Diocese of San Cristobal de la Laguna

The diocese covers the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife , that is, the islands of Tenerife , Palma , Homer and Hierro .

Christianity on the western islands of the Canary archipelago appeared even before its Spanish conquest and its inclusion in 1496 into the kingdom of Castile and Leon . After entering the kingdom on the islands, the Catholic Church began missionary work among the Guanches , who had their own polytheistic religion ^[1] .

Shortly after the conquest of the islands, Javier Alnso Fernndes de Lugo requested in 1513 that the Spanish authorities build a new diocese on the island of Tenerife. But this idea did not find support from the bishop of the diocese of Gran Canaria, whose jurisdiction included the Canary Islands ^[2] .

Alonso Fernandez de Lugo previously tried to relocate the Canary Islands administrative center between the cities of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and San Cristobal de la Laguna ^[3] . Some time after the conquest of the Canary Islands, Tenerife quickly became the most populated island of the archipelago and San Cristobal de la Laguna the most important city in the Canary Islands. Fernandez de Lugo, who received the title "First Adelantado of the Canary Islands," wished to elevate the status of San Cristobal de la Laguna, where his residence was located ^[3] .

At that time, the department of the bishop was located in the south of the first conquered island of Lanzarote, so the idea of ​​moving the department to La Laguna did not find support among the Catholic hierarchy of Spain ^[3] . Over the next three centuries, the idea of ​​creating a separate diocese in the Canary Islands continued to exist ^[3] .

In 1818, the Catholic clergy and authorities of Tenerife again requested the creation of a diocese from the Holy See with the support of King Ferdinand VII . This attempt had a positive response from the pope ^[4] . On February 1, 1819, Pope Pius VII issued the bull “In cathedra illius” , which established the diocese of San Cristobal de la Laguna, separating it from the diocese of the Canary Islands ^[2] .

After the concordat of 1848, the activities of the diocese of San Cristobal de la Laguna were suspended and until 1877 the department of the diocese was vacant. In 1877, after a nearly thirty-year hiatus, a bishop was appointed to the department of the diocese of San Cristobal de la Laguna.

In 2014, the number of believers in the diocese was 892,000. There are 255 clergymen in the diocese, including 6 permanent deacons. The diocese has 312 parishes ^[5] .

• Bishop Luis Antonio Folgueras Sión (06.24.1824 - 01.17.1848) - appointed Bishop of Granada ;
  • vacancy (1848-1877);
• Bishop Joaquín Lluch y Garriga (08/03/1859 - 03/20/1877);
• Bishop Ildefonso Joaquín Infante y Macías OSB (03.20.1877 - 1882);
• Bishop Jacinto María Cervera y Cervera (03/27/1882 - 07/21/1885);
• Bishop Ramón Torrijos y Gómez (11.25.1887 - 05.21.1894) - appointed Bishop of Badajoz ;
• Bishop Nicolás Rey y Redondo (05.21.1989 - 09.09.1917);
• Bishop Gabriel Llompart y Jaume Santandreu (05.17.1918 - 06.27.1922) - appointed Bishop of Girona ;
• Bishop of Albino González y Menédez Reigada OP (12/18/1924 - 02/18/1946) - appointed bishop of Cordoba ;
• Bishop Andrés A. Domingo Pérez Cáceres (04/28/1947 - 01/08/1961);
• Bishop Luis Franco Cascón C.SS.R. (02/19/1962 - 10/18/1983);
• Bishop Damián Iguacén Borau (08/14/1984 - 06/12/1991);
• Bishop Felipe Fernández García (06/12/1991 - 06/29/2005);
• Bishop Bernardo Álvarez Afonso (06/29/2005 - present).

• Annuario Pontificio , Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Città del Vaticano, 2003, ISBN 88-209-7422-3
• Bull In cathedra illius , Bullarii romani continuatio , tomo VII, parte 2, pp. 1703-1707 (lat.)

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