The Roman Catholic Diocese of Astorga ( la, Asturicensis) is a

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

whose seat is in the city of Astorga, in the

province of León León (, , ; ; ) is a province of northwestern Spain in the northern part of the Region of León and in the northwestern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. About one quarter of its population of 463,746 (2018) lives in the ca ...

, Castile and León,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

."Diocese of Astorga"
''

Catholic-Hierarchy.org ''Catholic-Hierarchy.org'' is an online database of bishops and dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Catholic Churches. The website is not officially sanctioned by the Church. It is run as a private project by David M. Cheney in ...

''. David M. Cheney. Retrieved February 29, 2016"Diocese of Astorga"
''GCatholic.org''. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved February 29, 2016 The diocese is a part of the

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of seve ...

of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oviedo The Archdiocese of Oviedo ( la, Oveten(sis), links=no) is an Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Spain.

since 1954. It traces its foundation to the 3rd century, making it one of the oldest in Spain.

History

The first bishop for whom there is any documentary evidence was Belisarius, who served during the reign ( from 249 to 251) of the Emperor

Decius Gaius Messius Quintus Traianus Decius ( 201 ADJune 251 AD), sometimes translated as Trajan Decius or Decius, was the emperor of the Roman Empire from 249 to 251. A distinguished politician during the reign of Philip the Arab, Decius was procl ...

and faced the persecution waged under this ruler. The bishop was dismissed from his position, accused of having been a ''libellaticus'', i.e., a Christian who had offered sacrifice to the Roman gods to avoid arrest. The bishop was re-instated after the intervention of the prominent African bishop,

Cyprian Cyprian (; la, Thaschus Caecilius Cyprianus; 210 – 14 September 258 AD''The Liturgy of the Hours according to the Roman Rite: Vol. IV.'' New York: Catholic Book Publishing Company, 1975. p. 1406.) was a bishop of Carthage and an early Christ ...

, and

Pope Stephen I Pope Stephen I ( la, Stephanus I) was the bishop of Rome from 12 May 254 to his death on 2 August 257.Mann, Horace (1912). "Pope St. Stephen I" in ''The Catholic Encyclopedia''. Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company. He was later canonized ...

. It was a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Braga The next bishop, Sabinus, led the Christian community through the persecution of the Emperor Valerian. The Christians

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

ed during this period included the schoolboys saints, Justus and Pastor, as well as their aunt, Martha, who became the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of the diocese. The diocese was represented at the

Synod of Elvira The Synod of Elvira ( la, Concilium Eliberritanum, es, Concilio de Elvira) was an ecclesiastical synod held at Elvira in the Roman province of Hispania Baetica, now Granada in southern Spain.. Its date has not been exactly determined but is belie ...

(ca. A.D. 305), the first major assembly of the Church in

Hispania Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hisp ...

. During the waves of invasion of the peninsula by the

Germanic tribes The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and e ...

, one bishop was the noted Turibio. He documented the conversion of the Suebic King Resimund to Arianism, and worked to restore the churches destroyed by the

Visigothic The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is kno ...

King

Theodoric II Theodoric II, ''Teodorico'' in Spanish and Portuguese, ( 426 – early 466) was the eighth King of the Visigoths, from 453 to 466. Biography Theoderic II, son of Theodoric I, obtained the throne by killing his elder brother Thorismund. The Engli ...

. The bishop was able to travel to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, from which he brought back what is believed to be a relic of the

True Cross The True Cross is the cross upon which Jesus was said to have been crucified, particularly as an object of religious veneration. There are no early accounts that the apostles or early Christians preserved the physical cross themselves, althoug ...

, for which he founded the Monastery of Santo Toribio de Liébana, where it is still preserved.

Present

The diocese maintains its own school of formation for its clergy, the

Seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

of the

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...

, which was founded on 1 November 1766, with the current structure being built in 1799.

