Beja, Diocese of

BEJA, DIOCESE of. - A city of Portugal, in the province of Alemtejo, on a plateau 300 m. above sea level, with approximately 15,000 inhabitants. B. was erected as a diocese, suffragan of Evora, on 10 June 1770: it is the ancient city of Pav Iulia, Pav Augusta, once identified with Badajos (v.). It is unknown when Christianity was introduced there. Under Teudis, king of the Visigoths (531-48), it was an episcopal see, governed by Apringio, known for his commentary on the Apocalypse. The bishops of B. attended the Councils of Toledo. The see disappeared under the Arabs in the middle of the 8th century; nevertheless, Christianity still existed there in the following century, since in 851 Sesinando, a native of B., suffered martyrdom at Cordova. It was reconquered in the second half of the 12th century, and Christian life flourished again there, but for a long time no thought was given to restoring the see, whose very existence had even been forgotten. Emmanuele do Cenaculo (1770-1802) was appointed first bishop; he created institutions of learning, founded a library and an ecclesiastical academy for the purpose of preserving religion. The fine college of S. Sesinando serves as episcopal palace and seminary, the latter founded in 1884. The diocese has 258,595 Catholics, 108 parishes, 42 diocesan priests, and 3 regular clergy (1949).