TUY, DIOCESI of. — City and diocese in the extreme western part of Spain; suffragan of the metropolitan see of S. Giacomo di Compostella.
It has an area of 1,895 sq. km., with a population of 350,125 inhabitants, of whom 349,875 are Catholics, distributed among 267 parishes served by 282 diocesan priests and 94 religious; it has one seminary, 12 male and 39 female religious communities (Ann. Pont. 1953, p. 437).
It is the ancient Iberian Tude, mentioned by Strabo, Ptolemy, and Pomponius Mela. The diocese was founded in the 6th century, its first bishop being a certain Anila; it was destroyed during the Moorish invasion, the capital razed to the ground and its inhabitants dispersed. After the city was restored in 890 by King Ordoño, several bishops of Tuy are again found, but they must have resided elsewhere, since T. was the scene of continuous wars and invasions, such as that of the Normans in 1022.
The cathedral, dedicated to Maria S.ma Assunta, was begun in the 11th century in the style of Compostella, but subsequently underwent the influence of the Gothic style and was extensively restored. It has a
portal from the 14th century on the west side and a Romanesque one on the north; inside are numerous tombs of bishops from the 14th and 15th centuries; the adjoining cloister recalls that of Fontfroide Abbey, near Barbona. Its titular is the Assumption; s. Epitacio is also celebrated, whom legend would have as a disciple of the apostle s. Giacomo. Other churches are that of S. Bartolomeo, Romanesque; that of S. Francesco, Neoclassical, with remains of the original Gothic building; and the chapel of S. Pedro Telino (18th century), in Portuguese Baroque style; while the church of S. Domenico, with a Neoclassical façade and a cloister adorned with bas-reliefs, dates from the 14th century. The Seminary was founded in 1850 in the former Franciscan convent.
The city of Vigo, the most important Spanish port on the Atlantic, lies within the territory of the diocese. It was an ancient Iberian port, called Vicus by the Romans. The collegiate church of S. Maria is in the Neoclassical style (1814–16). Two kilometres south of the city rises Mount S. Tecla, so called from a chapel dedicated to the saint and a place of pilgrimage on the Monday before the Ascension. — Vedi tav. LXV.