The Roman Catholic Diocese of Telšiai is a suffragan Latin diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan of Kaunas, one of two in Lithuania.

History

The diocese was established on 4 April 1926 on territory split off from the Diocese of Samogitia. On 28 May 1997, it lost territory to establish the Diocese of Šiauliai. On 24 December 1991, the Territorial Prelature of Klaipėda (Memel), which had been seceded from the Diocese of Ermland on 4 April 1926, and was repeatedly held in personal union by the Bishops already, was merged into the Telšiai Diocese.

Statistics

As of 2014, the diocese pastorally served 564,000 Catholics (80.0% of 705,000 total) on 13373 km2 in 79 parishes and 95 missions with 164 priests (148 diocesan, 16 religious), 50 lay religious (18 brothers, 32 sisters) and 20 seminarians studying at the Telšiai Bishop Vincentas Borisevičius Priest Seminary.

Special churches

Its cathedral is the Cathedral of St. Anthony of Padua in the city of Telšiai. It also has the former cathedral of the Diocese of Samogitia in Varniai and a minor basilica dedicated to the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Žemaičių Kalvarija.

Episcopal ordinaries

(all Roman rite)

Auxiliary episcopate

Sources and external links