Roman Catholic Diocese of Lamego

The Diocese of Lamego (Latin: Dioecesis Lamacensis) is a Roman Catholic diocese in Portugal.[1][2]

Diocese of Lamego

Dioecesis Lamacensis

Diocese de Lamego
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption
Location
Country Portugal
Ecclesiastical provinceBraga
MetropolitanArchdiocese of Braga
Statistics
Area2,848 km2 (1,100 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics		(as of 2013)
160,700
157,500 (98.0%)
Information
DenominationRoman Catholic
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
Established569
CathedralCathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
BishopAntónio José da Rocha Couto, SMP
Metropolitan ArchbishopJorge IV
Bishops emeritusJacinto Tomás de Carvalho Botelho Bishop Emeritus (2000-2011)
Map
Website
http://www.diocese-lamego.pt

History

Lamego became Catholic when the Visigothic king Reccared I converted to Catholicism. According to local tradition, the city of Lamego received the Gospel from either St. James the Greater or St. Paul. Some Portuguese authorities name St. Peter of Rates as the first Bishop of Lamego during the middle of the 1st century,[3] and later the first Bishop of Braga, purportedly appointed by St. James, though this theory is probably a myth, given that it is proven that St. James was celebrating Easter in Jerusalem precisely the same year.

The true origins of the diocese start with Bishop Sardinário (or Sardinarius), whose signature from the Second Council of Braga in 572 exists among the suffragan bishops of Archbishop Martin of Braga. Just three years before this, at the Council of Lugo in 569, several new dioceses were created. Hence, it is very likely that the Diocese of Lamego was established between 569 and 572.[3] Very little about the diocese's early history. Some of the early bishops' names are known, but nearly nothing else: Philippus (c. 580-89), Profuturus (c. 630-38), Witaricus (c. 646), and Filimirus (653-56).[3]

From 693 to 876 it is unknown who the bishops of Lamego were. Upon the Moorish invasion in 714, the Bishop of Lamego was forced to flee to the region of Asturias in the northern Iberian Peninsula.[3] In 876, the first known Bishop of Lamego in nearly 200 years is Argimirus, who was still reigning as late as 899, when he partook in the consecration of the cathedral of Compostela. Argimirus was known to have resided in the Diocese of Lamego, but it is uncertain whether other bishops of Lamego actually stayed in the city. It is likely that they were only titular bishops after the invasion, especially because the Moors destroyed the city in 982.[3]

Ferdinand the Great of León recaptured the city in 1057 and the Diocese of Lamego was able to function normally again. Despite this, for several decades, the seat of the bishop appears to have been empty for several decades around the late 11th century and early 12th century. In 1143, King Alfonso I of Portugal reestablished the Diocese of Lamego and Mend Godinus, an Augustinian friar, became the new bishop.[3]

On 30 September 1881, Pope Leo XIII by the Bull "Gravissimum" placed the Diocese of Lamego under the metropolitan of the Archdiocese of Braga.[3]

As of 1909, the Diocese of Lamego had 273,741 inhabitants, almost entirely Catholic, 283 parishes, 283 parish churches, 1144 public chapels, 314 diocesan priests, one secondary school for boys run by Benedictines; two convents of Franciscan nuns, and one convent of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny.[3]