Prelates

* Pedro da Fonseca (5 Jun 1413 – 7 Jun 1419 Resigned) :''. . .'' * Bernardino López de Carvajal y Sande (27 Aug 1488 – 23 Jan 1489 Appointed Bishop of Badajoz) *

Juan Ruiz de Medina Juan Ruiz de Medina (died 30 January 1507) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Segovia (1502–1507),

(1489–1493 Appointed Bishop of Badajoz) *

Diego Meléndez de Valdés Diego Meléndez de Valdés (died 1506) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Zamora (1494–1506) and Bishop of Astorga (1493–1494).

(1493–1494 Appointed Bishop of Zamora)" Bishop Diego Meléndez de Valdés"
''

''. David M. Cheney. Retrieved July 18, 2016 * Juan de Castilla (1494–1498 Appointed Bishop of Salamanca)" Bishop Juan de Castilla "
''

''. David M. Cheney. Retrieved July 21, 2016 * Diego Ramírez de Fuenleal (1498 – 7 Feb 1500 Appointed Bishop of Malaga)"Bishop Diego Ramírez de Fuenleal"
''

''. David M. Cheney. Retrieved August 26, 2016 *

Francisco Desprats Francisco Desprats (1454–1504) (called the Cardinal of León) was a Spanish Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal. Biography Francisco Desprats was born in Orihuela in 1454. He was educated at the University of Lleida, becoming a doctor of both ...

(9 Feb–4 Dec 1500 Appointed Bishop of León) * Sancho Pérez Rodríguez de Acebes (4 Dec 1500 – 21 Apr 1515 Died) * Alvaro Osorio, O.P. (1 Jun 1515 – 10 Apr 1539 Died) * Esteban Almeida (18 Aug 1539 – 2 Jun 1542 Appointed Bishop of León) *

Diego Alava Esquivel Diego is a Spanish masculine given name. The Portuguese equivalent is Diogo. The name also has several patronymic derivations, listed below. The etymology of Diego is disputed, with two major origin hypotheses: ''Tiago'' and ''Didacus''. E ...

(8 Jun 1543 – 7 May 1548 Appointed

Bishop of Ávila A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

) * Pedro Acuña Avellaneda (4 Jun 1548 – 5 Jun 1555 Appointed Bishop of Salamanca) * Diego Sarmiento Sotomayor (5 Jun 1555 – 1571 Died) * Francisco Sarmiento Mendoza (4 Jun 1574 – 27 May 1580 Appointed

Bishop of Jaén A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

) * Alfonso Delgado (22 Jun 1580 – 21 Aug 1583 Died) * Antonio Torres (bishop) (9 Jan 1584 – 14 Feb 1588 Died) * Alberto Aguayo, O.P. (8 Aug 1588 – 16 Dec 1589 Died) * Juan Zarzola (17 Apr 1589 – 1 Nov 1590 Died) * Pedro Rojas Henríques, O.S.A. (6 Mar 1591 – 30 Aug 1595 Appointed

Bishop of Osma The Roman Catholic Diocese of Osma-Soria ( la, Oxomen(sis)–Sorian(a)) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in northern Spain. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan ...

) * Antonio de Cáceres, O.P. (8 Nov 1595 – 18 Aug 1615 Died) * Alfonso Mesía de Tovar (27 Feb 1616 – 13 Jul 1636 Died) * Luis García Rodríguez (9 Feb 1637 – 18 Apr 1638 Died) * Diego Salcedo Benacos (11 Apr 1639 – 28 Mar 1644 Died) * Bernardo Atayde de Lima Perera (14 Nov 1644 – 5 Oct 1654 Appointed

) * Nicolás Martinez (bishop), O.S.H. (9 Nov 1654 – 21 Jun 1660 Appointed

) * Juan Vallejo (20 Sep 1660 – 8 Oct 1661 Died) * Nicolás Rodríguez Hermosino (5 Jun 1662 – 23 Jan 1669 Died) * Matías de Moratinos y Santos (5 Aug 1669 – 3 Oct 1672 Appointed Bishop of Segovia) * Rodrigo de Mandia y Parga (12 Dec 1672 – 20 Oct 1674 Died) * Diego de Silva y Pacheco, O.S.B. (27 May 1675 – 22 Mar 1677 Died) * Francisco Aguado (13 Sep 1677 – 14 Feb 1688 Died) * Antonio de Brizuela y Salamanca (13 Sep 1688 – 13 Apr 1693 Appointed

