Bishopric of JaénDiocese of Jaén, suffragan of the Archdiocese of GranadaDate of establishment14 May 1249 Recognized byInnocent IVFirst bishopPedro MartínezBishop since 2021Sebastián Chico MartínezEmeritus bishopsRamón del Hoyo LópezAmadeo Rodríguez MagroPope since 2013Francis
The Bishop of Jaén is the prelate whose bishopric is the Diocese of Jaén, a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Granada in Andalusia, Spain. Its seats are the Cathedral of the Assumption in Jaén and the Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lady in Baeza. The Bishop of Jaén exercises his functions in the diocese, which encompasses the entire Province of Jaén with 97 municipalities across a total area of 13,489 km² and a population of 664,916 inhabitants as of 1 January 2013. The patrons of the Diocese of Jaén are Saint Euphrasius and Our Lady of Cabeza.
Since the diocese was established in 1249 under Pope Innocent IV, a total of 70 bishops have served. The first was Pedro Martínez, who succeeded Friar Domingo de Soria at the Baeza seat. Ferdinand III from Córdoba issued a privilege dated 6 March 1249 granting the title of Bishop of Jaén, confirmed by Innocent IV with a papal bull on 14 May 1249. Currently, Sebastián Chico Martínez is the bishop, appointed on 25 October 2021, with Ramón del Hoyo López and Amadeo Rodríguez Magro as emeritus bishops, since the former took office on 27 November 2021.
In the Concordat of 1851, the desire for diocesan demarcation was expressed, but it was not until 1873 that the special jurisdictions of the Abbey of Alcalá la Real and the Vicariates of the Military Orders were suppressed. Following state provisions, Pope Pius IX, through apostolic letters, united the Abbey of Alcalá and the vicariates of Segura, Beas, and Martos to the Diocese of Jaén on 14 July 1873.Cf. Boletín Oficial Obispado, 1873, pp. 137 ff. As a result, in 1893, Bishop Manuel María León González y Sánchez territorially reorganized the diocese,Cf. Boletín Oficial Obispado 1893, pp. 19-52 except for the Adelantamiento de Cazorla, which remained under the Archdiocese of Toledo until 1954, when Pope Pius XII decreed its annexation to the Diocese of Jaén through the decree Maiori animarum bono of the Consistorial Congregation on 23 April 1954.Cf. Boletín Oficial Obispado 1954, p. 206
Statistics Statistics of the Bishops of the Diocese of JaénDataDateNumberBishopsImageHeld synods(1360-)8 Alfonso Fernández Pecha, Íñigo Manrique de Lara, Luis Osorio de Acuña, Alonso Suárez de la Fuente del Sauce, Francisco Sarmiento de Mendoza, Baltasar Moscoso y Sandoval, Antolín Monescillo y Viso, and Rafael García y García de Castro.Participated in the Council of Constance14171Rodrigo Fernández de Narváez.Participated in the Council of Trent(1545-1563)3Francisco de Mendoza y Pacheco, Pedro Pacheco de Villena, and Francisco Delgado López.Participated in the First Vatican Council and Second Vatican Council(1869-1870)(1962-1965)3Antolín Monescillo y Viso, Rafael García y García de Castro, and Félix Romero Mengíbar.Were Grand Inquisitors(1483-1834)4Diego de Deza (1498-1507, resigned), Bernardo de Sandoval y Rojas (1608-1618), Manuel Isidro Orozco Manrique de Lara (1742-1746), and Agustín Rubín de Ceballos (1784-1793).Associated with the Inquisition(1483-1834)4Diego Tavera Ponce de León (counselor), Diego de los Cobos Molina (counselor), Fernando Andrade Castro (counselor), Antonio de Piña Hermosa (counselor).Were presidents of the Council of Castile(1402-1834)3Íñigo Manrique de Lara, Alonso Suárez de la Fuente del Sauce, Francisco Sarmiento de Mendoza (resigned), Juan Asensio Barrios.Were auditors of the Rota(1331-)4Diego Tello de Deza, Francisco Sarmiento de Mendoza, Juan Queipo de Llano y Flórez, and Benito de Omaña.Were Patriarchs of the West Indies(1524-1963)3Esteban Gabriel Merino, Antolín Monescillo y Viso, and Victoriano Guisasola y Menéndez.Were cardinals(1249-)6Esteban Gabriel Merino, Pedro Pacheco de Villena, Bernardo de Sandoval y Rojas, Baltasar Moscoso y Sandoval, Antolín Monescillo y Viso, and Victoriano Guisasola y Menéndez.Bishops of Jaén who were/are archbishops13 Bari: Esteban Gabriel MerinoGranada: Rafael García y García de CastroMérida-Badajoz: Santiago García AracilPalermo: Fernando Andrade CastroSantiago de Compostela: Manuel Isidro Orozco Manrique de LaraSeville: Íñigo Manrique de Lara, Diego de Deza, and Salvador Castellote y PinazoTarragona: Andrés Esteban GómezToledo: Bernardo de Sandoval y Rojas, Baltasar Moscoso y Sandoval, Antolín Monescillo y Viso, and Victoriano Guisasola y MenéndezValencia: Antolín Monescillo y Viso and Victoriano Guisasola y MenéndezValladolid: Félix Romero Mengíbar.
List of bishops