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<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <title>CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Mondonedo</title><script src="https://dtyry4ejybx0.cloudfront.net/js/cmp/cleanmediacmp.js?ver=0104" async="true"></script><script defer data-domain="newadvent.org" src="https://plausible.io/js/script.js"></script><link rel="canonical" href="https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10477a.htm"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> <meta name="description" content="It comprises the civil Provinces of Lugo and Corunna, and is bounded on the north by the Bay of Biscay, on the east by the Austurias, on the south by the Diocese of Lugo, and on the west by the Archdiocese of Compostela (or Santiago de Galicia), of which it has been a suffragan since 1114"> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="RSS" href="http://feeds.newadvent.org/bestoftheweb?format=xml"><link rel="icon" href="../images/icon1.ico" type="image/x-icon"><link rel="shortcut icon" href="../images/icon1.ico" type="image/x-icon"><meta name="robots" content="noodp"><link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="../utility/screen6.css" media="screen"></head> <body class="cathen" id="10477a.htm">  <br/> <div id="capitalcity"><table summary="Logo" cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 width="100%"><tr valign="bottom"><td align="left"><a href="../"><img height=36 width=153 border="0" alt="New Advent" src="../images/logo.gif"></a></td><td align="right"> <form id="searchbox_000299817191393086628:ifmbhlr-8x0" action="../utility/search.htm">  <input type="hidden" name="safe" value="active"> <input type="hidden" name="cx" value="000299817191393086628:ifmbhlr-8x0"/> <input type="hidden" name="cof" value="FORID:9"/>  <label for="searchQuery" id="searchQueryLabel">Search:</label> <input id="searchQuery" name="q" type="text" size="25" aria-labelledby="searchQueryLabel"/>  <label for="submitButton" id="submitButtonLabel" class="visually-hidden">Submit Search</label> <input id="submitButton" type="submit" name="sa" value="Search" aria-labelledby="submitButtonLabel"/> </form> <table summary="Spacer" cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0><tr><td height="2"></td></tr></table> <table summary="Tabs" cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0><tr> <td bgcolor="#ffffff"></td> <td class="tab"><a class="tab_color_on_beige" href="../"> Home </a></td> <td class="tab"><a class="tab_white_on_color" href="../cathen/index.html"> Encyclopedia </a></td> <td class="tab"><a class="tab_color_on_beige" href="../summa/index.html"> Summa </a></td> <td class="tab"><a class="tab_color_on_beige" href="../fathers/index.html"> Fathers </a></td> <td class="tab"><a class="tab_color_on_beige" href="../bible/gen001.htm"> Bible </a></td> <td class="tab"><a class="tab_color_on_beige" href="../library/index.html"> Library </a></td> </tr></table> </td> </tr></table><table summary="Alphabetical index" width="100%" cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0><tr><td class="bar_white_on_color"> <a href="../cathen/a.htm"> A </a><a href="../cathen/b.htm"> B </a><a href="../cathen/c.htm"> C </a><a href="../cathen/d.htm"> D </a><a href="../cathen/e.htm"> E </a><a href="../cathen/f.htm"> F </a><a href="../cathen/g.htm"> G </a><a href="../cathen/h.htm"> H </a><a href="../cathen/i.htm"> I </a><a href="../cathen/j.htm"> J </a><a href="../cathen/k.htm"> K </a><a href="../cathen/l.htm"> L </a><a href="../cathen/m.htm"> M </a><a href="../cathen/n.htm"> N </a><a href="../cathen/o.htm"> O </a><a href="../cathen/p.htm"> P </a><a href="../cathen/q.htm"> Q </a><a href="../cathen/r.htm"> R </a><a href="../cathen/s.htm"> S </a><a href="../cathen/t.htm"> T </a><a href="../cathen/u.htm"> U </a><a