Roman Catholic Diocese of Portalegre-Castelo Branco

Diocese of Portalegre-Castelo Branco Dioecesis Portalegrensis-Castri Albi Diocese de Portalegre-Castelo Branco
Co-Cathedral of St Michael in Castelo Branco
Location
Country	Portugal
Ecclesiastical province	Lisbon
Metropolitan	Patriarchate of Lisbon
Statistics
Area	9,150 km2 (3,530 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics (including non-members)	(as of 2004) 250,541 248,923 (99.4%)
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	2 April 1550 (As Diocese of Portalegre) 18 July 1956 (As Diocese of Portalegre-Castelo Branco)
Cathedral	Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption in Portalegre
Co-cathedral	Cathedral of St Michael in Cathedral of Castelo Branco
Patron saint	St Augustine of Hippo
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Antonino Eugénio Fernandes Dias
Metropolitan Archbishop	Manuel III
Bishops emeritus	Augusto César Alves Ferreira da Silva Bishop Emeritus (1978-2004)
Map
Website
Website of the Diocese

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portalegre–Castelo Branco (Latin: Dioecesis Portalegrensis–Castri Albi) has carried this name since 1956, when the historical diocese of Portalegre was renamed. It is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Lisbon.^[1]

History[]

Portalegre was established as a see by Pope Julius III, in 1550, taking territory from the archdiocese of Évora and diocese of Guarda. Its first bishop was , a Spaniard, who was transferred to the diocese of Miranda in 1557. On 17 July 1560, succeeded to the diocese, but he was promoted to the diocese of Placencia in 1581. Frei , the next bishop, was a Carmelite and the author of a celebrated book of Dialogues;^[2] he resigned in 1582, and retired to the college of his order in Coimbra, where he remained till his death. Lopo Soares de Albergaria and Frei died before receiving the Bulls confirming their nomination.

, nephew of the Venerable and Bishop of Ceuta, became bishop in 1598, and died on 9 October 1614. Among the bishops of Portalegre during the seventeenth century was , an Englishman, who took possession of the see on 17 September 1671, and was subsequently transferred to the diocese of Vizeu.

In 1881 the territory of the Diocese of Castelo Branco and Diocese of Elvas was added, when these were suppressed.

was transferred from the diocese of Caboverde in 1909.^[3]

Ordinaries[]

Diocese of Portalegre[]

Erected: April 2, 1550

• (21 Aug 1549 – 5 Apr 1560 Appointed, Bishop of Miranda (do Douro))
• (5 Apr 1560 – 11 Sep 1581 Appointed, Bishop of Plasencia)
• , O. Carm. (30 Oct 1581 – 1598 Resigned)
• (16 Feb 1598 – 19 Oct 1614 Died)
• Rodrigo da Cunha (6 Jul 1615 Confirmed – 12 Nov 1618 Appointed, Bishop of Porto)
• (22 Apr 1619 – 7 Jun 1632 Appointed, Bishop of Guarda)
• (5 Jul 1632 – 22 Mar 1638 Appointed, Bishop of Coimbra)
• (1 Jul 1671 – 10 Sep 1685 Appointed, Bishop of Viseu)
• (1 Apr 1686 – 24 Mar 1692 Appointed, Bishop of Guarda)
• (24 Aug 1693 – 22 Mar 1706 Appointed, Bishop of Guarda)
• , O.SS.T. (1 Aug 1707 – 25 Apr 1709 Died)
• (26 Jan 1711 – 29 Mar 1737 Died)
• (19 Dec 1740 – 15 May 1748 Died)
• (15 Jul 1748 – 11 Nov 1765 Died)
• (6 Aug 1770 – 8 Mar 1773 Confirmed, Bishop of Guarda)
• (12 Jul 1773 – 22 Nov 1777 Died)
• (20 Jul 1778 – 7 Apr 1798 Died)
• , C.O. (13 Jun 1798 – 17 Jul 1826 Died)
• (24 Feb 1832 – 10 Nov 1833 Died)
• (9 Aug 1883 – 20 Nov 1884 Died)
• (30 Jul 1885 – 8 Sep 1887 Died)
• (1 Jun 1888 – 2 Nov 1908 Died)
• (29 Apr 1909 – 18 May 1915 Died)
• (9 Dec 1915 – 4 Jun 1920 Appointed, Coadjutor Archbishop of Évora)
• , O.P. (7 Dec 1920 – 6 Jul 1949 Died)
• António Ferreira Gomes (6 Jul 1949 – 13 Jul 1952 Appointed, Bishop of Porto)
• , C.S.Sp. (27 Dec 1952 – 25 Sep 1978 Resigned)

Diocese of Portalegre-Castelo Branco[]

Portalegre Cathedral

Name Changed: July 18, 1956

• Agostinho Joaquim Lopes de Moura, C.S.Sp.
• , C.M. (25 Sep 1978 – 22 Apr 2004 Resigned)
• (22 Apr 2004 – 8 Jan 2008 Appointed, Archbishop of Évora)
• (8 Sep 2008 Appointed – )

Notes[]

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Missing or empty |title= (help)