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Roman Catholic Diocese of Urgell

December 14, 2023

The Diocese of Urgell (Latin: Diœcesis Urgellensis) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Catalonia (Spain) and Andorra in the historical County of Urgell,[1][2] with origins in the fifth century AD or possibly earlier. It is based in the region of the historical Catalan County of Urgell, though it has different borders. The seat and Cathedral of the bishop are situated in la Seu d'Urgell town. The state of Andorra is a part of this diocese.

Diocese of Urgell

Diœcesis Urgellensis

Diòcesi d'Urgell (ca)
Diócesis de Urgel (es)
Location
Country Spain
 Andorra
Ecclesiastical provinceTarragona
MetropolitanTarragona
Statistics
Area7,630 km2 (2,950 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics		(as of 2014)
216,337
208,486 (96.4%)
Information
DenominationCatholic
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
Established4th Century
CathedralCathedral of St Mary in La Seu d'Urgell
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
BishopJoan Enric Vives i Sicília
Metropolitan ArchbishopJaume Pujol i Balcells
Map
Website
bisbaturgell.org

Among its most notable events are Bishop Felix's adoptionist revolt, the coup of Bishop Esclua and the overthrowing of the bishop by members of aristocratic families (namely Salla i Ermengol del Conflent, Eribau i Folcs dels Cardona, Guillem Guifré de Cerdanya and Ot de Pallars) between the years 981 and 1122.

Also important is the diocese's patronage of Andorra, with the bishop holding the role of ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra jointly with the President of France (and formerly, the King of France or Emperor of the French). Andorra was ceded to the Bishop of Urgell by the Count Ermengol VI of Urgell in 1133.[3]

Up to 1802, the ecclesiastical border corresponded with the royal one established under the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659. As such the 33 towns of the northern Cerdanya (now in France) came under the diocese's control.

Description of the diocesan territory edit

The Catholic Church controls the metropolitan church of Tarragona, with its see or capital of the Seu d'Urgell (Urgell See). It contains 7630 km2 and a population of 200,761 according to the 2000 census and is the largest bishopric of the eight that have a see in Catalonia. In contrast, it is the most sparsely populated. The diocese borders the bishoprics of Vic, Solsona, Lleida, Barbastro-Monzón, Toulouse, Pamiers and Perpignan. It has been deeply linked for many years to the regions that constituted the counties of Urgell, Pallars and Cerdanya during the Middle Ages, with which it identifies and forms a historical and geographic unit maintained up to the present day. The diocese totally or partially occupies the Ripollès, Cerdanya, Alt Urgell, Segarra, Urgell, Pla d'Urgell, Noguera, Pallars Jussà, Pallars Sobirà, Alta Ribagorça, Andorra, and the Vall d'Aran regions.

The bishopric's jurisdiction extends to 408 parishes, although today some have a very reduced population. Almost all of the parishes come from distant times, as the very titular saints of their churches. The most common are Saint Mary (in 90 parochial churches, as well as the cathedral), Saint Peter (35), Saint Martin (29), Saint Saturninus (24), Saint Steven (23), Saint Michael (19), Saint Andrew (17), Saint Julian (12), Saint Eulalia (11), Saint Vincent and Saint Felix (10). Many churches of the bishopric, parochial or not, conserve elements of great architectural interest, and thirty-six of them are considered cultural goods of national interest in Spain.

Amongst all Catalan bishoprics, the Diocese of Urgell has been that which has experienced the most border-related changes throughout its existence, mainly for political reasons: the loss of Ribagorça (9th century), to the benefit of the Diocese of Roda, and the cession of 144 parishes of the Berguedà, the Solsonès and a part of the Segarra, to the benefit of the new diocese of Solsona (1593-1623); later, it was necessary to adapt the territory to the borders between states, and thus in 1803, the 24 parishes of French Cerdagne, which had been ceded to France from the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659, also passed ecclesiastically to that country; and in 1804, the 28 from the Aran Valley, a territory circumscribed by France yet united fully to the Catalan-Aragonese territories at least since the 12th century, were annexed to the diocese of Urgell, coming from the eliminated Gascon diocese of Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges. In 1874 the sixty-odd towns that formed the erstwhile exempt jurisdictions of Gerri de la Sal, Mur, Montodó-Bonrepòs, the order of Saint John of Jerusalem and Meià were annexed to the diocese. Finally, in 1956, the diocese gained the seven parishes of the Artesa de Segre enclave and gave up the 19 of the Franja de Ponent [Western Strip] to Lleida and Barbastre, grouped into three enclaves.

