Archdiocese of Zaragoza Archidioecesis Caesaraugustana Archidiócesis de Zaragoza | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
| Country |  Spain |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 13,309 km2 (5,139 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics | (as of 2010) 917,040 873,040 (95.2%) |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Established | 5th Century(As Diocese of Zaragoza) 14 July 1318(As Archdiocese of Zaragoza) |
| Cathedral | Cathedral of Our Saviour in Zaragoza andCathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar in Zaragoza |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Archbishop | Carlos Manuel Escribano Subías |
| Suffragans | Diocese of Barbastro-Monzón Diocese of Huesca Diocese of Tarazona Diocese of Teruel and Albarracín |
| Bishops emeritus | Manuel Ureña Pastor(2005–2014) Vicente Jiménez Zamora (2014-2020) |
| Map | |
 | |
| Website | |
| arzobispadodezaragoza.org | |
TheArchdiocese of Saragossa (Latin:Archidioecesis Caesaraugustana;Aragonese:Archidiocesi de Zaragoza) is aLatindiocese of theCatholic Church located in north-easternSpain, in theprovince ofZaragoza (Saragossa in English), part of theautonomous community ofAragón. The archdiocese heads theecclesiastical province of Saragossa, having metropolitan authority over thesuffragan dioceses ofBarbastro-Monzón,Huesca,Tarazona, andTeruel and Albarracín.[1][2]
The diocese was created in Roman times;Pope John XXII elevated it to anarchdiocese in 1318.
In 1912, the diocese was bounded on the north byNavarre andHuesca; on the east by Huesca,Lerida, andTarragona; on the south byValencia andTeruel; on the west byGuadalajara andSoria. The episcopal city of Saragossa is situated on the riverEbro.
Thecathedral is dedicated to the Saviour, as it had been before theMoorish invasion. It shares its rank with the Church of Nuestra Señora del Pilar, half of thechapter residing at each of the two churches, while thedean resides six months at each alternately. The building of the cathedral was begun by Pedro Tarrjao in the fourteenth century. In 1412,Antipope Benedict XIII caused a magnificent baldachinum to be erected, but one of its pillars fell down, and it was reduced to its present condition. In 1490 ArchbishopAlonso of Aragón raised the two lateral naves, which had been lower, to an equal height with the central, and added two more; Ferdinand of Aragon added three other naves beyond the choir, to counterbalance the excessive width of the building, and thus, in 1550 was the Gothic edifice completed. The great chancel and choir were built by order of Archbishop Dalmau de Mury Cervellón (1431–58). In the chapel ofSaint Dominguito del Val are preserved the relics of that saint, a boy of seven allegedly crucified by the Jews in 1250. The façade of the cathedral is Renaissance, and beside it rises the tower, more modern than the body of the church, having been begun in 1790.
TheChurch of Nuestra Señora del Pilar is believed to have originated in a chapel built by the ApostleJames. BishopPedro de Librana (1119–1128) found it almost in ruins and appealed to the charity of all the faithful to rebuild it. At the close of the thirteenth century four bishops again stirred up the zeal of the faithful to repair the building, which was preserved until the end of the seventeenth century. In 1681 work was commenced on the new church, the first stone being laid by ArchbishopDiego de Castrillo on 25 July 1685. This grandiose edifice, 140 metres in length, covers the capella angelica, where the celebrated image of the Blessed Virgin is venerated. Though the style of the building is not of the best period, attention is attracted by its exterior, its multitude of cupolas, which are reflected in the waters of the riverEbro, giving it a character all its own.
Saragossa possesses many very noteworthy churches. Among them is theChurch of Santa Engracia de Zaragoza, built on the spot where the victims of Dacian were martyred. It was destroyed in theSpanish War of Independence, only the crypt and the doorway being left; it was rebuilt in the late 19th or early 20th century, and now serves as a parish church.
TheUniversity of Saragossa obtained from Charles I (the EmperorCharles V) in 1542, the privileges accorded to others in Spain. Its importance was afterwards promoted by Pedro Cerbuna, Bishop ofTarazona; he gave it a building which lasted until it was blown up by the French in 1808. A separate building has been erected for the faculties of medicine and sciences.
Thearchiepiscopal palace is a splendid edifice erected by ArchbishopAgustín de Lezo y Palomeque.
There are twoecclesiastical seminaries. That of Sts.Valerius andBraulius, founded by ArchbishopAgustín de Lezo y Palomeque in 1788, was destroyed by an explosion and was rebuilt in 1824 by ArchbishopBernardo Francés Caballero; that of St. Charles Borromeo, formerly aJesuit college, was converted into a seminary by KingCharles III.
Before the Roman period the site ofSaragossa appears to have been occupied by Salduba, a little village ofEdetania, within the boundaries ofCeltiberia.
In 24 BC (727a.u.c.), EmperorOctavius Augustus, then in his seventhconsulate, founded the colony ofCaesar Augusta, giving it the Italian franchise and making it the capital of a juridical conventus. GeographerPomponius Mela called it "the most illustrious of the inland cities ofHispania Tarraconensis."
The diocese is one of the oldest in Spain, for its origin dates back to the coming of the ApostleJames — a fact of which there had never been any doubt untilCaesar Baronius, influenced by a fabulous story ofGarcía de Loaisa, called it in question.PopeUrban VIII ordered the old lesson in theBreviary dealing with this point to be restored.
