GIRONA, Diocese of. - The diocese of G. (Spain) borders to the west and south on the dioceses of Urgell, Vich and Barcelona. It is a suffragan of Tarragona and has a total of 390,000 inhabitants, of whom 389,000 are Catholics, in an area of 4,965 sq km. It is divided into 15 archpriesthoods, with 385 parishes served by 529 diocesan priests and 64 regulars, a conciliar seminary at G. and a minor seminary of St. Mary of Collell at Bañolas; 12 male and 114 female religious communities. The patron of the diocese is St. Narcissus, bishop of G. (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 G. in a letter addressed to the Council of Toledo of the year 400. In the era of Visigothic domination, mention should be made of the bishop John of Biclaro, author of a fairly well-known Chronicon. In the 9th century the diocese of G. incorporated that of Ampurias, which is still today included within its territory. In the 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th centuries the bishop and the Chapter of G. had great feudal power and extensive and rich properties. There were continuous struggles, in that era, between the bishop and the counts of Besalù and of Ampurias. A distinguished figure among the bishops was, in the 15th century, that of Giovanni de Margarit, cardinal of Pope Sixtus IV.
The Cathedral and the collegiate church of St. Felix established schools, respectively in the 8th century and in the 14th. In 1560 the «Estudis generalis» were established. G. today possesses one of the best diocesan museums in Spain. In the provincial Museum there is a fine Christian sarcophagus (Wilpert, Sarcofagi, I, pl. 69, 2, p. 88; II, pp. 338, 348). The diocese also preserves precious literary treasures, among them the Homilies of St. Bede the Venerable (of the 10th or 11th century), a Beato of the 10th century and the so-called Bible of Charles V of the 14th century. To the 14th-15th century belong two celebrated figures: the polygraph Francisco Eiximenis and the inquisitor Nicolás Eymerich.
With the armies of the Franks that 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: S. Pere de Roda, S. Maria de Roses, S. Miguel de Cruilles, S. Felice de Guixols, S. Maria d'Amer, S. Pere de Besalù, S. Pere de Camprodon. In the 11th century S. Miguel de Fluvià, S. Maria de Cervià, S. Pere de Galligans. In the 12th century Vilabertran.
The diocese possesses numerous monuments of Gothic style, among which the Cathedral, with its nave of 22.80 m, is especially notable. But the most significant archaeological value lies in the Romanesque churches of the diocese. Besides those cited, the names of S. Maria de Lladò, S. Pere Cercada, S. Maria, S. Pere, S. Vincenzo de Besalù suffice (all Romanesque churches of the diocese). In the capital, moreover, stand the churches of S. Nicolau, S. Pere de Galligans and S. Daniel, also Romanesque. In the church of St. Felix five Christian sarcophagi are placed (Wilpert, Sarcofagi, I, pl. 110, p. 118; II, pp. 334, 36; III, p. 50; I, pl. 111, 1; II, p. 11, 308, 310, 334-35; I, pl. 112, 3, p. 128; II, p. 11; I, pl. 158, 3, p. 2*, 17; II, pl. 196, 1, pp. 251-61; III, p. 45). - See pl. XIII.
Bibliography8 works
Giuseppe Cases