94, permanent deacons 25.

- CT