Closely involved with the tradition of St. James's coming to Spain, and of the founding of the church of Saragossa, are those ofOur Lady of the Pillar and of Sts. Athanasius and Theodore, disciples of St. James, who are supposed to have been the first bishops of Saragossa.
About the year 256 there appears as bishop of this diocese Felix Caesaraugustanus, who defended true discipline in the case of Basilides and Martial, Bishops, respectively, ofAstorga andMérida.
St. Valerius, who assisted at theCouncil of Iliberis, was bishop from 290 to 315 and, together with his disciple anddeaconSt. Vincent, suffered martyrdom in the persecution of Dacian.
It is believed that there had been martyrs at Saragossa in previous persecutions asPrudentius seems to affirm; but no certain record is to be found of any before this time, when, too, St. Engratia and the "numberless saints" (santos innumerables), as they are called, gained their crowns.
It is said that Dacian, to detect and so make an end of all the faithful of Saragossa, ordered that liberty to practice their religion should be promised them on condition that they all went out of the city at a certain fixed time and by certain designated gates. As soon as they had thus gone forth, he ordered them to be put to the sword and their corpses burned. Their ashes were mixed with those of criminals, so that no veneration might be paid them. But a shower of rain fell and washed the ashes apart, forming those of the martyrs into certain white masses. These, known as the "holy masses" (las santas masas) were deposited in the crypt of the church dedicated to St. Engratia, where they are still preserved.
St. Vincent was taken toValencia, where he suffered a long and terrible martyrdom. St. Valerius was exiled to a place called Enet, nearBarbastro, where he died, and whence his relics were translated first to Roda, the head and arm being brought thence to Saragossa when that city had been reconquered.
Before theMoorish invasion three national councils were held at Saragossa. TheFirst Council of Saragossa was held in 380, earlier than those ofToledo, when Valerius II was bishop, and had for its object the extirpation ofPriscillianism.
In 452, Saragossa fell under the power of theSuevian kingReciarius; in 466, under that of theVisigoth kingEuric.St. Isidore extolled it as one of the best cities of Spain in the Gothic period, andPacensis called it "the most ancient and most flourishing."
In 542, when theFranks laid siege to Saragossa to take vengeance for the wrongs of the Catholic princess,Clotilde, the besieged went forth in procession and delivered to the enemy, as the price of their raising the siege, a portion of the blood-stained stole of St. Vincent, the deacon.
From 592 to 619, the bishop wasMaximus, who assisted at the Councils ofBarcelona andEgara. Under his episcopate theSecond Council of Zaragoza was held in 592 againstArianism. Maximus' name, combined with that of the monk Marcus, has been used to form an allegedMarcus Maximus, theapocryphal continuator ofFlavius Dexter.
The See of Saragossa was occupied during the Gothic period by two illustrious bishops:St. Braulius (631–651), who assisted at theFourth,Fifth, andSixthCouncils of Toledo; andTaius (Tajón) (651–664), famous for his own writings and for having discovered atRome the third part ofSt. Gregory's "Morals."
TheThird Council of Saragossa was held in 691 under Bishop Valderedus, and provided that queens, when widowed, should retire to some monastery for their security and for the sake of decorum.
During the Moorish occupation, Catholic worship did not cease in this city; the churches of the Virgin and of St. Engratia were maintained, while that of the Saviour was turned into a mosque.
Of the bishops of this period the names are preserved of Senior, who visited St. Eulogius at Cordoba (849), and of Eleca, who in 890 was driven from the city by the Muslims and took refuge atOviedo.
Paternus was sent by kingSancho the Great toCluny to introduce theCluniac reform into Spain in the monasteries ofSan Juan de la Peña andSan Salvador de Leyre, and was afterwards appointed Bishop of Saragossa (1040–1077).
KingAlfonso Ithe Battler ofAragon reconquered the city on 18 December 1118, and named as bishopPedro de Librana, whose appointment was confirmed byPopeGelasius II.
López, in hisHistoria de Zaragoza, says that Pedro de Librana first resided at the Church of the Pillar, and on 6 January 1119, purified the great mosque, which he dedicated to the Saviour, and there established his episcopal see. Hence the controversy which began in 1135, in the episcopate ofGarcía Guerra de Majones, between the canons of the Pillar and those of St. Saviour as to the title of cathedral.
In 1318, the See of Saragossa was mademetropolitan by a grant ofPope John XXII (14 June),Pedro López de Luna being bishop.
In the factions which followed upon the death of KingMartin I, ArchbishopGarcía Fernández de Heredia (1383–1411) was assassinated in 1411 byAntonio de Luna, a partisan of theCountJames II ofUrgell.
For more than a century (1458–1577) princes of the royal blood occupied the see:
On 15 September 1485,Pedro Arbués,canon of the Cathedral of Zaragoza and one of the driving forces behind the Tribunal of theInquisition, was attacked in the cathedral by some relapsed Jews who were led by Juan de la Abadia and died two days later. In response to the assassination, hundreds were arrested and between one and two hundred were put to death, including the assailants.
| Diocese | Notes | Cathedral Photo | Co Cathedral Photo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zaragoza | | ||
| Barbastro-Monzón |  |  | |
| Huesca |  | ||
| Tarazona |  | ||
| Teruel and Albarracín. |  |  |
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Saragossa".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
| 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 | ||
| Eastern Rite Ordinariate | ||
41°39′17″N0°52′33″W / 41.6547°N 0.8758°W /41.6547; -0.8758
