Bishop of Girona Octavi Vilà set to succeed Cardinal Omella as Barcelona archbishop

Succession at the Barcelona archdiocese

Sources say Octavi Vilà, the bishop of Girona, will succeed Cardinal Juan José Omella as archbishop of Barcelona. El Periódico said it had been able to confirm the appointment, and the official notice is expected in a statement in the Holy See's bulletin. Omella has led the archdiocese for eleven years, and he submitted his resignation in 2021 on reaching 75, the age at which canon law requires it. The Vatican kept him in the post while it looked for a suitable moment for the handover, and according to the reports that moment has now come. Sources also cautioned that such procedures carry reservations, and the change would be announced only if no last-minute changes arise. Both men were due to hold press conferences at their respective seats in Barcelona and Girona at 12:00 on Wednesday, 11 November, the day of a general strike.

Who Octavi Vilà is

Vilà was born in Tarragona in 1961 and trained as a librarian and historian. He spent more than two decades working at the newspaper archive in Tarragona before entering monastic life at 44. He served as abbot of Poblet from 2015 until February 2024, when Pope Francis appointed him bishop of Girona, making him the first monk to hold that see in 593 years. He was ordained bishop on 21 April 2024 in Girona Cathedral, and by the time of the reporting 934 days had passed since then. Within the Church he is seen as a bridge figure between Catalonia and the rest of Spain, and his profile has reportedly been viewed favorably by the Generalitat, which praises his manner and his knowledge of the country. He was one of the bishops who backed having the blessing of the Tower of Jesus at the Sagrada Família given in Catalan during the visit of Pope Leo XIV. In an interview with La Vanguardia, he acknowledged that the Church handled abuse cases wrongly for years, sometimes moving accused clergy to other parishes, schools and countries.

Both men appeared together at the opening of the academic year at the Ateneu Universitari Sant Pacià in Barcelona on 8 October. Sources describe that day as a difficult one for Vilà, who prefers discretion and avoids being the centre of attention. Rumours that he could be chosen to succeed Omella had grown by then.

What the post involves

The archdiocese of Barcelona is one of the ten dioceses on Catalonia's ecclesiastical map and covers 212 parishes plus the cathedral. According to the institution, its activity in 2023 amounted to more than 10,000 sacraments and about 258,000 masses. It is supported by 461 priests, around 1,700 religious men and women, 1,200 catechists and a large network of volunteers.

Parishes212

Priests461

Catechists1,200

Parishes

212 count

Priests

461 count

Catechists

1200 count

Data from the article text

The archbishop also acts as the main interlocutor with the Generalitat and the central government, serves as a direct channel with Rome on politically sensitive regional questions, and carries weight in the Spanish Episcopal Conference, a body of 70 dioceses and nearly 15,000 priests. Several recent holders of the see have gone on to the cardinalate. Ricard Maria Carles became archbishop in 1990 and cardinal in 1994, Lluís Martínez Sistach became archbishop in 2004 and cardinal in 2007, and Omella became archbishop in 2015 and cardinal in 2017. Earlier, Narcís Jubany Arnau and Marcelo González Martín were both made cardinals in 1973.

Names floated before the announcement

As the succession drew near, speculation multiplied among religious affairs specialists. Names that circulated included Florencio Roselló, archbishop of Pamplona, José Ángel Saiz Meneses, archbishop of Seville, Francesc Conesa Ferrer, bishop of Solsona, and Sergi Gordo, bishop of Tortosa. Others on the lists were Javier Vilanova, David Abadías, Manel Gasch, Bernat Juliol and Jordi-Agustí Piqué. Jordi Bertomeu, a member of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, and the Franco-Spanish cardinal François-Xavier Bustillo were also mentioned. Church sources said from the start that the task would not be simple, since the successor needed to speak Catalan, understand the internal dynamics of the Catalan Church, handle relations with civil institutions and coordinate with the Spanish Episcopal Conference.