href="../cathen/v.htm"> V </a><a href="../cathen/w.htm"> W </a><a href="../cathen/x.htm"> X </a><a href="../cathen/y.htm"> Y </a><a href="../cathen/z.htm"> Z </a> </td></tr></table></div> <div id="mobilecity" style="text-align: center; "><a href="../"><img height=24 width=102 border="0" alt="New Advent" src="../images/logo.gif"></a></div>  <div id="mi5"><span class="breadcrumbs"><a href="../">Home</a> > <a href="../cathen">Catholic Encyclopedia</a> > <a href="../cathen/m.htm">M</a> > Diocese of Mondoñedo</span></div> <div id="springfield2"> <div class='catholicadnet-728x90' id='cathen-728x90-top' style='display: flex; height: 100px; align-items: center; justify-content: center; '></div> <h1>Diocese of Mondoñedo</h1> <p><em><a href="https://gumroad.com/l/na2"><strong>Please help support the mission of New Advent</strong> and get the full contents of this website as an instant download. Includes the Catholic Encyclopedia, Church Fathers, Summa, Bible and more  all for only $19.99...</a></em></p> <p>(Latin MONDUMETUM, or MINDON, MINDONIENSIS, also BRITONIENSIS, DUMIENSIS, and VILLABRIENSIS)</p> <p>It comprises the civil Provinces of <a href="../cathen/09417b.htm">Lugo</a> and Corunna, and is bounded on the north by the Bay of Biscay, on the east by the Austurias, on the south by the <a href="../cathen/09417b.htm">Diocese of Lugo</a>, and on the west by the <a href="../cathen/04187b.htm">Archdiocese of Compostela</a> (or Santiago de Galicia), of which it has been a suffragan since 1114. Some authorities have sought to fix the <a href="../cathen/04636c.htm">date</a> of the foundation of this <a href="../cathen/05001a.htm">diocese</a> (under its primitive name of Britonia) earlier than the second half of the sixth century, but the later date seems the more probable when we consider that, at the Second Council of <a href="../cathen/02728a.htm">Braga</a> (572), Mailoc, <a href="../cathen/02581b.htm">Bishop</a> of Britonia, was ranked lowest because of the more recent origin of his <a href="../cathen/05001a.htm">see</a>. It seems to have been founded by the Suevian king, Theodomir, converted to <a href="../cathen/03449a.htm">Catholicism</a> by St. Martin of Dumio (see <a href="../cathen/09731b.htm">SAINT MARTIN OF BRAGA</a>) and to have included in its <a href="../cathen/08567a.htm">jurisdiction</a> the Churches of the Britones (a territory coinciding with that of Mondoñedo) and some of those of the Asturias. In the beginning it was a suffragan of <a href="../cathen/09417b.htm">Lugo</a>, until the <a href="../cathen/11347d.htm">Goths</a> placed Lugo under the <a href="../cathen/08567a.htm">jurisdiction</a> of <a href="../cathen/02728a.htm">Braga</a>. After Mailoc no mention is found of the <a href="../cathen/02581b.htm">bishops</a> of Britonia for a long time, doubtless because the great distance from Toledo made it impossible for them to assist at the councils. In 633 Metopius, <a href="../cathen/02581b.htm">Bishop</a> of Britonia, assisted at the Fourth Council of Toledo, presided over by <a href="../cathen/08186a.htm">St. Isidore</a>. Sonna, his successor, was one of the <a href="../cathen/02581b.htm">bishops</a> who signed at the Seventh Council of Toledo (646) and sent a representative to the Eighth Council of Toledo (16 December, 653). When Britonia was invaded and destroyed by the <a href="../cathen/10424a.htm">Saracens</a>, the <a href="../cathen/02581b.htm">bishop</a> and <a href="../cathen/12406a.htm">priests</a> took refuge in Asturias. In 899, during the reign of Alfonso III, Theodesimus, <a href="../cathen/02581b.htm">Bishop</a> of Britonia assisted with other <a href="../cathen/12386b.htm">prelates</a> at the <a href="../cathen/04276a.htm">consecration</a> of the church of Santiago. It may also be noted that, in the repartition of the <a href="../cathen/11499b.htm">parishes</a>, the