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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Roman Catholic Diocese Of Mondoñedo
The Diocese of Mondoñedo-Ferrol (Latin: Dioecesis Mindoniensis-Ferrolensis) is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in Spain. It is the northernmost of the four suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela, which covers Galicia in the northwest of Spain. The area had previously been home to Britonia, a settlement founded by expatriate Britons in the wake of the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain. Britonia was represented by the diocese referred to as Britonensis ecclesia (Britton church) in sources from the 6th and 7th centuries.

The bishop has a (main) cathedral (from Latin "cathedra" meaning episcopal seat), a minor basilica and World Heritage Site (Catedral Basílica de la Virgen de la Asunción, dedicated to the Assumption of Mary) in Mondoñedo, administrative Province of Lugo, and a co-cathedral Concatedral de San Julián in Ferrol, administrative Province of A Coruña, as well as a former cathedral which is a minor basilica, Basilica de San Martín de Mondoñedo in Foz, Lugo province.

History

Some authorities have sought to fix the date of the foundation of this diocese (under its primitive name of Britonia) earlier than the second half of the 6th century, but the later date seems the more probable when we consider that, at the Second Council of Braga (572), Mailoc, Bishop of Britonia, was ranked lowest because of the more recent origin of his see. It seems to have been founded by the Suevian king, Theodomir, converted to Catholicism by St Martin of Dumio, and to have included in its jurisdiction the churches of the Britones (a territory coinciding with that of Mondoñedo) and some of those of the Asturias. In the beginning it was a suffragan of Lugo, until the Goths placed Lugo under the jurisdiction of Braga. After Mailoc no mention is found of the bishops of Britonia for a long time, doubtless because the great distance from Toledo made it impossible for them to assist at the councils. In 633 Metopius, Bishop of Britonia, assisted at the Fourth Council of Toledo, presided over by St Isidore of Seville. Sonna, his successor, was one of the bishops who signed at the Seventh Council of Toledo (646) and sent a representative to the Eighth Council of Toledo (16 December 653). When Britonia was invaded and destroyed by the Saracens, the bishop and priests took refuge in Asturias. In 899, during the reign of Alfonso III of Asturias, Theodesimus, Bishop of Britonia, assisted with other prelates at the consecration of the church of Santiago de Compostela. It may also be noted that, in the repartition of the parishes, the church of San Pedro de Nova was assigned as the residence of the bishops of Britonia and Orense, when they should come to assist at the councils of Oviedo. By that time, however, the See of Britonia had been translated to the town of Mondumetum and the church of St. Martin of Dumio, or Mondoñedo. The diocese has since been most generally known by this name, although the episcopal residence has again changed. After the time of St. Martin it was transferred to Villamayor de Brea, from which it derived the name of Villabriensis, and afterwards to Ribadeo, but it was nevertheless known as Mindoniense, as a document of the year 1199 bears witness. At first, its patron was St. Martin of Tours, but St. Martin of Dumio was afterwards chosen patron.

The diocese of Valabria, corresponding to the diocese that had its seat at Villamayor de Brea, is included in the Catholic Church's list of titular sees.

Leadership

Bishops of Britonia (Bretoña)

Bishops of Dumio (Dumium, San Martiño)

Bishops of Vilamaior

  • Pelayo I (1136–1154)
  • Pedro I (1155–1167)
  • Joán Pérez (1170–1173)
  • Rabinato (1177–1199)

Bishop of Ribadeo

Bishops of Mondoñedo

Bishop Manuel Sánchez Monge (2016).

Bishops of Mondoñedo-Ferrol

  • Jacinto Argaya Goicoechea (12 September 1957 Appointed – 18 November 1968 Appointed, Bishop of San Sebastián)
  • Miguel Angel Araújo Iglesias (2 July 1970 Appointed – 20 May 1985 Resigned)
  • José Gea Escolano (15 May 1987 Appointed – 6 June 2005 Retired)
  • Manuel Sánchez Monge (6 June 2005 Appointed – 6 May 2015 Appointed, Bishop of Santander)
  • Luis Ángel de las Heras Berzal (16 March 2016 Appointed – 21 October 2020 Appointed, Bishop of León)
  • Fernando García Cadiñanos (1 July 2021 Appointed – present)

Statistics and extent

As of 2014, it served 290,000 Catholics (99.7% of 291,000 total population) on 4,425 km in 422 parishes, covering the northern part of the Province of A Coruña and the Province of Lugo, with 153 priests (143 diocesan, 10 religious), 225 lay religious (14 brothers, 211 sisters) and 3 seminarians.

Parishes by District

See also