(Redirected from Archdiocese of Tarragona)The '
Archdiocese of Tarragona' (
Latin, ''Tarraconensis'') is located in north-eastern
Spain, in the
province of
Tarragona, part of the
autonomous community of
Catalonia. The archdiocese heads the
ecclesiastical province of
Tarragona, having Metropolitan authority over the
suffragan dioceses of
Girona,
Lleida,
Solsona,
Tortosa,
Urgell and
Vic.
Archdiocese created in Roman times, reestablished in 1118.
Overview
The 'cathedral', it is believed, was begun by
St. Olegarius. The edifice is solid and elegant, combining the Romanesque, Arabic, and Gothic styles of architecture, producing a very original and unique effect. Its façade is composed of three sections, and the ground plan, in the form of a Latin cross, has three naves and a wide transept. In the right nave is the chapel of St. Tecla, patroness of the city, begun in 1760 under the direction of Don José Prats and finished in 1776. The baptismal font is a magnificent marble basin found in the ruins of the palace of Augustus. The chapter house, celebrated for the councils held there, has a Byzantine door and a notable dome. As late as the fifteenth century the cathedral had not yet been completed, as the sculptor, Pedro Juan, did not begin work on the main altar until 1426. The choir was not finished until 1493. The chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, the organ, built by the cura of Tivisa, Don Jaime Amigó, the stained glass, etc. date from the sixteenth century.
Among the buildings worthy of mention are (as of 1912):
★ The church of San Pablo.
★ The church of Santa Tecla.
★ The convent of the
Poor Clares, near the walls.
★ The convent of Santa Teresa.
★ The church of the
Capuchins, the parish church of the port.
★ The former convent of San Francisco has been converted into government offices and a secondary school.
★ The
Jesuit college was turned into barracks, their church, however, has been restored to them.
★ The convent of the
Dominicans is now the town hall.
★ The convent of the
Mercederians was turned over to military uses.
★ The convent of the
Carmelites was turned over to military uses.
★ The archiepiscopal palace is situated on the site of the ancient capitol, one tower of which still remains. The palace was rebuilt by Don
Romualdo Mon y Valarde (1815-19).
★ Near the sea, in the Roman amphitheatre, is the edifice called ''el Milagro'' (the Miracle), which belonged to the
Knights Templar. It was afterwards used by the
Trinitarian Fathers, and has since been converted into a penitentiary.
The remains of many 'Roman buildings' are to be found at Tarragona: the walls, the capitol, or citadel, the forum, the palace of Augustus, called the house of Pilate, the circus or amphitheatre, the aqueduct, known as the ''Puente del Diablo'', the so-called tower, or sepulchre, of the Scipios, the arch of Sura, or of Bara, and the Aurelian Way. There is also a good archaeological museum.
The 'conciliar seminary of San Pablo and Santa Tecla' was founded in 1570 by the cardinal archbishop,
Gaspar de Cervantes, and was the first to comply with the decrees of the
Council of Trent. In 1858 Archbishop
José Domingo Costa y Borrás built a fourth wing.
Benito Villamitjana built a new seminary behind the cathedral in 1886, in the courtyard of which stands the old chapel of San Pablo.
Pope Leo XIII raised this to the rank of a pontifical university.
In the district of
Montblanc, in this archdiocese, is the ancient
monastery of Poblet, founded in 1151 by
Ramón Berenguer IV ''the Saint'', which was the pantheon of the
kings of Aragon.
History
Roman period (until the 5th century):
Tarragona is one of the most ancient cities of
Spain, probably of
Iberian origin, as its coins and
Cyclopean walls indicate.
The
Romans selected Tarragona as the centre of their government in Spain. In the division of the peninsula it was the capital first of
Hispania Citerior (Hither Spain) and then of the Province of
Hispania Tarraconensis.
The Church of Tarragona is undoubtedly one of the most ancient in Spain, holding as it does the tradition of the coming of
St. James and
St. Paul. The visit of St. Paul to Tarragona is not altogether beyond the range of possibilities, supposing that he came from
Rome to Spain, as he promised to do, in the
Epistle to the Romans (Romans 15:24), and as
St. Jerome affirms that he did.
The first written testimony which we have concerning the bishops of Tarragona dates from the third century. This is in the ''Acts of the Martyrdom of the bishop
St. Fructuosus and his deacons
Augurius and
Eulogius''. The list of the bishops of Tarragona, therefore, begins with St. Fructuosus, but it is supposed that other bishops, whose names have been lost to us, preceded him.
