ASTORGA, DIOCESE OF. — In Spain, suffragan of Valladolid since 1851. The ancient Asturica Augusta, in the province of León, 40 km from that city, sits on a height (870 m.) in the upper basin of the Duero and has about 7,000 inhabitants. It was a bishopric seat by the mid-3rd century. In this early period, two points stand out in its history: Priscillianism in the 4th and 5th centuries, and the monasticism that flourished in the 7th century (v. BRAGA, St). Astorga was then the metropolitan see of Galicia (4th century and first half of the 5th). After the disappearance of the Suevic kingdom, in 585 it became a suffragan of Braga until 1851. From 714-15 until the end of the 9th century, no reliable information is available about the diocese; it revived again in the 10th century through the efforts of the bishops St. Gennadius (899-920), Fortis (920-29) and Solomon (931-51). Astorga, El Bierzo and other parts of the diocese were populated by monasteries. The monks, as well as the clergy and the population, were largely “Mozarabs,” having come from southern Spain. From 1034 to 1041 the chronicler Sampiro was bishop; Peter Andrés IV attended the Fourth Lateran Council (1215); the Franciscan Fernando d’A., residing in Portugal and appointed bishop by Urban VI, was never able to reach Astorga, since it was under the obedience of the Avignon popes. The bishops of Astorga also took part in the Council of Trent. During the 16th century three diocesan synods were held (1518, 1533, 1592). The chapter of the cathedral, very numerous in past centuries, has consisted since 1851 of 7 dignitaries, 7 canons and 12 beneficiary priests. The Marquis of Astorga, by concession of Clement VII, had the right to present candidates for vacant posts in the chapter. The present diocesan seminary is the work of Bishop Antonio López (1785-87), enlarged by his successors, while the minor seminary was founded by Monsignor Senso Lázaro (1915).
Among the shrines of the Madonna, that of Santa Maria de las Ermitas is famous, built by Bishop A. Mexia Tovar (1624). The cathedral (15th-18th centuries) is in “Plateresque” Gothic and Baroque style, has a rich artistic treasury and, since 1918, an archaeological museum; the altarpiece of the high altar is the masterpiece of Gaspar Becerra (1569).
The fortnightly diocesan bulletin has been published since 1852. Statistics: 12,461 sq. km., 500,000 inhabitants, all Catholic; 887 parishes, 637 diocesan priests and 24 regular clergy.