Catholic Church in Spain
Palmarian Catholic Church | |
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Members | 32,364,000[1] |
Official website | CEE |
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The Spanish Catholic Church, or Catholic Church in Spain, is part of the Catholic Church under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome, and the Spanish Episcopal Conference.
The
History
According to Romans 15:28, Christianity could have been present in Spain from a very early period.
The Reconquista was the long process by which the Catholics reconquered Spain from Islamic rule by 1492. The Spanish Inquisition was established in 1478 to complete the religious purification of the Iberian Peninsula. In the centuries that followed, Spain saw itself as the bulwark of Catholicism and doctrinal purity.
Spanish missionaries carried Catholicism to the Americas and the Philippines, establishing various missions in the newly colonized lands. The missions served as a base for both administering colonies as well as spreading Christianity.
According to
The Catholic Church in Spain supported Francisco Franco in the Spanish Civil War and afterwards established a close relationship with the Spanish state, with many Catholic priests serving in the government. After Vatican II, the church suddenly reversed its position, withdrew its support for the Franco regime, and supported the separation of church and state.[7]
Sites
The Spanish Church oversees one of the greatest repositories of religious architecture (and art) in the world, among them the outstanding
Festivals and pilgrimages
Holy Week
Holy Week (Spanish: Semana Santa) in Spain attracts thousands of pilgrims and tourists alike. For centuries Holy Week has had a special significance in the church calendar in Spain, where early on Good Friday the darkened streets of dawn become the stage for solemn processions and celebrations that lead up to festivities of Easter Sunday. Fifty-eight processions (according to a 2008 guide) parallel the health and wealth of the city from the 16th and 17th centuries of its golden age to the French Invasion in the 18th century and finally to its rebirth today in the twentieth century. Despite church attendances falling, in common with the rest of Europe, the Easter processions are expanding, as many newly formed brotherhoods have asked for permission from bishops and other authorities to process during Holy Week.[8]
Way of Saint James
For over a thousand years, Europeans living north of the Alps have made their way to the closest place in Europe "where they could access the spiritual authority of an Apostle: Santiago de Compostela.".[9] In 2007, for example, over 100,000 people walked to Santiago de Compostela alone.[10]
Statistics
There are over 42 million baptized, covering about 92% of the total population. There are 70
In spite of strong traditions, most Spaniards do not participate regularly in religious services. A study conducted in October 2006 by the Spanish Centre of
The total number of parish priests has shrunk from 24,300 in 1975 to 19,307 in 2005. Nuns also dropped 6.9% to 54,160 in the period 2000–2005.[19]
According to the Eurobarometer 69 (2008), another independent source, only 3% of Spaniards consider religion as one of their three most important values, while the European mean is 7%.[20]
See also
- Religion in Spain
- Saints of Catalonia
- Catholicism in the Second Spanish Republic
- Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War
References
- ^ "The top 10 most Catholic countries in the world". Aleteia — Catholic Spirituality, Lifestyle, World News, and Culture. January 18, 2019.
- ^ Rouco Varela, Antonio Mª (1996). . RELACIONES IGLESIA-ESTADO EN LA ESPAÑA DEL SIGLO XXI.
- ^ Llamazares Fernández, Dionisio . Los Acuerdos del Estado español con la Santa Sede.
- ^ Early Church History [1]
- ^ "The Almohads". Archived from the original on 2009-02-13. Retrieved 2013-05-15.
- ISBN 9788490961124.
- S2CID 143415167.
- ^ Brian Whelan, "Amid the smell of incense came the purple-hooded Nazarenes," The Tablet, 22 March 2008, 16.
- ^ Kevin A. Codd, "El Camino Speaks," America, 15 December 2003, 8.
- ^ Howse, Christopher (2008-06-07). "Blisterless on the road to Santiago". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2008-06-14. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
- ^ "Barometer for December 2021" (PDF).
- ^ "Centre of Sociological Investigations" (PDF).
- ^ Tarvainen, Sinikka (2004-09-26). "Reforms anger Spanish church". Dawn International. Retrieved 2008-03-21.
- ^ "Zapatero accused of rejecting religion". Worldwide Religious News. 2004-10-15. Archived from the original on 2008-10-23. Retrieved 2008-03-21.
- ^ Loewenberg, Samuel (2005-06-26). "As Spaniards Lose Their Religion, Church Leaders Struggle to Hold On". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-10-21.
- ^ Pingree, Geoff (2004-10-01). "Secular drive challenges Spain's Catholic identity". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 2008-10-21.
- ^ Samuel Lowenberg, "Church Leaders Struggle to Hold On," The New York Times 26 June 2005, 4.
- ^ How Catholics around the world see same-sex marriage, homosexuality Pew Research Center
- ^ "Estadísticas de la Iglesia en España, 2005" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-12-20. Retrieved 2007-05-05.
- ^ "Eurobarometer 69 - Values of Europeans - page 16" (PDF). Retrieved 2009-03-24.
Further reading
- Callahan, William J. The Catholic Church in Spain, 1875-1998 (1998; reprint 2012)
- Jedin, Hubert, and John Dolan, eds. History of the Church, Volume X: The Church in the Modern Age (1989)
- Lannon, Frances. Privilege, Persecution, and Prophecy. The Catholic Church in Spain 1875-1975. (Oxford UP, 1987)
- Payne, Stanley G. Spanish Catholicism: An Historical Overview (1984)
- Relaño Pastor, Eugenia. "Spanish Catholic Church in Franco Regime: A Marriage of Convenience," Kirchliche Zeitgeschichte: Internationale Zeitschrift für Theologie und Geschichtswissenschaft (2007) 20#2 pp 275–287.
- Vincent, Mary. "Spain", in Tom Buchanan and Martin Conway, eds., Political Catholicism in Europe, 1918–1965 (Oxford 1996)