VALENCIA (VALENCIA), ARCHDIOCESE OF. – A city, capital of the homonymous province in Spain. The archdiocese covers an area of 10,755 sq. km., with a Catholic population of 1,700,000 inhabitants, distributed across 434 parishes served by 706 diocesan priests and 324 regular clergy; it has two seminaries, 47 male religious communities, and 275 female ones (*Ann. Pont. 1953*, p. 441).
The city is situated on a plain along the banks of the Turia or Gualvair River, 4 km from the sea, where the port known as Grao is located. An ancient Greek colony, then Carthaginian, later Roman: Pompey defeated Sertorio near the Turia. It was under Gothic rule from 413 to 714, then under Moorish rule until 1094, when it was conquered by El Cid, from whom it derived the name "Ciudad del Cid." After being retaken by the Moors a few years later, it became an independent kingdom. It was reconquered in 1238 by James I the Conqueror, King of Aragon. In 1808, Valencia rose against the French and was governed by Father Rico. It fell in 1812, and the French remained until June 5, 1813. It was involved in the revolutionary movements of 1868, 1869, and 1873; from 1932 to 1936 it suffered the destruction of churches and monasteries and was also the seat of the revolutionary government during the Civil War until March 28, 1939.
The Christian origins of Valencia are very obscure, and the first certain bishop is Justinian (531–546), praised by St. Isidore; then St. Eutropius from 596 to 608. After the Arab occupation, the first bishop was Ferrer de Pallarès (1240–1243), followed by Andreas de Albalate (1248–1276), who began the construction of the Cathedral; later Alfonso Borgia (1429–1455), who became pope under the name Callixtus III. Valencia was originally a suffragan see of Toledo, then of Tarragona. In 1458 it was elevated to a metropolitan see with Segorbe and Majorca as suffragans; in 1564 Orihuela was added, in 1782 Ibiza, and in 1795 Minorca.
The first archbishop was Rodrigo Borgia (1458–1492), who later became Pope Alexander VI, succeeded—though not resident—by members of the same family: Cesare (1492–1498), Giovanni (1499–1500), and Pietro (1500–1511). Later notable figures include St. Thomas of Villanova, founder of the eponymous college; Martín Pérez (1564–1566); the Blessed John De Ribera (1568–1611), founder of the *Corpus Christi* College and promoter of Eucharistic devotion; Tomás Ricaberti (1676–1699); Andrés Mayoral (1738–1769); and Antonio Despuig y Dameto (1795–1796), later a cardinal.
The Cathedral, known as *la Seo*, is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin; it stands on the site of the ancient Roman temple of Diana, later a Gothic church (San Salvador), then a mosque transformed by El Cid in 1095 into a church in honor of St. Peter, which James I the Conqueror dedicated in 1238 to the Blessed Virgin. Construction began in 1262 and was completed at the end of the 14th century. The Gothic interior was transformed between 1674 and 1774. The grand Baroque southern portal was erected in 1703 by C. Rudolf, with statues by Vergara the Elder (1713). The Romanesque portal of the 13th century with multiple arches and six columns, known as the *Porta del Palau de l'Almoyna*, leads into the right transept; the left transept is accessed via the Gothic *Porta dels Apostols* of 1354, restored in the 15th century. Above it is a large rose window. At the crossing stands an octagonal *ciborium* with two tiers of Gothic windows closed by alabaster panes (late 14th century). In the central nave, at the choir screen, is an alabaster bas-relief by Giuliano da Firenze (1417–1424) depicting biblical scenes. In the *Capilla Mayor*, the main altar of 1498 was redone in 1682; the statue of the *Madonna and Child* is by Vergari and comes from the Charterhouse of Porta Caeli. In the left nave is the old *Sala Capitular* from 1388, which has housed since 1428 a chalice carved from a green emerald oriental agate, a gift from Alfonso V of Aragon. The base of the chalice is certainly not very recent, while the cup appears very ancient. Popular devotion calls it *the Holy Chalice* and identifies it with the one used at the Last Supper. In the *Capilla Mayor* is the tomb of Archbishop Martín de Ayala (1496). In the sacristy is the modern chapter hall and the Treasury, which preserves a chasuble of Alexander VI. Outside, the octagonal tower is 60 m high (1381–1429), known as the Miguelete or *el Micalet* from the great bell placed there on St. Michael’s Day in 1418. Adjacent to the Cathedral is the Archbishop’s Palace.
In Plaza de la Virgen is the *Capilla de Nuestra*