Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lisbon
Encyclopedia
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. Erected as the Diocese of Lisbon in the 4th Century, the Diocese was elevated to an Archdiocese in 1392. In 1716, the Archdiocese was elevated to a Patriarchal See
Patriarchate
A patriarchate is the office or jurisdiction of a patriarch. A patriarch, as the term is used here, is either* one of the highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, earlier, the five that were included in the Pentarchy: Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, but now nine,...
, one of the very few in all of the Catholic Church.
The Archdiocese is the metropolitan of 7 suffragan dioceses: Angra
Roman Catholic Diocese of Angra
The Roman Catholic diocese of Angra is in the Azores, Portugal. The episcopal see of the Azores, created in 1534 by Pope Paul III, has a bishop who is a suffragan of the patriarch of Lisbon, Cardinal José da Cruz Policarpo, of the archdiocese of Lisbon. It was vacant from 1637 to 1671...
, Guarda, Leiria-Fátima
Roman Catholic Diocese of Leiria-Fátima
The Portuguese Catholic Diocese of Leiria–Fátima has existed under this name since 1984, the diocese of Leiria being renamed in that year. It is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Lisbon....
, Portalegre-Castelo Branco
Roman Catholic Diocese of Portalegre-Castelo Branco
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portalegre–Castelo Branco has carried this name since 1956, when the historical diocese of Portalegre was renamed. It is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Lisbon.-History:...
, Santarém
Roman Catholic Diocese of Santarém, Portugal
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Santarém is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Portugal. Erected in 1975, the diocese is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Lisbon. Its see at Santarém is north-east of Lisbon....
, Setúbal
Roman Catholic Diocese of Setúbal
The Portuguese Catholic Diocese of Setúbal has existed since 1975. It is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Lisbon. Its see at Setúbal is south of Lisbon. , the bishop is Gilberto Délio Gonçalves Canavarro dos Reis, who was appointed in 1998.-External links:...
.
The current Patriarch is Cardinal José da Cruz Policarpo, appointed in March 1998.
The see and its history
The diocese of LisbonLisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
was created in the 4th century, but it lay vacant after 716 when the city was captured by the Moors
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
, even if there are references to Mozarab
Mozarab
The Mozarabs were Iberian Christians who lived under Arab Islamic rule in Al-Andalus. Their descendants remained unconverted to Islam, but did however adopt elements of Arabic language and culture...
ic bishops, of the Mozarabic Rite
Mozarabic Rite
The Mozarabic, Visigothic, or Hispanic Rite is a form of Catholic worship within the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, and in the Spanish Reformed Episcopal Church . Its beginning dates to the 7th century, and is localized in the Iberian Peninsula...
, in that period. The diocese was restored when the city was recaptured by Afonso I of Portugal
Afonso I of Portugal
Afonso I or Dom Afonso Henriques , more commonly known as Afonso Henriques , nicknamed "the Conqueror" , "the Founder" or "the Great" by the Portuguese, and El-Bortukali and Ibn-Arrik by the Moors whom he fought, was the first King of Portugal...
during the Second Crusade
Second Crusade
The Second Crusade was the second major crusade launched from Europe. The Second Crusade was started in response to the fall of the County of Edessa the previous year to the forces of Zengi. The county had been founded during the First Crusade by Baldwin of Boulogne in 1098...
in 1147 in the siege of Lisbon
Siege of Lisbon
The Siege of Lisbon, from July 1 to October 25, 1147, was the military action that brought the city of Lisbon under definitive Portuguese control and expelled its Moorish overlords. The Siege of Lisbon was one of the few Christian victories of the Second Crusade—it was "the only success of the...
. It was elevated first to an archdiocese on November 10, 1394, and then to a patriarchal see on November 7, 1716.
There are over two million people living in 282 parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
es within the see, 85% of whom are nominally Catholic. The suffragan dioceses of the see are Angra, Funchal
Funchal
Funchal is the largest city, the municipal seat and the capital of Portugal's Autonomous Region of Madeira. The city has a population of 112,015 and has been the capital of Madeira for more than five centuries.-Etymology:...
, Guarda
Guarda, Portugal
Guarda is a city in Guarda Municipality, Portugal. The city has a population of 32 111Guarda was founded in 1199 by the second king of Portugal, Sancho I....
