Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Barcelona

Archdiocese of Barcelona
Dioecesis Barcinonensis
Location
Country Spain
Metropolitan Barcelona
Statistics
Area 339 km2 (131 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics		 (as of 2006)
2,606,362
2,302,177 (88.3%)
Parishes 212
Information
Rite Roman Rite
Cathedral Catedral Basílica Metropolitana de Santa Creu i Santa Eulàlia
(Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia)
Secular priests 1,036
Current leadership
Bishop Lluís Martínez Sistach
Auxiliary Bishop Sebastián Taltavull Anglada

The Archdiocese of Barcelona is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in southeastern Spain and the metropolitan see of the ecclesiastical province of Barcelona which includes the suffragan dioceses of Sant Feliu de Llobregat and Terrassa.

The current Archbishop of Barcelona is Lluís Martínez Sistach, appointed by Pope John Paul II on 15 June 2004.

Contents

History

While local tradition and catalogues date back the first bishop, San Eteri, considered a disciple of Saint James the Great, to the very first Apostles, historical evidence seems to be undisputed from the third century onwards, when bishop Pretextat attended the Council of Sardica in 343. During the Visigothic Kingdom, Barcelona became one of the fourteen dioceses of the ecclesiastic province of Tarragona. After the Christian fall in 712, a long sede vacante was ended not before 850, when bishop Joan took office, and the diocese became subjugated to the Carolingian See of Narbonne.

During the Reconquista, bishop Oleguer was called to the archepiscopal see of Tarragona, which he took in 1017, though being granted to keep his Barcelonan see as well, reigning 1114–1137. Barcelona became suffragan to Tarragona once again, and stayed so for the following centuries. Its bishops got used to live in the pontifical or royal courts instead of the city, until bishop Jaume Caçador inducted reforms according to the Council of Trent amidst the 16th century. Disregarding another year-lasting de facto sede vacante from 1808 to 1814 during the Napoleonic Wars, Barcelona and its diocese kept on grewing richer and more powerful.

On 25 March 1964 Pope Paul VI elevated the Diocese of Barcelona to the level of an Archdiocese. However, it has only had the status of a Metropolitan Archdiocese since 2004, when Pope John Paul II dismembered its territory into the Archdiocese of Barcelona and the two new suffraganes of Sant Feliu de Llobregat and Terrassa together with the appointment of Archbishop Sistach. [1]

Leadership

Earliest bishops according to local tradition

The Catholic Encyclopedia states that “The See of Barcelona, unlike most very ancient sees, whose origins are obscure, has preserved catalogues of its bishops from Apostolic times, and although all the names given cannot be admitted as authentic, the greater number are handed down in all the catalogues.”[2] The list includes:[3]

Early bishops (for whom documentation exists)

Medieval Period

In the twelfth century the diocese was restored by Ramon Berenguer, Count of Barcelona.

List of Bishops and Archbishops of Barcelona since 1505

Suffragan dioceses

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Dr. Josep Maria Martí Bonet: Historia de la Diócesis de Barcelona del s. IV al s. XXI, Arquebisbat de Barcelona. Retrieved on 2010-11-15.
  2. ^ CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Barcelona
  3. ^ Episcopologi

External links

Province of Barcelona
Province of Burgos
Province of Granada
Province of Madrid
Province of Mérida-Badajoz
Province of Oviedo
Province of Pamplona
Province of
Santiago de Compostela
Province of Seville
Province of Tarragona
Province of Toledo
Province of Valencia
Province of Valladolid
Province of Zaragoza
Military Ordinariate
Roman Catholic Dioceses in Catalonia