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Diocese of Lleida

*Dioecesis Ilerdensis*

Diócesis de Lérida (es)
Diòcesi de Lleida (ca)
Diocese of Lleida; Dioecesis Ilerdensis; Diócesis de Lérida (es); Diòcesi de Lleida (ca)
	Cathedral of the Assumption in Lleida
Location
Country	Spain
Ecclesiastical province	Tarragona
Metropolitan	Tarragona
Statistics
Area	2,977 km2 (1,149 sq mi)
Population; - Total; - Catholics	(as of 2016); 236,953; 203,520 (85.9%)
Information
Denomination	Catholic
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	5th Century (As Diocese of Lérida); 31 October 1992 (As 31 October 1992)
Cathedral	Cathedral of the Assumption in Lleida
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Salvador Giménez Valls
Metropolitan Archbishop	Jaume Pujol Balcells
Bishops emeritus	Juan Piris Frígola Bishop Emeritus (2008–2015)
Map
Website
	bisbatlleida.org

The Diocese of Lleida, or Diocese of Lerida (Latin: Dioecesis Ilerdensis) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church located in north-eastern Spain, in the province of Lleida, part of the autonomous community of Catalonia. The diocese forms part of the ecclesiastical province of Tarragona, and is thus suffragan to the Archdiocese of Tarragona.^[1]^[2]

The diocese of Lleida was created in the 3rd century. After the Moorish conquest of Lleida in 716 the episcopal see was moved to Roda (until 1101) and then to Barbastro (1101–1149). The city of Lleida was conquered from the Moors by the Count Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona in 1149, and the see was again transferred to its original seat. The Bishop's Palace is located in Rambla d'Aragó.

Lleida is one of the most populous cities in Catalonia, built on the right bank of the River Segre, about 100 miles from Barcelona. The town is oriental in appearance, and its streets are narrow and crooked. The population in 1900 was 23,683. The old Byzantine-Gothic Cathedral, of which the ruins are to be seen on the citadel, dates from 1203. During the Middle Ages the University of Lleida was famous; in 1717 it was suppressed, and united with Cervera.

The current Bishop of Lleida is Salvador Giménez Valls.

History

Roman period

Lleida was the Roman Ilerda, or Herda. During the Punic Wars it sided with the Carthaginians; near it Hanno was defeated by Scipio in 216 BC, and Julius Cæsar defeated Pompey's forces in 49 BC.

La Canal says that the diocese was erected in 600, but others maintain it goes back to the third century, and there is mention of a St. Lycerius, or Glycerius, as Bishop of Lleida in AD 269.

Visigoth and Muslim period (until 1149)

In 546AD (dated to 524AD in some sources^[3]), a Council to regulate ecclesiastical discipline was called in Lerida. The Council prohibited clerics from taking up arms and shedding blood, and addressed issues of abortion, infanticide, incest, and clerical discipline.^[4] The Council also addressed a practice that had developed in the Iberian Peninsula, whereby on the death of a bishop, lower ranking clerics (and on occasions the bishops relatives) would ransack and loot the deceased bishops home.^[5] The council confirmed that the deceased bishops executors should occupy the bishops residence with guards and defend the premises. Three years later a synod at Valencia changed the protector to the nearest neighboring bishop. Clerics who were caught looting would also be excommunicated.^[6] The regulations of the Council were adopted by the General Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church for implementation in all dioceses.^[7]

The signatures of other bishops of Lleida are attached to various councils up to the year 716, when the Moors took possession of the town, and the see was removed to Roda. An unbroken list of bishops of Lleida goes back to the year 887.

In 1101 King Pedro I of Aragon took the city of Barbastro from the Moors and transferred the see from Roda to Barbastro. The first bishop, Poncio, went to Rome to obtain the pope's permission for this transfer.

Diocese of Lleida (from 1149)

The city of Lleida was conquered from the Moors by the Count Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona in 1149, and the episcopal see was again transferred to its original seat.

A council in 1173 was presided over by Cardinal Giacinto Bobone, who afterwards became Pope Celestine III. A council in 1246 absolved king James I of Aragon from the sacrilege of cutting out the tongue of the Bishop of Girona.

The seminary was founded in 1722.

During the Peninsular War the French held it (1810), and in 1823 Spain once more obtained possession of it. Owing to its natural position its strategic value has always been very great, and it was strongly fortified in 1910.

The cathedral chapter prior to the Concordat of 1851 consisted of 6 dignities, 24 canons, 22 benefices, but after the concordat the number was reduced to 16 canons and 12 beneficed clerics.