The
see of Tarragona, which was vacant at that time, was represented at the
Council of Arles (314) by two procurators, the priest
Probatius and the deacon
Castorius.
Himerius, who sent the priest
Basianus to
Pope St. Damasus, and who obtained a letter from
Pope St. Siricius, was Archbishop of Tarragona in 384.
It is also conjectured that the
Hilarius who was the subject of the Decretal issued by
Pope Innocent I was also a Bishop of Tarragona.
Ascanio was bishop in 465.
In the fifth century Tarragona was overrun by the
Vandals,
Suevi, and
Alani.
Visigoth period (5th to 7th centuries):
The
Visigothic king,
Euric, took possession of Tarragona in 475 and totally demolished it. During the occupation of the Visigoths it flourished once more.
Previous to 516 we find the name of Archbishop John, who, on 6 November, 516, assembled all the bishops of his province and held the
first provincial council of Tarragona, at which ten bishops were present. In 517 he assembled another
provincial council in Gerona.
Sergius, who was bishop from 535 to 546, held councils in Barcelona and
Lérida (546).
St. Justus, Bishop of
Urgel, dedicated to him his commentary on the ''
Song of Solomon''.
Tranquillinus was bishop for many years previous to 560. He had been a monk in the
Monastery of Asana, under the direction of
St. Victornus.
Artemius, bishop prior to 589, was not able to attend the
Third Council of Toledo (589), but sent a substitute, Stephen. He called provincial councils at Saragossa (599) and Barcelona.
Eusebius (610-632) held the
council of Egara (Tarrasa) to enforce the canons of the
Council of Huesca.
Audax (633-638) was present at the
Fourth Council of Toledo (633), and
Protasius (637-646) at the
Sixth (638) and
Seventh (646)
Councils of Toledo.
Cyprianus (680-688) sent representatives to the
Thirteenth (683),
Fourteenth (684), and
Fifteenth (688) councils of Toledo.
Vera assisted personally at the
Sixteenth (693) and
Seventeenth (694).
Muslim period (ca. 719-1116):
In time of Vera or in that of his successor, George, the
Mohammedan invasion took place. The Arabs destroyed Tarragona in 719.
Ludovico Pio appears to have temporarily taken possession of the city. A portion of its territory was bestowed on the Bishop of
Barcelona, and the metropolitan rank was given to the Bishop of
Narbonne, but was recovered in 759.
Caesarius endeavoured to obtain recognition as titular Archbishop of Tarragona, but was not successful, although he was consecrated by the bishops of Leon and Galicia, and obtained from the pope the
abbey of Santa Cecilia, which belonged to the Archbishop of Tarragona.
Borrell,
Count of Barcelona, induced
Pope John XIII to confer the title of Archbishop of Tarragona on
Atton, bishop of
Vich in 957-971, although he never was called Archbishop of Tarragona but of
Ausona.
Berengarius of Rosanes, Bishop of Vich in ca. 1078-ca. 1099, petitioned
Pope Urban II for permission to promote a crusade for the reconquest of Tarragona.
Count Berenguer Ramón II ''the Fratricide'' succeeded in taking the city and made it a
fief of the
Holy See. The pope, in recognition of the efforts of the Bishop of Vich, conferred on him the
pallium as Archbishop of Tarragona, transferring to him all rights to the city and its churches which had previously belonged to the Holy See. The new bishop, however, was to remain in possession of the Church of Vich.
A similar concession was granted to
St. Olegarius, Bishop of
Barcelona in 1116-1137, who was permitted to retain possession of his former Church until he had obtained complete and peaceful possession of that of Tarragona, of which he had been named Archbishop.
Archdiocese of Tarragona (since 1116):
It was not until 1116 that Tarragona was definitively reconquered by
Ramón Berenguer III ''the Great''. Bishop Berenguer had died in 1110, after having assisted, in 1096, at the
Council of Nîmes convoked by
Pope Urban II.
His successor in the See of Tarragona,
St. Olegarius, had been a canon regular at St. Rufus in Provence, later an abbot, and then Bishop of
Barcelona in 1116-1137. To him is due the restoration of the metropolitan authority of Tarragona. In 1117 Count Ramón Berenguer III conferred on him the government of the city that he might endeavour to recolonize it, which work he carried on with great zeal.
He assisted at the
councils of Toulouse and Reims (1109), of the Lateran (1123), and of Clermont (1130), and accompanied the Count of Barcelona as pontifical legate in the war which terminated in the imposition of a tribute upon
Tortosa and
Lérida. The Norman
Robert Burdet also joined the forces of the Count of Barcelona, established himself in Tarragona and obtained dominion over a great part of the city.
