It was erected on 9 June 2016 by Pope Francis, who also named the current Archbishop of Madrid, Carlos Osoro Sierra, as its first Ordinary. Its creation was a response to the increase of Eastern Catholics in Spanish territory, until then spiritually assisted by the various local dioceses. The Spanish Episcopal Conference already had a pastoral care department for the faithful of oriental rites, who in 2003 drew up the document Orientations for the pastoral care of Eastern Catholics in Spain. The Ordinariate has jurisdiction over all the Catholic faithful of the Eastern rite who live in Spain and may appoint vicars general, having appointed the presbyter Andrés Martínez Esteban for that position. Like the Ordinariate for Eastern Catholics in France, the ordinary has a personal jurisdiction over the Eastern faithful that is cumulative with the diocesan bishops, from whom he must obtain consent for the decisions that pertain to their respective dioceses, and that retain secondary jurisdiction in minor matters. It must also require the consent of the primate and synods of the Eastern Churches in the decisions that involve them and obtain from them the clergy of the Ordinariate. Between May 2 and 4, 2017 the ordinary met with the priests of the 3 oriental rites present in Spain to advance in the constitution of the Ordinariate.
Territory
The Ordinariate has jurisdiction over the Catholic faithful of all Eastern rites living in Spain. Its seat is the city of Madrid.
On March 16, 2009 the Cardinal and Archbishop of Madrid Antonio Maria Rouco Varela appointed the priest Bogdan Vasile Buda as chaplain responsible for the Romanian community of Byzantine rite residing in the archdiocese of Madrid. In April 2009 he assigned a chapel of the parish of Our Lady of Sorrows in Madrid for the pastoral care of the Romanian faithful of the Byzantine rite of his archdiocese. The community is called Capelania Greco-Catolică din Madrid Botezul Domnului. On March 1, 2012 Bogdan Vasile Buda was named archpriest by the Cardinal Primate of the Romanian Greek Catholic Church, Lucian Mureşan, and by the archiepiscopal major synod, becoming the national leader of the Romanian Greek Catholic faithful and priests of Spain. The archpriest has 8 priests serving two parishes and 6 chaplaincies:
Diocese of Orihuela-Alicante: the chaplaincy is in the church of San Roque in Alicante, with masses once a month in the church of San Pedro and San Pablo de Torrevieja
Diocese of Almería: chaplaincy in the church of the Holy Family of Almería
Diocese of Ciudad Real: in the church of the Remedios of Ciudad Real
Archdiocese of Granada: existing since 2006, the priest serves in the communities of Castell de Ferro, Motril and Granada
Diocese of Mallorca: a community in the Oratory of San Telm in Palma de Mallorca
Archdiocese of Madrid: Ukrainian chaplaincy with headquarters in the parish of Our Lady of Good Success with 2000 parishioners, on which the chaplaincies depend in the parishes of Santa Teresa de Jesus de Getafe and Virgen de Belén de Alcalá de Henares
Bishop Hlib Lonchyna was apostolic visitor for Ukrainian Greek Catholics in Spain from March 4, 2004 until January 7, 2009. He was succeeded since January 19, 2009 by the titular bishop of Egnazia, Dionisio Lachovicz, as apostolic visitor in Italy and Spain, appointed by Pope Benedict XVI and based in Rome. In 2009 it was estimated that in Spain there were 42,000 faithful in 45 communities of Ukrainians of Byzantine rite, attended by 17 priests.
Syro-Malabar Catholic Church
In Madrid there is the Syro Malabar community of Saint Thomas, with 80 members and a priest since 2009, and four other communities in Barcelona, Granada, Toledo and Valladolid, which together another 120 worshipers, ten priests and four nuns.
