Many foreign clerics, including the Jesuit superiors, were intimidated and ultimately expelled. The Apostolic Nunciature was also closed down on government orders in 1950, after O'Hara left the country. By that year, Romania, like all other Eastern Bloc countries, cut off diplomatic contacts with the Holy See. Only two dioceses were allowed (the Bucharest Diocese and the Alba Iulia Diocese), while the banned ones continued to function in semi-clandestinity (their new bishops, appointed by the Holy See, were not formally recognized). The Communists unsuccessfully attempted to convince Catholics to organize themselves into a national church, and to cease their contacts with the Holy See.