Diocese of Socorro

(DE SUCCURSU.)

Established in 1895 as a suffragan see of the Archdiocese of Bogota, in the Republic of Colombia, South America. The Catholic population in 1910 numbered 230,000. The city of Socorro arose at Chiancon, the settlement of an Indian chief of the same name, in 1540 defeated and captured by the discoverer Martin Galeano. In 1681 the village moved to its present site under the auspices of Our Lady of Succour (Socorro), with which name the rank of parish was given it in 1683, and it was definitively constructed eight years later. In 1771 it was raised to the rank of a town. This city was one of the first in starting the Colombian movement for Independence, for as late as 1781 there was a revolt against the Spanish authorities. Socorro is the capital of the province of the same name, in the Department of Santander. The present bishop is the Rt. Rev. Evaristo Blanco.