LUGO, DIOCESE OF. – Diocese in Spanish Galicia; its boundaries coincide with those of the province of the same name; it has an area of 11,512 sq. km. with a population of 391,301 inhabitants, of whom 391,206 are Catholic. It comprises 639 parishes with 617 diocesan priests and 79 regular clergy, 2 seminaries, 7 male religious communities and 16 female ones (1949).
L., the ancient *Lucus Augusti*, is the seat of one of the oldest Spanish bishoprics, whose origins date back to 1100. Although initially it was a suffragan of Braga, it became a metropolitan see in 559, but in 714 it was invaded by the Arabs. Re-conquered in 755 by Alfonso I of Asturias, the diocese was re-established under Bishop Odoario. Since then it has been a suffragan of the metropolitan see of Santiago de Compostela. Among the monasteries of the diocese, the Benedictine monastery of Samos, founded in 759, deserves mention.
Among the artistic monuments of L. are to be noted the Cathedral, begun in the 12th century, in Romanesque style with Gothic, Baroque and Neoclassical additions, and the churches of St Francis, with a fine cloister, and of St Dominic. The monstrance with two adoring angels that appears in the coat of arms of L. is a reminder of the deep veneration of the city for St Eugenia. The patron saint of the diocese is St Froilán of León. The Cathedral is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.