On the death of St. Olegarius (6 March, 1137), Gregory,
Abbot of
Cuxana, succeeded him in the vacant See of Tarragona, and was the first incumbent of that see to receive the title of archbishop.
The dissensions among the sons of
Robert Burdet led to the murder by them of Archbishop
Hugo de Cervellón 22 April, 1171.
By special privilege of the pope, all the
kings of Aragon were crowned at
Saragossa by the archbishop of Tarragona, until the metropolitan See of Sargossa was re-established in 1318.
The dissensions between the archbishops and the kings, on account of the jurisdiction over Tarragona granted to the bishops who had begun its resettlement, continued during the time of king
Alfonso II of
Aragon, who bestowed the city as a dowry on his wife,
Doña Sancha.
When king
Jaime I, a child of six years, took the oath, the Archbishop of Tarragona, Don
Aspargo Barca (1215-1233), carried him in his arms. Although he was far advanced in his years, he wished to accompany the king in his expedition to conquer
Majorca, and when Don Jaime refused his consent, he contributed a thousand marks in gold and twelve hundred armed men.
In 1242 a provincial council was convoked at Tarragona to regulate the procedure of the
Inquisition and canonical penances. In 1312 a provincial council was assembled in the Corpus Christi Chapel of the cathedral cloister, to pass sentence on the
Templars, whom it declared innocent.
King
Pedro IV ''the Ceremonious'', who, after forcibly seizing the dominions of the archbishop, repented in his last illness and restored to St.Tecla, patroness of the city, all that he had unjustly acquired.
Don
Pedro Zagarriga, Archbishop of Tarragona in 1407-1418, was one of the arbitrators at the
Compromise of Caspe (1412).
One of the most celebrated prelates of Tarragona, Don
Antonio Agustín y Albanell (d. 1586), a native of
Saragossa, was an eminent jurisconsult and numismatist. He put an end to the struggles referred to in ''
Don Quixote'', between the
Narros and
Cadells factions, which had disturbed the peace of Catalonia.
In 1912 it was bounded on the north by Barcelona and Lérida, on the east by Barcelona, on the south by the
Mediterranean Sea and Tortosa, and on the west by Tortosa. It comprised the
civil Provinces of
Tarragona and
Lérida, and the city of
Tarragona had 24,335 inhabitants. Its
suffragans were
Barcelona,
Lérida,
Gerona,
Urgel,
Vich,
Tortosa and
Solsona.
Archbishops of Tarragona (6th century - ca. 712)
All the names in ''italics'' are given in
Spanish:
★ . ca. 259 :
St. Fructuosus
★ . ca. 385 :
Himerius — (before 385)
★ . ca. 402 :
Hilarius
★ . ca. 420 : ''Ticiano''
★ . ca. 465 : Ascanio
★ 470-520 : John
★ 520-555 :
Sergius — (or 535-546)
★ 560-580 :
Tranquillinus — (ca. 560 - after 580)
★ 589-599 :
Artemius
★ . ca. 599 : ''Asiático''
★ 610-632 :
Eusebius — (ca. 610? - ca. 632)
★ . ca. 633 :
Audax — (Mentioned in the
Fourth Council of Toledo of 633, or 633-638)
★ . ca. 635 : ''Selva'' — (Mentioned in 635)
★ 637-646 :
Protasius — (assisted to the
Sixth (638) and
Seventh (646)
Councils of Toledo)
★ 646-668 : ''Faluax'' — (646-668?)
★ 668-688 :
Cyprianus — (or 680-688)
★ . ca. 693 :
Vera - (Mentioned in the
Sixteenth (693) and
Seventeenth (694)
Councils of Toledo)
★ 711- . . . . : ''Próspero'', Saint — (711-unknown)
''In 711 the
Mohammedan invasion took place, and the Arabs destroyed Tarragona in 719.''
Bishops of Tarragona (8th to 11th centuries)
★ 956- . . . . :
Caesarius — (956-unknown)
★ 970-971 :
Atton — (also bishop of
Vich in 957-971)
★ 1091-1099 :
Berenguer Seniofredo de Llusá — (also
Berengarius of Rosanes, also bishop of Vich in ca. 1078-ca. 1099)
Archbishops of Tarragona (since 1118)
''Count
Ramón Berenguer III ''the Great'' took Tarragona in 1116.''