church of San Pedro de Nova was assigned as the residence of the <a href="../cathen/02581b.htm">bishops</a> of Britonia and Orense, when they should come to assist at the councils of <a href="../cathen/11363a.htm">Oviedo</a>. By that time, however, the See of Britonia had been translated to the town of Mondumetum and the <a href="../cathen/03041a.htm">church</a> of St. Martin of Dumio, or Mondoñedo. The <a href="../cathen/05001a.htm">diocese</a> has since been most generally known by this name, although the episcopal residence has again changed. After the time of St. Martin it was transferred to Villamayor de Brea, from which it derived the name of Villabriensis, and afterwards to Ribadeo, but it was nevertheless known as Mindoniense, as a document of the year 1199 bears witness. At first, its patron was <a href="../cathen/09732b.htm">St. Martin of Tours</a>, but St. Martin of Dumio was afterwards chosen patron.</p> <div class="CMtag_300x250" style="display: flex; height: 300px; align-items: center; justify-content: center; "></div> <p>The <a href="../cathen/03041a.htm">church</a> of St. Martin of Mondoñedo, one of the best of the ancient churches of this region. had been the <a href="../cathen/03438a.htm">cathedral church</a> since 866. The present <a href="../cathen/11499b.htm">parochial</a> house is a part of the old episcopal palace, connected with the church by a gallery from what seems to have been one of the episcopal chambers. In 1112 the queen, Doña Urraca, transferred the episcopal residence to Brea, a valley about seven and a half miles from St. Martin of Mondoñedo, in the midst of which is Villamayor de Brea, where the <a href="../cathen/03438a.htm">cathedral church</a> of Santa María Vallibriense was built. The Blessed Virgin, under her title of the Assumption, was the patroness of this church. Alfonso VII gave a charter to the town, and the <a href="../cathen/02581b.htm">bishop</a> resided there until Ferdinand II of <a href="../cathen/09177a.htm">León</a> transferred the episcopal residence to Ribadeo. In 1233 Don Martín, successor to Don Pelayo, transferred it to its present location, Mondoñedo, now a town of 10,590 inhabitants. To appease the discontent occasioned in Ribadeo by this change, Bishop Nuño II and his chapter established a collegiate church in Ribadeo with a canon and four <a href="../cathen/12371a.htm">prebendaries</a> (<em>racioneros</em>).</p> <p>Many of the <a href="../cathen/02581b.htm">bishops</a> of Mondoñedo were noted for their <a href="../cathen/07386a.htm">sanctity</a> and learning. First among these is St. Rosendus, who, in consideration of his eminent virtue, was created a <a href="../cathen/02581b.htm">bishop</a> when he was very young, and governed the diocese from 928 to 942. He founded the <a href="../cathen/04340c.htm">monastery</a> of Celanova, to which he afterwards retired to live the life of a <a href="../cathen/10487b.htm">monk</a>. Of another <a href="../cathen/01015c.htm">abbot</a> of Celanova, Gonzalvo, a legend has been preserved which attributes to his <a href="../cathen/12345b.htm">prayers</a> the repulse of the <a href="../cathen/11115b.htm">Northmen</a> who were devastating the coasts of Galicia. His sepulchre is in the <a href="../cathen/03041a.htm">church</a> of St. Martin of Mondoñedo, and on the spot on the shore where he <a href="../cathen/12345b.htm">prayed</a> a <a href="../cathen/03574b.htm">chapel</a> has been erected to which people come in great numbers, especially at Pentecost. Don Martín, <a href="../cathen/02581b.htm">bishop</a> from 1219 to 1248, built the present <a href="../cathen/03438a.htm">cathedral</a> of Mondoñedo, except for the present <a href="../cathen/05745c.htm">façade</a> and four <a href="../cathen/03574b.htm">chapels</a>, which form an additional <a