Ordinaries
  • Sardinário (c. 569 — 572)
  • Philippus (c. 580 — 589)
  • Profuturus (c. 630 —638)
  • Witaricus (c. 646)
  • Filimirus (c. 653 — 656)
  • Argimirus (c. 876 — 899)
  • Brandericus
  • Pantaleon
  • Jacobus
  • Peter (c. 1071)
  • Mend Godinus, OSA (1143 — 1176)
  • Alfonso das Asturias (14 February 1302 — 3 November 1306)
  • Diego Fernandi (3 November 1306 — 14 May 1311)
  • Martin Pedro (24 September 1477 — 1478)
  • Antonio Pallavicini Gentili (26 March 1492 — 20 March 1493)
  • Fernando de Menezes Coutinho e Vasconcellos (26 August 1513 — 24 September 1540)
  • Agostinho Ribeiro (1540 — 24 March 1549)
  • Simão de Sá Pereira (28 February 1575 — 13 November 1579)
  • Martim Afonso de Melo (19 July 1599 — October 1613)
  • Martin Alphonso Mexia de Tovar (1 June 1615 — 2 December 1619)
  • João de Lencastre (21 July 1622 — 13 January 1626)
  • João Coutinho (14 June 1627 — 3 December 1635)
  • Miguel de Portugal (14 May 1636 — 13 January 1644)
  • Luís de Sousa (15 December 1670 — 8 February 1677)
  • Luís da Silva Teles, OSST (8 March 1677 — 9 April 1685)
  • José de Menezes (14 May 1685 — 10 March 1692)
  • António Vasconcelos e Sousa (15 October 1692 — 14 December 1705)
  • Tomás de Almeida (6 December 1706 — 22 July 1709)
  • Nuno Álvares Pereira de Melo (7 May 1710 — 8 May 1733)
  • Manuel Coutinho (2 January 1741 — 7 August 1742)
  • Feliciano de Nossa Senhora (26 November 1742 — 15 April 1771)
  • Nicolau Joaquim Torel da Cunha Manuel (17 June 1771 — 26 July 1772)
  • Manuel de Vasconcellos Pereira (10 November 1772 — 29 January 1786)
  • João António Binet Pincio (24 July 1786 — 19 September 1821)
  • José de Jesus Maria Pinto, CRSA (24 September 1821 — 6 March 1826)
  • José da Assunção Vieira, OFM (29 July 1833 — 18 November 1841)
  • José de Moura Coutinho (22 January 1844 — 3 October 1861)
  • Antonio da Trindade de Vasconcellos Pereira de Melo (1 October 1863 — 19 November 1895)
  • Antonio Tomas da Silva Leitão e Castro (19 November 1895 — 3 December 1901)
  • Francisco José Ribeiro de Vieira e Brito (8 January 1902 — 12 July 1935)
  • Agostinho de Jesus e Souza (12 July 1935 — 16 May 1942)
  • Ernesto Sena de Oliveira (15 June 1944 — 29 October 1948)
  • João da Silva Campos Neves (29 October 1948 — 2 February 1971)
  • Américo Henriques (2 February 1971 — 19 February 1972)
  • António de Castro Xavier Monteiro (1 July 1972 — 5 January 1995)
  • Américo do Couto Oliveira (5 January 1995 — 2 December 1998)
  • Jacinto Tomás de Carvalho Botelho (20 January 2000 — 19 November 2011)
  • António José da Rocha Couto, SMP (19 November 2011 — present )

Demographics
Statistics[4]
Year Population Priests Permanent

Deacons

 Religious Parishes
Catholics Total % Diocesan Religious Total Catholics per Priest Male Female
1909[3] Almost entire pop. 273,741 - 314 - 314+ ≈872 - - - 283
1949 224,398 224,969 99.7 215 9 224 1,001 - 11 58 217
1970 220,112 220,114 100.0 191 13 204 1,078 - 15 94 221
1980 230,500 235,600 97.8 162 16 178 1,294 - 18 86 223
1990 171,280 172,000 99.6 171 15 186 920 - 15 79 223
1999 147,250 148,547 99.1 157 11 168 876 - 12 82 223
2000 146,826 148,123 99.1 151 11 162 906 - 12 79 223
2001 143,470 144,727 99.1 141 10 151 950 - 11 80 223
2002 142,926 144,218 99.1 143 10 153 934 2 11 79 223
2003 145,378 147,608 98.5 146 11 157 925 2 12 76 223
2004 159,758 162,297 98.4 147 9 156 1,024 2 10 70 223
2013 157,500 160,700 98.0 127 6 133 1,184 1 6 57 223
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References
  1. "Diocese of Lamego". Catholic Hierarchy.
  2. "Lamego". Catholic Encyclopedia.
  3. "Diocese of Lamego | Catholic Answers". www.catholic.com. Retrieved 2015-12-04.
  4. "Lamego (Diocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2015-12-04.


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