, Leiria
Leiria
Leiria is a city in Leiria Municipality in the Centro Region, Portugal. It is the capital of Leiria District. The city proper has 50,200 inhabitants and the entire municipality has nearly 120,000...
-Fátima
Fátima, Portugal
Fátima is a city in Portugal famous for the Marian apparitions, recognized by the Catholic Church, that took place there in 1917. The town itself has a population of 7,756 and is located in the municipality of Ourém, in the Centro Region and Médio Tejo Subregion...
, Portalegre-Castelo Branco
Castelo Branco, Portugal
The city of Castelo Branco is made up of one parish with a population of 30,649.It is located in Castelo Branco Municipality in Castelo Branco District.-History and landmarks:...
, Santarém
Santarém, Portugal
Santarém is a city in the Santarém Municipality in Portugal. The city itself has a population of 28,760 and the entire municipality has 64,124 inhabitants.It is the capital of Santarém District....
, and Setúbal
Setúbal
Setúbal is the main city in Setúbal Municipality in Portugal with a total area of 172.0 km² and a total population of 118,696 inhabitants in the municipality. The city proper has 89,303 inhabitants....
. The former diocese of Silves, comprising the Algarve, and currently , was only transferred from the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
province of Sevilla in 1393.
One of the others Portuguese archbishoprics, Braga in the north, is older: 1104, and claimed to be the primate over all Portugal and northwest Spain (including Santiago archbishopric).
Ordinaries
- Miguel de Castro (1586-1625), also bishop of Viseu
- Afonso (III) Furtado de Mendonça (1626-1630)
- João (III) Manoel (1632-1633)
- Rodrigo da Cunha (1635-1643)
- António de Mendonça (1670-1675)
- Luís de SousaLuís de SousaFrei Luís de Sousa , Portuguese monk and prose-writer, was born at Santarém, a member of the noble family of Sousa Coutinho.-Capture and release:...
(1675-1702), cardinal - João (IV) de Sousa (1703-1710), also Archbishop of Braga
- Tomás de Almeida (1716-1754)
- José (I) Manoel da Câmara (1754-1758)
- Francisco de Saldanha da GamaFrancisco de Saldanha da GamaDom Francisco I de Saldanha da Gama was the third cardinal patriarch of Lisbon .He studied canon law at Coimbra and was appointed a cardinal by Pope Benedict XIV in 1756, and named Patriarch of Lisbon on July 25, 1758...
(Francisco I) (1758-1776) - Fernando de Sousa da Silva (1779-1786)
- José (II) Francisco Miguel António de Mendoça (1786-1818)
- Carlos da Cunha e Menezes (1819-1825)
- Patrício da Silva (1826-1840)
- Francisco (II) de São Luís (Francisco Justiniano) Saraiva (1840-1845)
- Guilherme Henriques de Carvalho (1845-1857)
- Manuel Bento Rodrigues da Silva (Manuel I), cardinal (1858-1869)
- Inácio do Nascimento de Morais CardosoInácio do Nascimento de Morais CardosoDom Inácio do Nascimento de Morais Cardoso was a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and was former Patriarch of Lisbon....
, cardinal (1871-1883) - José Sebastião de Almeida NetoJosé Sebastião de Almeida NetoDom José III Sebastião de Almeida Neto was a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and Patriarch of Lisbon....
(José III), cardinal (1883-1907) - António Mendes Bello (António I), cardinal (1907-1929)
- Manuel Gonçalves CerejeiraManuel Gonçalves CerejeiraDom Manuel II Gonçalves Cerejeira, GCC was a Portuguese cardinal, who served as cardinal-patriarch of Lisbon, from 1929 to 1971...
(Manuel II), cardinal (1929-1971) - António RibeiroAntónio RibeiroDom António II Ribeiro was a Portuguese Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, who was Patriarch of Lisbon from 1971 until his death in 1998....
(António II), cardinal (1971-1998) - José da Cruz Policarpo (José IV), cardinal (1998-Present)
Sources, References and External links
- Giga-Catholic Information
- Patriarch of Lisbon at catholic-hierarchy.org
- Official website (in Portuguese)
- Westermann, Großer Atlas zur Weltgeschichte