Archdiocese of Valencia
Valentin(us)
Metropolitan see · Latin Church · Valencia, Spain
Latin rite metropolitan archdiocese on Spain's Mediterranean coast, restored as a diocese in 1238 after the Reconquista and elevated to archdiocese in 1492 by Pope Innocent VIII. Its suffragans are Ibiza, Majorca, Menorca, Orihuela-Alicante and Segorbe-Castellon. Its seat is the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady in Valencia, home of the Holy Chalice.
The see
- Rank
- Metropolitan see
- Tradition
- Latin Church
- Erected
- 1238
- Latin
- Valentin(us)
- Patron
- Virgen de los Desamparados
- Annuario code
- 001000065
The see in figures
- Catholics
- 3,030,000
- Population
- 3,213,000
- Catholic share
- 94.3%
- Priests
- 1,069
- Catholics per priest
- 2,834
- Extent
- 13,060 km²
- Catholics per km²
- 232
of the people living within its bounds
Figures as recorded in the register, from the Annuario Pontificio and the see's own published statements. Shares and ratios are computed from the two figures shown beside them.
The bishop
- Archbishop
- Enrique Benavent Vidal
- Born
- 15 October 1945
- Birthplace
- Utiel
A see whose chair stands empty is recorded as vacant rather than filled with a guess. On what a bishop is, see the bishop.
The cathedral
Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady, Valencia stands in Valencia, the church that holds the cathedra from which this see takes its name.
On what a cathedral is, see the cathedral; every see church on earth is gathered at the cathedrals.
The province of Valencia
This see is the metropolitan of its province.
The sees of this province:
- Diocese of IbizaIbiza
- Diocese of MallorcaMallorca
- Diocese of MenorcaMenorca
- Diocese of Orihuela-AlicanteOrihuela-Alicante
- Diocese of Segorbe-Castellón de la PlanaSegorbe-Castellón de la Plana
On how the Church is ordered into provinces, see the diocese.
History
At the head of the ecclesiastical province of Valencia stands the Archdiocese of Valencia (Latin: Archidioecesis Valentinus), a Latin Church diocese in north-eastern Spain, in the province of Valencia within the autonomous community of Valencia. Its metropolitan authority extends over the suffragan dioceses of Ibiza, Majorca, Minorca, Orihuela-Alicante and Segorbe-Castellón. The archbishops have their seat in Valencia Cathedral; in 2022 Enrique Benavent Vidal succeeded Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera as Archbishop of Valencia.
What is kept by invitation
The record above is published because it is public: what this see is, when it was erected, who holds its chair, and where it stands among its neighbours.
The working record is not. The chancery's address, telephone and email, the clergy of the see, and the hours of Mass, confession and adoration in the parishes within it are kept for members, and a person reads every request.
Sources
The see's own website · Wikipedia
This record is compiled from the published statements of the see and the references of the Holy See, among them the Annuario Pontificio. On the method, see the keeping of the record. Whoever finds an error is asked, in charity, to write: [email protected].