Diocese of Funchal
Funchalen(sis)
Suffragan diocese · Latin Church · Funchal, Portugal
The Diocese of Funchal is a Latin rite see covering the Madeira archipelago of Portugal, erected in 1514 and suffragan to the Patriarchate of Lisbon. It was briefly an archdiocese from 1533 to 1551 and is led by Bishop Nuno Brás da Silva Martins, who took office in 2019.
The see
- Rank
- Suffragan diocese
- Tradition
- Latin Church
- Erected
- 12 January 1514
- Latin
- Funchalen(sis)
- Patron
- Saint James the Less
- Annuario code
- 001001451
The see in figures
- Catholics
- 250,300
- Population
- 261,802
- Catholic share
- 95.6%
- Priests
- 73
- Catholics per priest
- 3,429
- Extent
- 800 km²
- Catholics per km²
- 313
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
- Bishop
- Nuno Brás da Silva Martins
- Born
- 12 May 1963
- Birthplace
- Vimeiro
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 of Our Lady of the Assumption, Funchal stands in Funchal, 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 Lisbon
A suffragan of Lisbon.
The sees of this province:
- Diocese of AngraAngra
- Diocese of GuardaGuarda
- Diocese of Leiria–FátimaLeiria–Fátima
- Diocese of LisboaLisboa
- Diocese of Portalegre–Castelo BrancoPortalegre–Castelo Branco
- Diocese of SantarémSantarém
- Diocese of SetúbalSetúbal
On how the Church is ordered into provinces, see the diocese.
History
The Diocese of Funchal (Latin: Dioecesis Funchalensis), a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory of the Catholic Church in Portugal, traces its origin to 12 June 1514, when Pope Leo X created it by the papal bull Pro excellenti præeminentia. This followed the elevation of Funchal from a village to city status by King Manuel I of Portugal (Royal Decree of 21 August 1508). The diocese was a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Lisbon.
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].