href="../cathen/10724a.htm">nave</a> behind the principal one. Towards the end of his life he resigned his <a href="../cathen/05001a.htm">see</a> and withdrew to St. Martin of Mondoñedo to <a href="../cathen/04660c.htm">prepare for death</a>. Don Pedro Enríquez de Castro (1426-45) is credited with having built the ancient <a href="../cathen/04060a.htm">cloister</a>, where the <a href="../cathen/07243a.htm">coat of arms</a> of his <a href="../cathen/05782a.htm">family</a> was emblazoned. Don Fadrique de Guzmán (1462-92) made notable repairs in the <a href="../cathen/03438a.htm">cathedral</a>; Don Alfonso Francisco Suárez de la Fuente del Salce (1493-96) was named inquisitor general by <a href="../cathen/01289a.htm">Pope Alexander VI</a>; Don Pedro Pacheco, son of the Conde de Montalban (1533-37) was created a <a href="../cathen/03333b.htm">cardinal</a>; Fray Antonio de Guevara, a classical writer, preacher and chronicler for <a href="../cathen/03625a.htm">Charles V</a> shed lustre on the See of Mondoñedo. Don Diego <a href="../cathen/14152a.htm">de Soto</a> (1546-49) completely renovated the <a href="../cathen/03438a.htm">cathedral</a>.</p> <p>In the church at Villamayor de Brea, which was formerly the <a href="../cathen/03438a.htm">cathedral</a> of the <a href="../cathen/05001a.htm">diocese</a>, there are some notable frescoes, entirely covering the walls of the interior. Those on the Gospel side represent, in three large panels, the slaughter of the <a href="../cathen/07419a.htm">Innocents</a>; those on the Epistle side, four scenes from the life of St. Peter. Other <a href="../cathen/11395a.htm">paintings</a>, the work of the Asturian <a href="../cathen/11395a.htm">painter</a>, Terán, decorate the domes of the <a href="../cathen/15018a.htm">transept</a> and the main <a href="../cathen/03574b.htm">chapel</a>. The present <a href="../cathen/03438a.htm">cathedral</a> of Mondoñedo, built in the thirteenth century (see above), is one of the best examples of ogival art in Galicia. The Romanesque portal is, as in many of the churches of that period, the most ancient portion. In the seventeenth century a <a href="../cathen/05745c.htm">façade</a> in the Baroque style was added. The church is in the form of a Latin cross, with three <a href="../cathen/10724a.htm">naves</a>; it has fine altars, choir stalls in the <a href="../cathen/06094b.htm">Flemish</a> style, mural <a href="../cathen/11395a.htm">paintings</a> of the fifteenth century, interesting for the history of art, and two <a href="../cathen/11297a.htm">organs</a> in the over-decorated style of the eighteenth century, while the <a href="../cathen/13322b.htm">sacristy</a> is richly decorated with pictures of the <a href="../cathen/06094b.htm">Flemish</a> <a href="../cathen/13554b.htm">school</a>. The Capilla de los Remedios, built in 1738, by Bishop Sarmiento de Sotomayor also deserves mention, The <a href="../cathen/04340c.htm">monastery</a> of <a href="../cathen/13450b.htm">San Salvador</a> de Lorenzana, formerly belonging to the <a href="../cathen/02443a.htm">Benedictines</a>, and so called from its proximity to the river Lorenzana, is one of the most notable in Galicia. It was founded on 17 June, 969, during the episcopate of Theodomir, by the saintly Conde Osorio Gutiérrez, and was richly endowed. The remains of the founder, who became a member of the community, are <a href="../cathen/03071a.htm">interred</a> in the <a href="../cathen/04340c.htm">monastery</a>. A very beautiful monument constructed of rare marbles, such as are not to be found in any other part of <a href="../cathen/14169b.htm">Spain</a>, has been erected over his <a href="../cathen/14773b.htm">grave</a>. His memory is <a href="../cathen/05188b.htm">venerated</a>, and the faithful visit his <a href="../cathen/14773b.htm">tomb</a>. The <a href="../cathen/04340c.htm">convent</a> of the Alcantarines (Franciscans of the reform of <a href="../cathen/11770c.htm">St. Peter of Alcántara</a>), founded in 1731, is now used as barracks. The court-house (1584) and the <a href="../cathen/13694a.htm">seminary</a> are among the principal buildings of Mondoñedo.