Diocese of Coimbra Dioecesis Conimbricensis Diocese de Coimbra | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
| Country | Portugal |
| Ecclesiastical province | Braga |
| Metropolitan | Archdiocese of Braga |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 5,300 km2 (2,000 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics | (as of 2016) 548,000 (est.) 500,000 (est.) (91.2%) |
| Parishes | 269 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Established | 563 |
| Cathedral | Cathedral of the Holy Name of Jesus in Coimbra |
| Patron saint | St Augustine of Hippo |
| Secular priests | 125 (diocesan) 35 (Religious Orders) 13 Permanent Deacons |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Bishop | Virgílio do Nascimento Antunes[1] |
| Metropolitan Archbishop | Jorge Ferreira da Costa Ortiga |
| Map | |
 Map showing the jurisdiction of Portuguese dioceses (Diocese of Coimbra is located at the bottom of the section coloured orange) | |
| Website | |
| Website of the Diocese of Coimbra | |
The Diocese of Coimbra (Latin: Dioecesis Conimbricensis) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Coimbra, Portugal.[2] It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Braga.[3]
From 1472, the bishop of Coimbra held the comital title of Count of Arganil, being thus called Bishop-Count (Portuguese: Bispo-Conde).
The first known bishop was Lucentius, who participated in the first council of Braga (563),[4] the metropolitan See of Coimbra, until the latter was attached to the ecclesiastical province of Mérida (650–62). Titular bishops of Coimbra continued the succession under the Islamic conquest, one of whom witnessed the consecration of the church of Santiago de Compostela in 876.
The see was re-established in 1088, after the reconquest of the city of Coimbra by the Christian forces of Sisnando Davides (1064). The first bishop of the new series was Martin.[5] In the midst of the difficulties of restoring the Church in Portugal in the wake of the request of the country from the Arabs, Bishop Mauricio Burdino applied to Pope Paschal II and obtained a bull Apostolicae Sedis (24 March 1101),[6] assuring him of the possession of the old territory of his diocese, including parts which were once part of the diocese as they are reconquered from the Moors and the Arabs. He also assigned the bishop, for the time being, the territories of the vacant bishoprics of Lamego and Viseu, until such time as they could have their own bishops; and the territory and parishes of the Villa Vacaricia, which had been given by Count Raymond to the Diocese of Coimbra.[7]
From 1139 Coimbra was the capital of the kingdom of Portugal and a principal beneficiary of the generosity of its kings, until the seat of government was moved to Lisbon in 1260. Among the more famous bishops have been Pedro (1300), chancellor of King Dinis; João Galvão, who was granted the title of Conde de Arganil for himself and his successors, on 25 September 1472 by King Alfonso V, in gratitude for his service in the conquest of Arzila and Tangier; and Manuel de Menezes (1573–78), former rector of the University of Coimbra from 1556 to 1560,[8] who fell with King Sebastian in the Battle of Alcácer Quibir on 4 August 1578.
The University of Coimbra, the only university in Portugal until the 20th century, was founded in 1290, but in Lisbon, not in Coimbra. A papal bull was obtained from Pope Nicholas IV,[9] and King Dinis I carried out the act of establishment. It was not until 1308 that the university was moved to Coimbra, due principally to the hostility of the people of Lisbon, though in 1338 it moved back. In 1354 the university returned to Coimbra, and in 1377 was established back in Lisbon. The university remained in Lisbon until King John III moved it back to Coimbra permanently in 1537. The involvement of the bishops of Coimbra in the affairs of the university was therefore intermittent and superficial, at least until the second half of the sixteenth century. Then they protected its medieval and Catholic character with zeal. One bishop, Miguel da Anunciação, spent eight years in prison for defying the efforts of the government to modernize the educational system of Portugal's university.[10]
The Old Cathedral of Coimbra, built in the first half of the 12th century, partly at the expense of Bishop Miguel and his chapter, is a remarkable monument of Romanesque architecture. The architect was Robert of Clermont. It was dedicated to the Assumption of the Body of the Virgin Mary into Heaven.[11] The new cathedral, a Renaissance church built in 1580 as a church for its adjacent Jesuit college, is another important monument. The episcopal palace was built in the 18th century. The cathedral was administered by a chapter, whose eight dignities (not dignitaries) included: the dean, the cantor, the scholasticus, the treasurer, and the three archdeacons (Coimbra, Sena). There were twenty-one canons.[12]
The most important monastery in the diocese is Santa Cruz Monastery, founded in 1131 by Afonso Henriques,[13] and for some time the most important in the kingdom by reason of its wealth and privileges.[14] Its prior was authorized, or so it was claimed, by Anastasius IV[15] and Celestine III[16] to wear the episcopal insignia.
The Academic Center of Christian Democracy is an association of Christian inspiration, belonging to the Diocese of Coimbra, which provides support to university students, who study in the University of Coimbra. The directorate of the association is composed almost entirely of tenured professors and doctors at the university. Notable members have included include António de Oliveira Salazar, Prime Minister (1932–1968) and dictator of Portugal.[17]
