Diocese of Calahorra and La Calzada

(Calaguritana et Calceatensis.)

Suffragan of Burgos, comprising almost all the province of Logroño and part of the provinces of Navarre and Soria. Calahorra, the episcopal city, has 9475 inhabitants; it is the centre of a judicial district, and possesses a collegiate church and a chapter. It has been asserted, but without a historical foundation, that St. Paul preached at Calahorra and ordained as its first bishop one of his disciples, Felix. According to Prudentius, a Christian poet of the fourth century, the brothers Emeterius and Celedonius, soldiers of the Legio VII Gemina , suffered for the Faith at Calahorra, but the exact date of their martyrdom is unknown. In the fourth century pilgrims from distant lands came to pray at the tomb of these saints, whose relics are yet preserved in the cathedral of Calahorra. The first known bishop of this see is Silvanus. About 465 the bishops of the province of Tarragona denounced to Pope Hilary the conduct of this prelate, who had consecrated two bishops in violation of the sacred canons. During the rule of the Visigoths (415-711) the bishops of Calahorra took part in several councils of Toledo. From 792 to 871 it is certain that the see was occupied by Mozarabic bishops, among them Theodemir at the end of the eighth and Recared in the ninth century. Calahorra was reconquered from the Moors by King García of Navarre, and in 1045 the see was restored; its first bishop, Sancho, also Bishop of Nájera, adopted then the title of Bishop op Calahorra and Nájera. In 1236 the see was transferred to Santo Domingo de la Calzada, a city in the same province of Logroño, where it remained for some time. Hence the existence of a cathedral and a chapter in each town and the double title of the bishop, who is chosen alternately by the chapter of each cathedral (Battandier). Among the bishops worthy of mention is Rodríguez Sánchez de Arévalo (died 1470), afterwards commander of the Castle of Sant' Angelo in Rome, author of numerous theological and historical works and a vigorous champion of papal authority. The Catholic population of the united dioceses is 65,000; there are 363 parishes, 600 priests, 393 churches, and 268 chapels.