In 1910 the Catholic population of the diocese was 185,000, scattered over 395 parishes and ministered to by 598 priests. Besides 395 churches for public worship, there were in the diocese five religious communities of men, six of women, and several hospitals in charge of nuns. The seminary accommodated 500 students.

1995–1998 Segregation of the Western Parishes

In 1995, following the Ilerdensis et Barbastrensis de finum mutatione decree, 84 culturally Catalan La Franja parishes that had traditionally belonged to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lleida for over eight centuries, were segregated and transferred to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Barbastro-Monzón. These were followed by a further 27 parishes in June 1998. The amputated parishes were in the Llitera and Baix Cinca Catalan-speaking Aragonese areas.^[8]

After the parish segregation a controversy began regarding the return of ancient works of art belonging to the segregated parishes and which were stored at the Lleida Diocesan Museum. The decree and the ensuing controversies were perceived as anti-Catalan measures by many in Lleida and in the concerned parishes, as they were not previously consulted, and part of a strategy to assimilate the La Franja people into the Spanish-speaking mainstream congregation by cutting them off from their cultural roots.^[9]

Bishops of Lleida (6th to 9th centuries)

All the names (except the first one) are given in Catalan:

Itxió 203
Sant Filó 227
Joan 230
Pere 258
Màrius Seli 259
c. 269 : St. Lleïr — (Mentioned in 269)
c. 516 : Oronci — (Mentioned between 516 and 517)
c. 519 : Pere
c. 540 : Andreu — (Mentioned in 540)
c. 546 : Februari — (Mentioned in 546)
c. 589 : Polibi — (Mentioned in 589)
c. 592 : Julià — (Mentioned in 592)
c. 599 : Ameli — (Mentioned in 599)
c. 614 : Gomarel — (Mentioned in 614)
c. 635 : Fructuós — (Mentioned between 633 and 638)
c. 653 : Gandelè — (Mentioned in 653)
c. 690 : Eusend — (Mentioned between 683 and 693)
c. 715 : Esteve — (before 714 – after 719)
c. 780 : San Medard — (after 778)
c. 842 : Jacob

After the Moorish conquest the Diocese of Lleida is transferred to Roda.

Bishops of Roda (until 1101)

After the Moorish conquest the Diocese of Lleida is transferred to Roda. All the names are given in Catalan:

887–922 : Adulf — (since before 887 to 922)
923–955 : Ató
955–975 : Odisend
988–991 : Aimeric — (since before 988 to 991)
996---?--- : Jacob — (since before 996)
1006–1015 : Aimeric II — (since before 1006 to 1015)
1017–1019 : Borrell
1023–1067 : Arnulf
1068–1075 : Salomó
1075–1076 : Arnulf II
1076–1094 : Pere Ramon Dalmaci
1094–1096 : Llop
1097–1100 : Ponç

In 1101 the Diocese of Roda is transferred to Barbastro.

Bishops of Barbastro-Roda (1101–1149)

In 1101 the Diocese of Roda is transferred to Barbastro. All the names are given in Catalan:

1101–1104 : Ponç
1104–1126 : St. Ramon — (named Ramon II in the Catholic Encyclopedia)
---------1126 : Esteve
1126–1134: Pere Guillem
1134 : Ramir, a prince of the royal house of Aragon — (Elected)
1135–1143 : Gaufrid
1143–1149 : Guillermo Pérez de Ravitats

In 1149 the episcopal see returned to Lleida.

Bishops of Lleida (since 1149)

In 1149 the episcopal see returned to Lleida.