Origin of the Urgell diocese edit

 
Frontal from La Seu d'Urgell or of The Apostles, now conserved at MNAC Barcelona.

The diocese, without excluding the possibility of a more remote origin, was already constituted at the beginning of the 6th century. The first known bishop, Saint Justus, figures among the participants of the councils of Toledo (531), Lleida and Valencia (546). His successors also took part regularly in the Toledo councils celebrated throughout the 7th century. The Episcopal succession, despite the uncertainty of names and chronology, seems to not be interrupted by the Saracen invasion of 714.

Monasticism must have been introduced into the diocese during the Visigothic period. The monasteries of Tavèrnoles, Gerri, Codinet, and Tresponts are probably anterior to the Saracen invasion. These foundations and the later ones--la Vedella, Elins, Bagà, la Portella, les Maleses, Villanega, Oveix, Bellera, el Burgal, Lavaix, Alaó, Escales, Ovarra, Taverna, Gualter, etc.—often adopted the Benedictine observance from the 9th century on, following the example of the majority of the coenobitic monasteries then extant in the Marca Hispanica. This became the norm for monastic life in the following century. These monasteries, alongside the parochial and canonical organization (the Urgell Diocese, Solsona, Cardona, Organyà, Ponts, Ager, Mur, Tremp) would greatly influence the Christianization of the country and its human, cultural and economic development.

The canonical monasteries derived into colleges as a result of their secularization (1592), and due to their corruption, the 1851 concord eliminated them, along with the other preexisting ones (Castellbò, Guissona, Balaguer). Mur and Àger were without a doubt the most famous Catalan canonical colleges, exempt from episcopal jurisdiction

Early Middle Ages edit

 
Apse from La Seu d'Urgell.

On the first decade of the Umayyad conquest of Hispania, Berber troops set up garrisons on the northernmost hilly regions and towns. Uthman ibn Naissa settled down in Cerdanya, killed the bishop of Urgell, and rebelled against central Cordovan rule in 730. The Berber lord was killed in 731, and the region subdued by Abd al-Rahman al-Ghafiqi.

During the episcopacy of the Bishop Felix (781–799), who was accused of adoptionism by the Carolingian theologians and for this motive deposed and confined to Lyon, the city of Urgell and its church were completely destroyed by the Arabs around 793. With the founding of the Marca Hispanica, the diocese, like the others recently restored, became part of the ecclesiastical province of Narbonne until the recreation of the metropolitan see of Tarragona in 1091. The Frankish kings intervened effectively in the country's reconstruction, promoting the Reconquest laying the foundations of its government. The territory now being free, mainly, from the Moors' power, with the help of the first Catalan Counts, they promoted the construction of a new cathedral, completed in the second part of the 9th century, to which were assigned 289 towns or villages—all the northwestern area of the Pyrenees.

At the same time, the Urgell church, ruled for more than two centuries (914-1122) by members of the Counts' families, fully entered the ring of the feudal system, which allowed it to shape for itself an extensive seigniorial patrimony, which among other cities and territories included the city of Urgell, the valleys of Andorra, the Vall de la Llosa, the Vall d'Arques and the Ribera Salada, the villages of Sanaüja, Guissona, and, from 1257 onwards, Tremp. This, however, forced it into a certain dependence on the superior power of the Counts. Also, the Gregorian Reform, introduced to the County of Urgell during the last years of the 11th century, preceded by the change of the Visigothic rite for the Roman rite, reduced those interventions of the laymen in ecclesiastical affairs and achieved the complete freedom of the Church in the spiritual and temporal domains. Moreover, the maintenance of those possessions originated constant tension and fighting throughout the Middle Ages with the Viscounts of Castellbó and his heirs, the Counts of Foix.

List of Bishops of Urgell edit

1 During a sede vacante.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Diocese of Urgell" Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved February 29, 2016
  2. ^ "Diocese of Urgell" GCatholic.org. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved February 29, 2016
  3. ^ Bueno Salinas, Santiago; Pérez-Madrid, Francisca. "Religion and the Secular State in Andorra" (PDF). International Center for Law and Religion Studies: 58. Retrieved 16 August 2015. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ^ "Archbishop Antonio Pérez, O.S.B." Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved August 27, 2016
  5. ^ From 28 Jul 1817 to 27 Sep 1824."Andorra: Co-Rulers (Urgell)". archontology.org. Retrieved 2015-01-15.

