On a day like today Saint John Paul II restored a diocese originating from the 5th century

On July 23, 1991, Saint John Paul II promulgated a bull by which he restored the Diocese of Alcalá de Henares, separated from the Archdiocese of Madrid, of which it remained a suffragan since then.

With this decision, the eastern area of ​​the Community of Madrid became part of the new diocese, whose origins date back to the 5th century of the Christian era, when Asturio, Bishop of Toledo, had a revelation about the place where the Santos Niño Justo y Pastor, near the city of Completeness.

Saints Justo and Pastor suffered martyrdom during the persecution of Emperor Diocletian a century earlier when they were 7 and 9 years old respectively. According to tradition, his parents were also saints.

His remains were preserved from the Muslim invasion of the Iberian Peninsula starting in the 8th century, first in Huesca and then in Narbonne (France). Since the 16th century, some relics returned to Alcalá, most of them remaining in Huesca.

Bishop Asturio ordered the construction of a church in the indicated place and established the new diocese in the year 412, which became a pilgrimage center for devotion to the Holy Children.

As reflected in the website of the Diocese of Alcalá de Henaresin 1088 it was integrated into the Archbishopric of Toledo, until in 1885 it became part of the Archdiocese of Madrid-Alcalá.

in the bull In this chair of blessed Peter, whose original text in Latin can be read on the Vatican website, it is recorded that it was Cardinal Ángel Suquía, then Archbishop of Madrid, who requested that the division be carried out, which was accepted with the support of the Apostolic Nuncio , Mons. Mario Tagliaferri, and of the then Congregation for Bishops, today a dicastery.

In addition, the more than 50 towns that comprise the new Diocese of Alcalá de Henares are mentioned, which is recognized by the nickname “Complutense”, in memory of the Roman city of Completeness. Consequently, the former Archdiocese of Madrid-Alcalá lost the compound name.

After establishing some canonical guidelines on the constitution of the new circumscription, it is established that, at the time of constitution of the diocese, “the priests who hold an ecclesiastical office in its territory will be considered assigned to said Church; The other priests and students of the Seminary will remain incardinated or will be incardinated to the Church in whose territory they have legitimate domicile.”

Likewise, a period of 5 years was established for possible changes in this area, with the consent of the interested bishops and prior allegation of “just cause.”

The Diocese of Alcalá de Henares currently has about 180 priests (about thirty already retired) who serve 94 parishes.

Its first bishop was Mons. Manuel Ureña, who was succeeded by Mons. Jesús Catalá between 1999 and 2008. Mons. Juan Antonio Reig assumed the Complutense see in 2009, where he remained until 2022, when he became Emeritus. The current bishop, Mons. Antonio Prieto, was consecrated in the Magistral Cathedral of Alcalá in June 2023.