Salto

(SALTENSIS).

Diocese in Uruguay, suffragan to Montevideo. This diocese with that of Melo was erected by Pope Leo XIII by his Brief of 19 April, 1897, on the petition of the Bishop of Montevideo and with the consent of the Uruguayan Government. Montevideo was raised to the archiepiscopal rank and two titular bishops were named to assist the new archbishop. However, owing to unfavorable political conditions, no appointments to the new sees have yet been made (December, 1911). The Diocese of Salto comprises the north-western portion of the Republic of Uruguay (see the Ecclesiastical Map of South America in CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA, III), including the departments of Río Negro, Paysandú, Salto, Artigas, and Tacuarembo, with an area of 25,700 square miles and a population of about 197,000 inhabitants. The town of Salto (population 12,000) is situated on the Río de la Plata opposite Concordia in Argentina. It has a large export trade, and is in communication with both Montevideo and Buenos Aires, by boat and rail. Paysandú (population 16,000) is also a busy commercial centre, the neighboring region being extensively devoted to stock-raising. It contains a hospital and two churches.