# 1118-1137 :
Olegarius, Saint — (also bishop of
Barcelona in 1116-1137)
# 1143-1146 : Gregory
# 1146-1163 :
Bernardo Tort
# 1163-1171 :
Hugo de Cervelló — (also
Hugo de Cervellón)
# 1171-1174 :
Guillermo de Torroja
# 1174-1194 :
Berenguer de Vilademuls
# 1194-1198 :
Ramón Xedmar de Castelltersol
# 1199-1215 :
Ramón de Rocabertí
# 1215-1233 :
Asparec de la Barca — (also
Aspargo Barca)
# 1234-1239 :
Guillermo de Montgrí
# 1238-1251 :
Pedro de Albalat
# 1251-1268 :
Benito de Rocabertí
# 1272-1287 :
Bernardo de Olivella
# 1288-1308 : Rodrigo Tello
# 1309-1315 :
Guillermo de Rocabertí
# 1317-1327 :
Jimeno Martínez de Luna y Aragón
# 1327-1334 : Juan de Aragón
# 1334-1346 :
Arnaldo Sescomes
# 1346-1357 :
Sancho López de Ayerbe
# 1357-1380 :
Pedro Clasquerí
# 1388-1407 :
Eneco de Vallterra
# 1407-1418 :
Pedro de Sagarriga y Pau — (also
Pedro Zagarriga)
# 1419-1431 :
Dalmacio de Mur y de Cervelló
# 1431-1433 :
Gonzalo Fernández de Hijar
# 1434-1445 :
Domingo Ram y Lanaja
# 1445-1489 :
Pedro de Urrea
# 1490-1511 :
Gonzalo Fernández de Heredia y de Bardají
# 1512-1514 :
Alfonso de Aragón y Sánchez
# 1515-1530 :
Pedro Folc de Cardona
# 1531-1532 :
Luis Folc de Cardona y Enríquez
# 1533-1558 :
Girolamo Doria
# 1560-1567 :
Fernando de Loaces y Pérez
# 1567-1568 :
Bartolomé Sebastián Valero de Arroitia
# 1568-1575 :
Gaspar Cervantes de Gaeta — (aldo
Gaspar de Cervantes)
# 1576-1586 :
Antonio Agustín y Albanell
# 1587-1603 :
Juan Terés y Borrull
# 1604-1611 :
Juan de Vic y Manrique
# 1613-1622 :
Juan de Moncada y Gralla
# 1624-1626 :
Juan de Hoces
# 1627-1633 :
Juan de Guzmán y Mendoza
# 1633-1637 :
Antonio Pérez y Maxo
# 1653-1663 :
Francisco de Rojas y Artés
# 1663-1679 :
Juan Manuel de Espinosa y Manuel
# 1680-1694 :
José Sanchís y Ferrandis
# 1695-1710 :
José Llinás y Aznar
# 1712-1719 :
Isidoro de Beltrán
# 1720-1721 :
Miguel Juan de Taverner y Rubí
# 1721-1728 :
Manuel de Samaniego y Jaca
# 1728-1753 :
Pedro de Copons y Copons
# 1753-1762 :
Jaime de Cortada y Bru
# 1763-1764 :
Lorenzo Despuig y Cotoner
# 1764-1777 :
Juan Lario y Lanzis
# 1779-1783 :
Joaquín de Santiyán y Valdivieso
# 1785-1803 :
Francisco Armañá y Font
# 1804-1816 :
Romualdo Mon y Velarde
# 1818-1819 :
Antonio Bergosa y Jordán
# 1820-1825 :
Jaime Creus Martí
# 1826-1854 :
Antonio Fernando de Echanove y de Zaldívar
# 1857-1864 :
José Domingo Costa y Borrás
# 1864-1870 :
Francisco Fleix y Solans
# 1875-1878 :
Constantino Boney y Zanuy
# 1879-1888 :
Benito Vilamitjana y Vila
# 1889-1911 :
Tomás Costa y Fornaguera
# 1913-1918 :
Antolín López Peláez
# 1919-1943 :
Francisco de Asís Vidal y Barraquer
# 1944-1948 :
Manuel Arce y Ochotorena
# 1949-1970 :
Benjamín de Arriba y Castro
# 1970-1983 :
José Pont y Gol
# 1983-1996 :
Ramón Torrella Cascante
# 1997-2004 :
Lluís Martínez Sistach
# 2004-today :
Jaume Pujol Balcells
References
This article draws only from other Wikipedia articles and these two sources:
★
Catholic Encyclopedia, 1912:
Tarragona
★ IBERCRONOX:
Arzobispado de Tarragona (Tarraco)
See also
★
List of the Roman Catholic dioceses of Spain.
Sources and external links
★
Archdiocese of Tarragona Official Website
★
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