Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela


The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Compostela, is the senior of the five districts in which the Catholic Church divides Galicia in North-western Spain.
The Metropolitan Archbishop of Santiago of Compostela has his "cathedra" – i.e. episcopal see : from Greek/Latin "seat" – in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, dedicated to the Apostle St. James, after whom Santiago is named.

Extent and statistics

The archdiocesan jurisdiction covers most of the parishes the central part of Galicia, including the cities of A Coruña and Pontevedra. As per 2014, it pastorally served 1,178,000 Catholics on 8,546 km² in 1,071 parishes and 3 missions with 732 priests, 4 deacons, 1,052 lay religious and 22 seminarians.

Ecclesiastical province

Covers all Galicia, with four suffragan sees :
;Suffragan Bishops of Compostela
On 5 December 1095 Pope Urban II issued the bull Veterum sinodalia transferring the diocese of Iria to Compostela.
;Metropolitan Archbishops of Compostela
In 1120 Pope Calixtus II raised Compostela to an archdiocese.