The Holy Father has appointed as bishop of the Diocese of Ibiza, Spain, the Reverend Vicente Ribas Prats, until now diocesan administrator of the same see.
Curriculum vitae
Msgr. Vicente Ribas Prats was born in Ibiza on May 12, 1968. On October 12, he was ordained a priest.
He has held the following offices: parish vicar of Santa Cruz in Ibiza (1996-2000); chaplain of the Colegio Sa Real and delegate for vocational pastoral care (2001-2020); parish priest of Santa Gertrudis and San Mateo, and parish administrator of San Miguel (2000-2006), and parish priest of the latter, member of the College of Consultors, archpriest of Santa Eulália Mártir (2006-2020), subsequently parish priest of the latter and again of San Mateo (2008-2020); canon of the Cathedral Chapter (from 2009); vicar general (2010-2020) and, from February 4, 2020, to date, diocesan.
Christianity reached the islands of Ibiza and Formentera in the first centuries of the Christian era. The cave of Santa Inés, in San Antonio de Portmany, the brief news of bishops Opilió and Vicent (5th and 6th centuries, respectively), and some archaeological remains confirm this.
Between the 8th-13th centuries, the islands were under Muslim domination. On August 8, 1235, they were conquered by the sacristan of the Cathedral of Gerona and Archbishop-elect of Tarragona, Guillem de Montgrí, associated with Nunó Sanç, Count of Rosselló, and the Infante Pere of Portugal. Christianity was restored and the only parish in Ibiza and Formentera, Santa María (1235-1782), dependent on the diocese of Tarragona, was erected.
First, Ibiza was ruled by ecclesiastical governors appointed by the Archbishop of Tarragona (1852-1855), and later by capitular vicars elected by the chapter of what was officially the collegiate church of Santa María, although it continued to be called the Cathedral (1855-1927).
In 1927 the constant requests of the Ibicencos and Formentereses, aided by the position of the Bishops of Mallorca and the Ibizan bishop of Sion, patriarch of the Indies and chaplain of the Queen, obtained that the suppressed diocese obtained the title of apostolic administration.
In 1928 the first apostolic administrator bishop arrived, Salvi Huix Miralpeix, who had to ordain the new apostolic administration. The first and only diocesan Synod of Ibiza and Formentera (1929) was held.
In 1949, thanks to the efforts of Bishop Antonio Cardona, second apostolic administrator bishop, the restoration of the diocese plenary jure was undertaken, by the hands of the Holy Father Pius XII, becoming the seventh titular bishop. Thus, the diocese of Ibiza was assigned to the archbishopric of Valencia.
