Pamplona, Diocese of

PAMPLONA, Diocese of. - City and diocese in the province of Navarre, in Spain. An ancient tradition makes St. Firminus, a disciple of St. Saturninus, bishop of Toulouse in the 3rd century, the first evangelizer of P. It is certain that at the Third Council of Toledo (589) Liliolus, bishop of P., was present. After the invasion of the Arabs, in 829 we find the bishop Opilanus. He and his successors resided in the monastery of Leyre, founded in the 7th century. At the Council of P. of 1090 it was decided to re-establish the bishopric provided that its holders came from the said monastery. Toward the end of the 11th century the bishops moved to P., and it was then that the Cathedral was built.

The diocese of P., a suffragan of the metropolis of Saragossa, comprises almost all of Navarre (v.). In 1851 that of Tudela was added to it, which in 1889 was again separated in order to be united with that of Tarazona. The diocese of P. covers 9053 sq km with 324,832 inhabitants, has 1274 churches (560 parishes), 990 secular priests and 327 religious; a magnificent seminary with more than 500 students. There are 168 convents with 2213 religious men and women. This remarkable number of ecclesiastical and religious vocations indicates the profound religiosity of the faithful of P. In 49 charitable institutions 3300 persons are assisted. Primary and secondary education and the work of spiritual retreats flourish.

The ancient Romanesque cathedral of P., which collapsed in 1390, was rebuilt after 7 years, although the facade is of the 18th century. It has a beautiful Gothic cloister. Gothic too are the magnificent tombs of the kings of Navarre. The parish church of St. Saturninus, in Romanesque and Gothic style, was built in the 12th-13th centuries, while that of St. Nicholas, of the 12th century, is in an elegant Gothic style.

Within the diocese of P. are found the monastery of Leyre, recently rebuilt and repopulated, and the castle of Xavier, of the family of the same name, the cradle of St. Francis Xavier. The Duchess of Villahermosa had it repaired at the beginning of this century and built beside it a splendid Neo-Romanesque basilica.

Tirso Arellano