1149–1176 : Guillem Pérez de Ravitats
1177–1190 : Guillem Berenguer
1191–1205 : Gombald de Camporells
1205–1235 : Berenguer d'Erill
1236–1238 : Pere d'Albalat
1238–1247 : Ramon de Siscar
1248–1255 : Guillem de Barberà
--------–1256 : Berenguer de Peralta
1257–1278 : Guillem de Moncada
1282–c. 1286 Guillem Bernáldez de Fluvià — (1282 – before 1286)
1290–1298 : Gerard d'Andria
1299–1308 : Pere de Rei
1308–1313 : Ponç d'Aguilaniu
1314–1321 : Guillem d'Aranyó — (before 1314 – 1321)
1322–1324 : Ponç de Villamur
1324–1327 : Ramon d'Avignó
1327–1334 : Arnald de Cescomes
1334–1340 : Ferrer de Colom
1341–1348 : Jaume Sitjó
1348–1360 : Esteve Mulceo
1361–1380 : Romeu de Cescomes
1380–1386 : Ramón
1387–1399 : Gerau de Requesens
--------–1399 : Pere de Santcliment
--------–1403 : Joan de Baufés
1403–1407 : Pere de Sagarriga i de Pau
1407–1411 : Pere de Cardona
1415–1434 : Domènec Ram i Lanaja
1435–1449 : García Aznárez de Añon
1449–1459 : Antoni Cerdà
1459–1510 : Lluís Joan de Milà
1510–1512 : Joan d'Enguera
1512–1542 : Jaime de Conchillos
--------–1542 : Martí Valero
1543–1553 : Ferran de Loaces i Pérez
1553–1554 : Joan Arias
1556–1559 : Miquel Despuig i Vacarte
1561–1576 : Antonio Agustín y Albanell
1577–1578 : Miguel Thomàs de Taxaquet
1580–1581 : Carles Domènech
1583–1585 : Benet de Tocco
1585–1586 : Gaspar Joan de la Figuera
1586–1591 : Joan Martínez de Villatoriel — (Inquisitor General).
1592–1597 : Pere d'Aragó
1599–1620 : Francesco Virgili
1621–1632 : Pere Anton Serra
--------–1633 : Antonio Pérez (archbishop)^[10]
--------–1634 : Pere de Magarola i Fontanet
1635–1642 : Bernat Caballero de Paredes
1644–1650 : Pere de Santiago
1656–1664 : Miquel de Escartín
1664–1667 : Brauli Sunyer
1668–1673 : Josep Minot
1673–1680 : Jaume de Copons
1680–1681 : Francesc Berardo
1682–1698 : Miguel Jerónimo de Molina
1699–1700 : Joan de Santamaríi Alonso i Valeria
1701–1714 : Francesc de Solís
1714–1735 : Francesc de Olasso Hipenza
1736–1756 : Gregori Galindo
1757–1770 : Manuel Macías Pedrejón
1771–1783 : Joaquim Antoni Sánchez Ferragudo
1783–1816 : Jeroni Maria de Torres
1816–1817 : Manuel del Villar
--------–1818 : Remigi Lasanta Ortega
1819–1824 : Simó Antoni de Rentería i Reyes
1824–1832 : Pau Colmenares
1833–1844 : Julià Alonso
1848–1850 : Josep Domènec Costa i Borràs
1850–1861 : Pere Ciril Uriz i Labayru
1862–1870 : Marià Puigllat i Amigó
1875–1889 : Tomàs Costa i Fornaguera
1889–1905 : Josep Meseguer i Costa
1905–1914 : Juan Antonio Ruano y Martín
1914–1925 : Josep Miralles Sbert
1926–1930 : Manuel Irurita Almandoz
1935–1936 : Salvio Huix Miralpeix
1938–1943 : Manuel Moll i Salord
1944–1947 : Joan Villar Sanz
1947–1967 : Aurelio del Pino Gómez
1968–1999 : Ramon Malla Call
1999–2007 : Francesc-Xavier Ciuraneta Aymí
2008–2015 : Juan Piris Frígola
2015–present : Salvador Giménez Valls

References

^ "Diocese of Lleida" Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved February 29, 2016
^ "Diocese of Lleida" GCatholic.org. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved February 29, 2016
^ Manuel Guallar Pérez, Los Concilios Tarraconenses celebrados en Lérida (Siglos VI–XV) (Lérida: Gráficas Larrosa, 1975), pp. 24–25.
^ Manuel Guallar Pérez, Los Concilios Tarraconenses celebrados en Lérida (Siglos VI–XV) (Lérida: Gráficas Larrosa, 1975), pp. 30–63.
^ Rachel L. Stocking, Bishops, Councils, and Consensus in the Visigothic Kingdom, 589-633 page 39.
^ Rachel L. Stocking, Bishops, Councils, and Consensus in the Visigothic Kingdom, 589-633 [page 40].
^ Joseph Bingham, Origines Ecclesiasticæ: Or, The Antiquities of the Christian Church, and Other Works, of the Rev. Joseph Bingham (W. Straker, 1844) p226.
^ Segregació del bisbat de Lleida
^ Manifest sobre la unitat del Museu de Lleida Diocesà i Comarcal
^ "Archbishop Antonio Pérez, O.S.B." Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved August 27, 2016

Sources

(in Spanish) IBERCRONOX: Obispado de Lérida (Ilerda) and Obispado de Barbastro-Monzón
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Lérida". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.