) * Antonio Sanjurjo Miranda, O.P. (8 Jun 1693 – Jan 1707 Died) *José Aparicio y Navarro (28 Nov 1707 – 30 Jan 1723 Died) *Crisóstomo Vargas, O. Cist. (30 Aug 1723 – 14 May 1728 Died) *José Francisco Bermúdez Mandía (15 Nov 1728 – 3 Mar 1736 Died) *Pedro Cáceres Casado (27 Jan 1738 – 15 Sep 1747 Died) *Matías Escalzo Acedo (4 Mar 1748 – 11 Nov 1749 Died) *Francisco Javier Sánchez Cabezón (27 Apr 1750 – 27 Jan 1767 Died) *Juan Manuel Merino y Lumbreras (1 Jun 1767 – 5 Aug 1782 Died) *Antonio Andrés López Arroyo, O.F.M. (15 Dec 1783 – 14 Mar 1787 Died) * Manuel Abad y Lasierra, O.S.B. (28 Sep 1787 – 9 Apr 1791 Resigned) *Francisco Isidoro Gutiérrez Vigil (11 Apr 1791 – 13 Oct 1805 Died) *Manuel Vicente Martínez y Jiménez (31 Mar 1806 – 22 Jul 1816 Appointed

Archbishop of Zaragoza The Archdiocese of Saragossa ( la, Archidioecesis Caesaraugustana) is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory located in north-eastern Spain, in the Provinces of Spain, province of Zaragoza (province), Zaragoza (Saragossa in English), part of t ...

) *Santiago Bencomo y Rodríguez (1 Oct 1817 – 2 Mar 1818 Died) *Guillermo Martínez Riaguas (29 Mar 1819 – 24 Oct 1824 Died) *Manuel Bernardo Morete Bodelón (21 Mar 1825 – 2 Jan 1828 Died) *Leonardo Santander y Villavicencio (23 Jun 1828 – 30 Apr 1832 Died) * Félix Torres Amat (20 Jan 1834 – 29 Dec 1847 Died) *Juan Nepomuceno Cascallana y Ordóñez (7 Jan 1850 – 5 Sep 1851 Confirmed, Bishop of Malaga) *Benito Forcelledo Tuero (18 Mar 1852 – 23 Jun 1858 Died) *Fernando Argüelles Miranda (23 Dec 1858 – 2 Sep 1870 Died) *Mariano Brezmes y Arredondo (17 Sep 1875 – 11 Nov 1885 Died) *Juan Bautista Grau y Vallespinos (10 Jun 1886 – 18 Sep 1893 Died) *Vicente Alonso y Salgado, Sch. P. (21 May 1894 – 25 Jun 1903 Appointed Bishop of Cartagena (en España)) *Mariano Cidad y Olmos (25 Jun 1903 – 5 Jul 1903 Died) *Julián Miranda y Ristuer (12 Nov 1903 – 14 Nov 1904 Appointed Bishop of Segovia) *Julián de Diego y García Alcolea (14 Nov 1904 – 18 Jul 1913 Appointed Bishop of Salamanca) *Antonio Senso Lázaro (18 Jul 1913 – 21 Aug 1941 Died) *Jesús Mérida Pérez (10 Jun 1943 – 16 May 1956 Died) *José Castelltort Subeyre (5 Nov 1956 – 18 Aug 1960 Died) * Marcelo González Martín (31 Dec 1960 – 21 Feb 1966 Appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Barcelona) *Antonio Briva Mirabent (18 May 1967 – 20 Jun 1994 Died) * Camilo Lorenzo Iglesias (14 Jun 1995 – 18 Nov 2015 Retired) * Juan Antonio Menéndez Fernandez (18 Nov 2015 – 15 May 2019 Died) * Jesús Fernández González (8 Jun 2020 – Present)

References

External links

GCatholic.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Astorga Roman Catholic dioceses in Spain Dioceses established in the 3rd century

History

Present

Prelates

See also

References

External links