Roman Catholic Diocese of Guadix

Statistics

The modern diocese of Guadix comprises the greater part of the Province of Granada and a portion of the Province of Almería. As per 2014, it pastorally served 102,000 Catholics (97.3% of 104,871 total) on 5,677 km² in 74 parishes and 67 missions with 58 priests (55 diocesan, 3 religious), 114 lay religious (8 brothers, 106 sisters) and 4 seminarians.

Bishopric of Acci

The first bishopric was established in 47 AD. The legend of the Seven Apostolic Men, preserved in the Mozarabic Missal, places the episcopal see of St. Torquatus (bishop from 47), one of the seven, in Ancient Acci, now called Guadix el Viejo, 6 km northwest of the modern city of Guadix, where the matron Luparia built a baptistery and primitive church. From then until 303, when Felix presided at the Council of Elvira, no record is preserved of the Accitanian bishops. However one names one called Atanasia and one Emiliano (136? – ?)

Liliolus attended the Third Council of Toledo in 589, and the names of the Accitanian bishops are to be found among those who attended the other Toletan councils; Clarencius at the fourth and fifth; Justus at the sixth; Julian at the eighth; Magnarius at the ninth and tenth; and Ricila, the last bishop whose name has come down to us before the Muslim invasion, at subsequent ones.

In 741 it was suppressed, due to the Moorish conquest of Andalusia.

In the Mozarabic period the diocese of Acci continued to exist. Isidorus Pacensis mentions Frodoarius, who presided seven years over the see. Quiricus assisted at the Council of Córdoba in 839.

The Almohades, in the 12th century, destroyed this together with the other Andalusian sees.

Titular see of Acci

By right of postliminium, the apostolic rank possessed by the see of Acci previous to the Islamic invasion is attributed to that of Guadix. The Annuario Pontificio gives the date of foundation of the diocese of Guadix as 1st century. It also lists the ancient see of Acci as a titular see (one that no longer has a diocesan bishop), thus distinguishing it from the bishopric of Guadix, so there are two parallel titles and lists of incumbents.

Since the Ancient diocese was nominally restored in 1969 as Titular bishopric of Acci, Latin adjective Accitan(us), it has had the following incumbents, so far all of the fitting Episcopal (lowest) rank, including an Eastern Catholic:

Bishopric of Guadix

An effective diocese was not restored until the time of the Catholic sovereigns. Cardinal Pedro González de Mendoza, Archbishop of Toledo, erected the new see of Guadix on 21 May 1492, in virtue of the Apostolic commission of Innocent VIII granted on 4 August 1486. It comprised the territory of the old dioceses of Acci and Basti. The collegiate church at Baza, the new name of Basti, was reluctant to accept rule from Guadix. As a compromise, the collegiate church was given authority, under the bishop, over twelve parishes, and the name of the bishopric was changed to Diocese Guadix-Baza, indicating a union of two dioceses under a single bishop. This continued until 1851, when the collegiate church became a simple parish church and the diocese resumed the name of Diocese of Guadix.

In 1957 it lost territory to the Diocese of Almeria.

Bishops of Guadix