GIRONA, DIOCESE OF. – The diocese of Girona (Spain) borders to the west and south with the dioceses of Urgell, Vic, and Barcelona. It is a suffragan of Tarragona and has a total population of 390,000, of whom 389,000 are Catholic, over an area of 4,965 km². It is divided into 15 archpresbyteral districts, with 385 parishes served by 529 diocesan priests and 64 religious, a diocesan seminary in Girona, and a minor seminary of Santa Maria del Collell in Banyoles; 12 male religious communities and 114 female ones. The patron saint of the diocese is St. Narcissus, bishop of Girona (29 Oct.).
It must already have existed in the 3rd century, since Prudentius mentions its deacon Felix, martyred during the persecution of Diocletian. Innocent I speaks of a bishop of Girona in a letter addressed to the Council of Toledo in the year 400. In the Visigothic period, the bishop JOANNES BICLARENSIS is to be remembered, author of a well-known *Chronicon*. In the 9th century, the diocese of Girona incorporated that of Empúries, which is still included within its territory today. In the 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th centuries, the bishop and the Chapter of Girona wielded great feudal power and held extensive and wealthy properties. There were continual struggles in that period between the bishop and the counts of Besalú and of Empúries. A distinguished figure of a bishop in the 15th century was JOAN MARGARIT, cardinal of Pope Sixtus IV.
Continual struggles in that period took place between the bishop and the counts of Besalú and of Empúries. A distinguished figure of a bishop in the 15th century was JOAN MARGARIT, cardinal of Pope Sixtus IV.
The cathedral and the collegiate church of St. Felix established schools in the 8th and 14th centuries, respectively. In 1560, the *Estudis generals* were founded. Girona today possesses one of the finest diocesan museums in Spain. In the provincial museum, there is a fine Christian sarcophagus (Wilpert, *Sarcophagi*, I, pl. 69, 2, p. 88; II, pp. 338, 348). The diocese also preserves precious literary treasures, including the *Homilies* of the Venerable BEDE (10th or 11th century), a *Beatus* from the 10th century, and the so-called Bible of Charles V from the 14th century. Two celebrated figures belong to the 14th–15th centuries: the polygraph FRANCISCO EIXIMENIS and the inquisitor NICHOLAS EYMERICH.
With the armies of the Franks who fought against the Arabs, many monks entered the diocese and populated the region with monasteries. Between the 9th and 10th centuries, the following monasteries arose, among others: Sant Pere de Rodes, Santa Maria de Roses, Sant Miquel de Cruïlles, Sant Feliu de Guíxols, Santa Maria d’Amer, Sant Pere de Besalú, Sant Pere de Camprodon. In the 11th century: Sant Miquel de Fluvià, Santa Maria de Cervià, Sant Pere de Galligants. In the 12th century: Vialbertrand.
The diocese possesses numerous monuments of Gothic style, among which the cathedral is especially notable, with a nave of 22.80 m. But the most significant archaeological value lies in the Romanesque churches of the diocese. Besides those already mentioned, it suffices to name Santa Maria de Lladó, Sant Pere Cercada, Santa Maria, Sant Pere, Sant Vicenç de Besalú (all Romanesque churches of the diocese). In the capital, moreover, there arose the churches of Sant Nicolau, Sant Pere de Galligants, and Sant Daniel, also Romanesque. In the church of Sant Feliu, there are five Christian sarcophagi (Wilpert, *Sarcophagi*, I, pl. 110, p. 118; II, pp. 334, 36; III, p. 50; I, pl. 111, 1; II, p. 113, 308, 310, 334–35; I, pl. 112, 3, p. 128; II, p. 111; I, pl. 158, 3, p. 2; 117; II, pl. 196, 1, pp. 251–61; III, p. 45). – See pl. XIII.
Girona, Diocese of – Churches of Sant Feliu and Sant Pere de Galligants (10th and 11th c.) – Girona.
For biographical notices on G. G.: A. Rossotti, *Sylabus scriptorum Pedem.*, Mondovì 1668; D. V. Valsecchi, *G. G. abate O.S.B. sostenitore autore de libri dell’Iniziazione di Gesù Cristo*, Florence 1724; F. Napione, *Disertazione epistolare intorno all’autore del «De Imitatione Christi»*, 1818; id., *Dissert. seconda intorno al manoscritto d’Arona*, in *Mem. Accad. di Torino*, 33 (1825); F. Cancellieri, *Notizie storiche e bibliografiche di G. G.*, Rome 1809; G. De Gregory, *Histoire du livre de De Imitatione Christi...*, 2 vols., Paris 1843; A. Torri, *Dell’Iniziazione di Gesù Cristo*, Florence 1855; P. Canetti, *Notizie biografiche di G. G.*, Vercelli 1879; C. Mella, *Della vita e degli scritti di G. G. Introduzione all’Iniziazione, testo di lingua*, 4th ed., Turin 1880; C. Wolfsgruber, *G. G., sein Leben und sein Werk de J. C.*, Augsburg 1880; E. Puyol, *L’auteur du livre de De Imitatione Christi*, 2 vols., Paris 1890; P. G. Bonardi, *L’autore italiano della Iniziazione di Cristo G. G.*, Biella 1938. Cf. also M. A. Cusani, *Raccolta di diocesani vercellesi celebri scrittori, manoscritti dell’Archivio metropolitano di Vercelli*. Riccardo Pitigliani.