SEGORBE, DIOCESE OF
Segorbe is a city and diocese in Spain, a suffragan of Valencia, situated in the civil provinces of Valencia and Castellón de la Plana; some parishes lie in those of Teruel and Cuenca. It was erected under the name of *Segobriga* before the 6th century.
It covers an area of 3,351 sq. km., with a population of 67,500 inhabitants, almost all Catholic; it comprises 69 parishes served by 59 diocesan priests and 5 regulars, 3 male and 6 female religious communities (Ann. Pont. 1952, p. 374).
In the 6th century, some bishops of this diocese are recorded, but in the 8th century it was destroyed by the Moorish invasion; it was later restored in 1171, and in the following century it was enriched by King James I of Aragon, conqueror of Valencia and the Balearic Islands. The patron saint of the diocese is St. Joseph; there is, however, a special devotion to the shrine of *Cova Santa*, located a few kilometers from the capital; the feast is celebrated on September 11.
The seminary was founded in 1771 by Bishop Alfonso Cano, utilizing the Jesuit College, which had been expelled and had been built in 1630. The ancient cathedral, converted into a mosque by the Moors, was restored by King James I, who transformed it into a Gothic church with three naves, completed in 1534. However, in the 18th century it was greatly enlarged and decorated; it has a single nave 50 m. in length, without a transept or dome.