External links edit

  • Website of the Diocese of Urgell

42°21′29″N 1°27′43″E / 42.358°N 1.462°E / 42.358; 1.462

December 14, 2023
roman, catholic, diocese, urgell, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, . This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Roman Catholic Diocese of Urgell news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Diocese of Urgell Latin Diœcesis Urgellensis is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Catalonia Spain and Andorra in the historical County of Urgell 1 2 with origins in the fifth century AD or possibly earlier It is based in the region of the historical Catalan County of Urgell though it has different borders The seat and Cathedral of the bishop are situated in la Seu d Urgell town The state of Andorra is a part of this diocese Diocese of UrgellDiœcesis UrgellensisDiocesi d Urgell ca Diocesis de Urgel es Cathedral of Santa Maria d Urgell UrgellLocationCountry Spain AndorraEcclesiastical provinceTarragonaMetropolitanTarragonaStatisticsArea7 630 km2 2 950 sq mi Population Total Catholics as of 2014 216 337208 486 96 4 InformationDenominationCatholicSui iuris churchLatin ChurchRiteRoman RiteEstablished4th CenturyCathedralCathedral of St Mary in La Seu d UrgellCurrent leadershipPopeFrancisBishopJoan Enric Vives i SiciliaMetropolitan ArchbishopJaume Pujol i BalcellsMapWebsitebisbaturgell orgAmong its most notable events are Bishop Felix s adoptionist revolt the coup of Bishop Esclua and the overthrowing of the bishop by members of aristocratic families namely Salla i Ermengol del Conflent Eribau i Folcs dels Cardona Guillem Guifre de Cerdanya and Ot de Pallars between the years 981 and 1122 Also important is the diocese s patronage of Andorra with the bishop holding the role of ex officio Co Prince of Andorra jointly with the President of France and formerly the King of France or Emperor of the French Andorra was ceded to the Bishop of Urgell by the Count Ermengol VI of Urgell in 1133 3 Up to 1802 the ecclesiastical border corresponded with the royal one established under the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659 As such the 33 towns of the northern Cerdanya now in France came under the diocese s control Contents 1 Description of the diocesan territory 2 Origin of the Urgell diocese 3 Early Middle Ages 4 List of Bishops of Urgell 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksDescription of the diocesan territory editThe Catholic Church controls the metropolitan church of Tarragona with its see or capital of the Seu d Urgell Urgell See It contains 7630 km2 and a population of 200 761 according to the 2000 census and is the largest bishopric of the eight that have a see in Catalonia In contrast it is the most sparsely populated The diocese borders the bishoprics of Vic Solsona Lleida Barbastro Monzon Toulouse Pamiers and Perpignan It has been deeply linked for many years to the regions that constituted the counties of Urgell Pallars and Cerdanya during the Middle Ages with which it identifies and forms a historical and geographic unit maintained up to the present day The diocese totally or partially occupies the Ripolles Cerdanya Alt Urgell Segarra Urgell Pla d Urgell Noguera Pallars Jussa Pallars Sobira Alta Ribagorca Andorra and the Vall d Aran regions The bishopric s jurisdiction extends to 408 parishes although today some have a very reduced population Almost all of the parishes come from distant times as the very titular saints of their churches The most common are Saint Mary in 90 parochial churches as well as the cathedral Saint Peter 35 Saint Martin 29 Saint Saturninus 24 Saint Steven 23 Saint Michael 19 Saint Andrew 17 Saint Julian 12 Saint Eulalia 11 Saint Vincent and Saint Felix 10 Many churches of the bishopric parochial or not conserve elements of great architectural interest and thirty six of them are considered cultural goods of national interest in Spain Amongst all Catalan bishoprics the Diocese of Urgell has been that which has experienced the most border related changes throughout its existence mainly for political reasons the loss of Ribagorca 9th century to the benefit of the Diocese of Roda and the cession of 144 parishes of the Bergueda the Solsones and a part of the Segarra to the benefit of the new diocese of Solsona 1593 1623 later it was necessary to adapt the territory to the borders between states and thus in 1803 the 24 parishes of French Cerdagne which had been ceded to France from the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659 