BADAJOZ, Diocese of. — In Spain, a suffragan of Seville. The episcopal city is the most important in Extremadura and the capital of a vast province. The diocese of Badajoz first appears in 1903-1904 and existed already in the year 1000; it was probably erected in the 9th century, perhaps succeeding Emerita, Mérida (q.v.). After the city was retaken following the expulsion of the Moors around 1227-30, the diocese was also restored. Due to difficulties arising with the military Orders of Santiago, Calatrava, the Temple, and the Hospital, the boundaries of the new diocese were not fixed until 1256 and 1257. The aforementioned Orders held jurisdiction over the parishes of the castles and towns they had wrested from the Arabs until the 19th century. Relations between the bishop and the Orders gave rise to frequent conflicts until 1874, when the Orders were placed under a titular bishop resident in Ciudad Real. The diocese suffered greatly in wars, especially in the 14th and 17th centuries (1640-68), and lost some parishes that passed under Portuguese jurisdiction.
Among its bishops, the following stood out: the Dominican Giovanni Morales (1415-43), ambassador of Castile at the Council of Constance, who held a Synod in 1419 and built several churches; Alonso Manrique de Lara (1409-1516), later a cardinal; Francesco de Navarra (1545-56), who attended the Council of Trent; Cristoforo de Rojas (1556-62); B. Giovanni de Ribera (1562-68) (q.v.); Agostino Antolín (1675-77), who died in a reputation for holiness.
Giovanni M. del Rodezno (1681-1706), Amador Merino Malagullia (1730-55), and Emanuele Pérez Mañayo (1755-79) carried out artistic and social works. The diocese has an area of 16,350 sq. km. and 650,000 inhabitants, all Catholic; 151 parishes, 231 diocesan priests, and 78 regular clergy (1948). It is a suffragan of Seville. During the last civil war, 28 priests, 6 religious, and 2 seminarians were killed. The monastery of Our Lady of Guadalupe is famous. Also noteworthy are the Cathedral (13th-14th centuries) and the Gothic cloister (1509-20). In the chapter hall, now a museum, paintings by Ribera, Zurbarán, and others are preserved. It has a major seminary and two minor seminaries. The former was founded in 1664 by G. Rodriguez de Valderas, but the current building is the work of Bishop Minayo (1770-79), enlarged in the 19th century. It possesses a public library with 17,000 volumes.