</p> <div class="CMtag_300x250" style="display: flex; height: 300px; align-items: center; justify-content: center; "></div> <p>The present <a href="../cathen/13694a.htm">seminary</a> building, in the Huertas del Torrillón, was built by Bishop José Francisco de Losada in 1770-75. Mondoñedo, which until 1836, was the capital of the province, numbers among her distinguished sons the teacher Pacheco Febrero, author of "Galería de Escribanos", José Cayetano Suaces, <a href="../cathen/02581b.htm">Bishop</a> of <a href="../cathen/11417c.htm">Palencia</a>; Lucas Miranda, author of the "Teatro de Prelados de la Iglesia de Mondoñedo", and the <a href="../cathen/13641b.htm">sculptor</a> Castro, designer of the inspiring figure of Saint Francis in the <a href="../cathen/03438a.htm">cathedral</a>. Bishop Manuel Navarrete wrote a long history of Mondoñedo and its <a href="../cathen/02581b.htm">bishops</a>. The present (1910) <a href="../cathen/02581b.htm">Bishop</a> of Mondoñedo, Don Juan José Solés y Fernández, born at <a href="../cathen/11363a.htm">Oviedo</a>, 1848, was <a href="../cathen/04276a.htm">consecrated</a> on 26 May 1907.</p> <div class='catholicadnet-728x90' id='cathen-728x90-bottom' style='display: flex; height: 100px; align-items: center; justify-content: center; '></div> <div class="cenotes"><h2>Sources</h2><p class="cenotes">FLÓREZ, <em>España Sagrada,</em> XVIII (2nd ed., Madrid, 1789); VILLAMIL, <em>Crónica de la Provincia de Lugo</em> (Madrid, 1867); MURGUÍA, <em>España, sus monumentos y artes: Galicia</em> (Barcelona, 1888); DE LA FUENTE, <em>Historia eclesiástica de España</em> (Barcelona, 1855).</p></div> <div class="pub"><h2>About this page</h2><p id="apa"><strong>APA citation.</strong> <span id="apaauthor">Amadó, R.R.</span> <span id="apayear">(1911).</span> <span id="apaarticle">Diocese of Mondoñedo.</span> In <span id="apawork">The Catholic Encyclopedia.</span> <span id="apapublisher">New York: Robert Appleton Company.</span> <span id="apaurl">http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10477a.htm</span></p><p id="mla"><strong>MLA citation.</strong> <span id="mlaauthor">Amadó, Ramón Ruiz.</span> <span id="mlaarticle">"Diocese of Mondoñedo."</span> <span id="mlawork">The Catholic Encyclopedia.</span> <span id="mlavolume">Vol. 10.</span> <span id="mlapublisher">New York: Robert Appleton Company,</span> <span id="mlayear">1911.</span> <span id="mlaurl"><http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10477a.htm>.</span></p><p id="transcription"><strong>Transcription.</strong> <span id="transcriber">This article was transcribed for New Advent by Douglas J. Potter.</span> <span id="dedication">Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary.</span></p><p id="approbation"><strong>Ecclesiastical approbation.</strong> <span id="nihil"><em>Nihil Obstat.</em> October 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor.</span> <span id="imprimatur"><em>Imprimatur.</em> +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.</span></p><p id="contactus"><strong>Contact information.</strong> The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is webmaster <em>at</em> newadvent.org. Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads.</p></div> </div> <div id="ogdenville"><table summary="Bottom bar" width="100%" cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0><tr><td class="bar_white_on_color"><center><strong>Copyright © 2023 by <a href="../utility/contactus.htm">New Advent LLC</a>. 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