also passed ecclesiastically to that country and in 1804 the 28 from the Aran Valley a territory circumscribed by France yet united fully to the Catalan Aragonese territories at least since the 12th century were annexed to the diocese of Urgell coming from the eliminated Gascon diocese of Saint Bertrand de Comminges In 1874 the sixty odd towns that formed the erstwhile exempt jurisdictions of Gerri de la Sal Mur Montodo Bonrepos the order of Saint John of Jerusalem and Meia were annexed to the diocese Finally in 1956 the diocese gained the seven parishes of the Artesa de Segre enclave and gave up the 19 of the Franja de Ponent Western Strip to Lleida and Barbastre grouped into three enclaves Origin of the Urgell diocese edit nbsp Frontal from La Seu d Urgell or of The Apostles now conserved at MNAC Barcelona The diocese without excluding the possibility of a more remote origin was already constituted at the beginning of the 6th century The first known bishop Saint Justus figures among the participants of the councils of Toledo 531 Lleida and Valencia 546 His successors also took part regularly in the Toledo councils celebrated throughout the 7th century The Episcopal succession despite the uncertainty of names and chronology seems to not be interrupted by the Saracen invasion of 714 Monasticism must have been introduced into the diocese during the Visigothic period The monasteries of Tavernoles Gerri Codinet and Tresponts are probably anterior to the Saracen invasion These foundations and the later ones la Vedella Elins Baga la Portella les Maleses Villanega Oveix Bellera el Burgal Lavaix Alao Escales Ovarra Taverna Gualter etc often adopted the Benedictine observance from the 9th century on following the example of the majority of the coenobitic monasteries then extant in the Marca Hispanica This became the norm for monastic life in the following century These monasteries alongside the parochial and canonical organization the Urgell Diocese Solsona Cardona Organya Ponts Ager Mur Tremp would greatly influence the Christianization of the country and its human cultural and economic development The canonical monasteries derived into colleges as a result of their secularization 1592 and due to their corruption the 1851 concord eliminated them along with the other preexisting ones Castellbo Guissona Balaguer Mur and Ager were without a doubt the most famous Catalan canonical colleges exempt from episcopal jurisdictionEarly Middle Ages edit nbsp Apse from La Seu d Urgell On the first decade of the Umayyad conquest of Hispania Berber troops set up garrisons on the northernmost hilly regions and towns Uthman ibn Naissa settled down in Cerdanya killed the bishop of Urgell and rebelled against central Cordovan rule in 730 The Berber lord was killed in 731 and the region subdued by Abd al Rahman al Ghafiqi During the episcopacy of the Bishop Felix 781 799 who was accused of adoptionism by the Carolingian theologians and for this motive deposed and confined to Lyon the city of Urgell and its church were completely destroyed by the Arabs around 793 With the founding of the Marca Hispanica the diocese like the others recently restored became part of the ecclesiastical province of Narbonne until the recreation of the metropolitan see of Tarragona in 1091 The Frankish kings intervened effectively in the country s reconstruction promoting the Reconquest laying the foundations of its government The territory now being free mainly from the Moors power with the help of the first Catalan Counts they promoted the construction of a new cathedral completed in the second part of the 9th century to which were assigned 289 towns or villages all the northwestern area of the Pyrenees At the same time the Urgell church ruled for more than two centuries 914 1122 by members of the Counts families fully entered the ring of the feudal system which allowed it to shape for itself an extensive seigniorial patrimony which among other cities and territories included the city of Urgell the valleys of Andorra the Vall de la Llosa the Vall d Arques and the Ribera Salada the villages of Sanauja Guissona and from 1257 onwards Tremp This however forced it into a certain dependence on the superior power of the Counts Also the Gregorian Reform introduced to the County of Urgell during the last years of the 11th century preceded by the change of the Visigothic rite for the Roman rite reduced those interventions of the laymen in ecclesiastical affairs and achieved the complete freedom of the Church in the