Trincomalee, Diocese of (TRINCOMALIENSIS), in Ceylon, suffragan of Colombo, was created in 1893 by a division of the diocese of Jaffna. The diocese comprises the whole of the eastern province as well as the district of Tamankuduwa. Out of a total population of 186,251, the Catholics number 8773, with 28 churches and chapels served by 13 fathers and two lay brothers of the Belgian province of the Society of Jesus, with two missionaries Apostolic. Candidates for the priesthood are sent to Kandy seminary. There are fifty-five schools with 2523 pupils, and one convent of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny with five inmates who conduct an orphanage attached to the convent. The bishop is Charles Lavigne, S.J. (consecrated 1887), who resides at Trincomalee.
ERNEST R. HULL