ALMERIA, DIOCESE OF. - In Spain, situated in the territory of the homonymous province, a suffragan of Granada. Within its boundaries was the ancient see of Urci, which was restored in Almería for a short time (1147-57). In the 15th century, three bishops of Almería are found, but they seem to have been titular only. After the definitive reconquest of the city (1489), Innocent VIII restored the diocese (1492). The Catholic Monarchs endowed the cathedral, the chapter, the parishes, and founded the convents of the Dominicans, Franciscans, and Trinitarians. The diocese achieved religious unity at the beginning of the 17th century with the expulsion of the *moriscos*, who had resisted for more than a century the attempts made to convert them. According to the latest statistics, the diocese covers 6,557 sq km, has 295,000 Catholic inhabitants, 110 parishes, and 123 diocesan priests.
Monuments: the present cathedral (the mosque, transformed into a cathedral in 1492, was destroyed by an earthquake in 1522), of late Gothic style, is due to Bishop Diego Fernández de Villalán (1523-56). It contains paintings by Alonso Cano, sculptures by F. Salzillo Alcaraz, frescoes, and choir stalls by Giovanni de Orea. The seminary, built by Bishop Giovanni Portocarrero (1602-30) and repeatedly enlarged, possesses a rich library and also a natural history museum established at the expense of Msgr. B. Martinez y Nova (1921-34). There are two archives: the diocesan archive (from 1527 onwards) and that of the chapter.
Msgr. Diego Ventaja Milán, appointed bishop of Almería on 7 May 1935, was assassinated in 1936.