Catholic IntelligenceA work of service to the Church

Diocese of Ciudad Real

Civitatis Regalen(sis)

Suffragan diocese · Latin Church · Ciudad Real, Spain

Latin-rite diocese in Castilla-La Mancha, Spain, established on 18 November 1875 as the Territorial Prelature of Ciudad Real for the Grand Prior of the Spanish Military Orders and promoted to diocese on 4 February 1980; its bishop remains prior of the Military Orders. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Toledo, seated at the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Meadows (Santa Maria del Prado) in Ciudad Real. Bishop Abilio Martinez Varea, previously of Osma-Soria, was appointed by Pope Leo XIV on 9 July 2025 and took possession on 27 September 2025.

The see

Rank
Suffragan diocese
Tradition
Latin Church
Erected
1875
Latin
Civitatis Regalen(sis)
Patron
santo Tomás de Villanueva
Annuario code
001001169

The see in figures

Catholics
493,060
Population
500,060
Catholic shareof the people living within its bounds
98.6%
Priests
192
Catholics per priest
2,568
Extent
19,813 km²
Catholics per km²
25

Figures as recorded in the register, from the Annuario Pontificio and the see's own published statements. Shares and ratios are computed from the two figures shown beside them.

The bishop

Bishop
Abilio Martinez Varea
Born
24 September 1948
Birthplace
Cervatos de la Cueza

A see whose chair stands empty is recorded as vacant rather than filled with a guess. On what a bishop is, see the bishop.

The cathedral

Cathedral Basilica of Santa Maria del Prado, Ciudad Real stands in Ciudad Real, the church that holds the cathedra from which this see takes its name.

On what a cathedral is, see the cathedral; every see church on earth is gathered at the cathedrals.

The province of Toledo

A suffragan of Archdiocese of Toledo.

The sees of this province:

On how the Church is ordered into provinces, see the diocese.

History

Ciudad Real is home to a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church, the Diocese of Ciudad Real (Latin: Dioecesis Civitatis Regalensis), which belongs to the ecclesiastical province of Toledo in Spain.

Catholic Intelligence

Get early access

We are indexing the whole visible Church: every diocese and parish on earth, searchable and mapped, with Mass times, clergy, and diocesan contacts. Launching soon. Sign up to be first in when it opens, starting with [object Object].

One email at launch. Nothing else.

Sources

The see's own website · Wikipedia

Compiled from the published statements of the see and the references of the Holy See, among them the Annuario Pontificio. Corrections: hello@catholicintelligence.com.