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Pastoral visit of the Bishop of Girona, Bernat de Vilamarí, to the parish of Sant Esteve de Sords.

Date
1295
Archive
Diocesan Archive of Girona – Chapter Archive – Diocesan Library of the Seminary
Document type
Textual
Reference code
CAT ADG 1 1 2 1 4 P-168
Link to the archive
Description

It is the oldest preserved pastoral visit in Europe. One of the tasks of the bishops was the pastoral visit to the parishes in order to inspect their activity, making sure that everything was correct, to remedy the possible existing abuses and in return to receive some emoluments for the visit. From these visits, which have continued to be carried out to this day, acts were drawn up, which have ended up constituting one of the most extensive and consulted collections of the diocesan archives. Visitation books allow us to know: the number of beneficiaries in a church, the income they received for the exercise of their office, the creation of communities of priests, the life and customs of the clergy and laity of the parish, the furniture and liturgical ornaments of the churches, and the works that were carried out in them.