spiritual and temporal domains Moreover the maintenance of those possessions originated constant tension and fighting throughout the Middle Ages with the Viscounts of Castellbo and his heirs the Counts of Foix List of Bishops of Urgell editJustus I before 527 after 546 Epigan c 550 Marcel I c 570 Simplici 589 599 Gabila c 604 Ranarius c 633 Meurell 653 665 Leuderic I 665 683 Jacint 672 680 Leuberic 683 693 Urbici 693 704 Marcel II 704 721 Justus II 721 733 Nambaudus or Anambad 733 731 Leuderic II 732 754 Esteve 754 765 Dotila 765 783 Felix 783 792 Radulf 792 798 Felix second time 798 799 Posedoni 814 823 Sisebut 833 840 Florenci 840 850 Beat 850 857 Guisad I 857 872 Golderic 872 885 Esclua 885 892 Ingobert 893 900 Nantigis 900 914 Trigilbert 914 Radulf 914 940 Guisad II 940 981 Sal la 981 1010 Ermengol 1010 1035 Eribau 1035 1040 Guillem Guifredo 1040 1075 Bernat Guillermo 1075 1092 Folc II of Cardona 1092 1095 Guillem Arnau 1092 1095 Ot 1095 1122 Pere Berenguer 1122 1141 Bernat Sanc 1141 1162 Bernat Roger 1162 1166 Arnau de Preixens 1166 1195 Bernat de Castello 1195 1198 Bernat de Vilamur 1198 1203 Pere de Puigvert 1203 1230 Ponc de Vilamur 1230 1257 Abril Perez Pelaez 1257 1269 Pere d Urtx 1269 1293 Guillem de Montcada 1295 1308 Ramon Trebaylla 1308 1326 Arnau de Llordat 1326 1341 Pere de Narbona 1341 1348 Niccolo Capocci 1348 1351 Hug Desbac 1351 1361 Guillem Arnau i Palau 1361 1364 Pedro Martinez Luna 1364 1370 Berenguer d Erill i de Pallars 1370 1387 Galcera de Vilanova 1387 1415 Francesc de Tovia 1415 1436 Arnau Roger de Pallars 1436 1461 Jaume de Cardona i Gandia 1461 1466 Roderic de Borja i Escriva 1467 1472 Pere Folc de Cardona 1472 1515 Joan d Espes 1515 1530 Vacant 1530 1532 Pedro Jordan de Urries 1532 1533 Francisco de Urries 1533 1551 Joan Punyet 1551 1553 Miquel Despuig 1553 1556 Juan Perez Garcia de Olivan 1556 1560 Pere de Castellet 1561 1571 Joan Dimes Lloris 1571 1576 Vacant 1576 1578 Miquel Jeroni Morell 1578 1579 Hugo Ambrosio de Moncada 1579 1586 Vacant 1586 1588 Andreu Capella 1588 1609 Bernat de Salba i Salba 1609 1620 Vacant 1620 1622 Luis Diez de Aux y Armendariz 1622 1627 Antonio Perez archbishop 1627 1632 4 Vacant 1632 1634 Pau Duran 1634 1651 Vacant 1651 1655 due to war Juan Manuel de Espinosa 1655 1663 Vacant 1663 1664 Melcior Palau i Bosca 1664 1670 Vacant 1670 1671 Pere de Copons i Teixidor 1671 1681 Vacant 1681 1682 Joan Baptista Desbac i Mortorell 1682 1688 Vacant 1688 1689 Oleguer de Montserrat i Rufet 1689 1694 Julia Cano Thebar 1695 1714 Simeo de Guinda i Apeztegui 1714 1737 Jordi Curado i Torreblanca 1738 1747 Sebastia de Victoria Emparan y Loyola 1747 1756 Francesc Josep Catalan de Ocon 1757 1762 Francesc Fernandez de Xativa y Contreras 1763 1771 Joaquin de Santiyan y Valdivielso 1771 1779 Juan de Garcia y Montenegro 1780 1783 Josep de Boltas 1785 1795 Francesc Antoni de la Duena y Cisneros 1797 1816 Bernat Frances Caballero i Mathet 1817 1824 5 Bonifaci Lopez i Pulido 1824 1827 Simo de Guardiola i Hortoneda 1827 1851 Josep Caixal i Estrade 1853 1879 Salvador Casanas y Pages 1879 1901 Ramon Riu i Cabanes 1901 Toribio Martin Diocesan administrator 11902 Joan Josep Laguarda i Fenollera 1902 1906 Josep Pujargimzu Vicar capitular 1 1907 Juan Benlloch i Vivo 1907 1919 Jaume Viladrich i Gaspa Vicar capitular 1 1919 1920 Justi Guitart i Vilardebo 1920 1940 Ricard Fornesa i Puigdemasa Vicar capitular 1 1940 1943 Ramon Iglesias i Navarri 1943 1969 Ramon Malla Call Apostolic Administrator 1 1969 1971 Joan Marti i Alanis 1971 2003 Joan Enric Vives Sicilia Archbishop personal title 2003 present 1 During a sede vacante See also editList of Co Princes of AndorraReferences edit Diocese of Urgell Catholic Hierarchy org David M Cheney Retrieved February 29 2016 Diocese of Urgell GCatholic org Gabriel Chow Retrieved February 29 2016 Bueno Salinas Santiago Perez Madrid Francisca Religion and the Secular State in Andorra PDF International Center for Law and Religion Studies 58 Retrieved 16 August 2015 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help Archbishop Antonio Perez O S B Catholic Hierarchy org David M Cheney Retrieved August 27 2016 From 28 Jul 1817 to 27 Sep 1824 Andorra Co Rulers Urgell archontology org Retrieved 2015 01 15 External links editWebsite of the Diocese of Urgell 42 21 29 N 1 27 43 E 42 358 N 1 462 E 42 358 1 462 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Roman Catholic Diocese of Urgell amp oldid 1189273019, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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