CUENCA, DIOCESI of. — City and diocese in Castile (Spain), suffragan of Toledo. It has an area of 21,797 sq km and 435,000 inhabitants, all Catholics. It comprises 326 parishes served by 212 secular and 33 regular priests, and has two seminaries (1948). The patron of the diocese is St. Giuliano; the Cathedral is dedicated to the Nativity of the Virgin Mary.
Some writers have believed that the present episcopal see succeeded the ancient Roman Ercavica, later destroyed by the Saracens. After the city of C. was reconquered by King Alfonso VIII in 1177, he requested from the Holy See the establishment of the diocese; this was granted by Lucius III in a bull dated 5 July 1183, issued at Velletri. The Pope approved the appointment, made by the Castilian monarch, of the first bishop, Giovanni Yanez of Toledo, who, according to tradition, came from the family of the famous Cid Campeador. This bishop was succeeded by St. Giuliano. Other distinguished bishops were Gonzalo Gudiel, who was in Barcelona at the death of St. Raimondo de Peñafort; G. del Campo, ambassador to John XXII; Raffaele, Cardinal Riario, nephew of Sixtus IV, who was succeeded by D. Ramirez de Fuenlcal, Adrian VI’s companion on his journey to Rome; Bernardo de Fresneda, O.F.M., confessor to Philip II; Cardinals Q. Quiroga, M. Rodriguez de Castro, and M. Payá; Alonso A. de San Martín, son of Philip IV; Isidoro de Carvajal, descendant of the Mexican emperor Montezuma; and the Capuchin Sanchez Artesero, a great musician, poet, and missionary in South America (d. 1855).
The principal sanctuaries of the diocese are those of the S. Cristo di Priego, de La Luz, Rianares, Tejada y Rus. Among the most distinguished monuments are the monasteries of Uclés, Belmonte, and Alarcón, and the castles of Garcimuñoz y Villanueva de la Jara.
CUENCA, DIOCESI of. — In Ecuador, suffragan of Quito. Established by Pius VI on 1 July 1786.
It has an area of approximately 20,000 sq km and approximately 200,000 inhabitants.
Before the establishment of the diocese of Guayaquil in 1838, it included, in addition to the provinces of Aznay and Canar, that of Guayaquil as well. In 1948 the diocese was divided into 64 parishes with 93 diocesan and 57 regular priests. In 1557, in the primitive village of C., which arose on the banks of the Matadero, the first church, dedicated to Todos los Santos, was established. Today, both in the episcopal city and throughout the rest of the diocese, there are numerous richly decorated churches.
Alongside the secular clergy, 15 different religious families work, especially in the education of the young.