Octavi Vilà Named Barcelona Archbishop, Replacing Cardinal Omella
Octavi Vilà, bishop of Girona, will succeed Cardinal Joan Josep Omella as archbishop of Barcelona. Here is who he is and what happens next.
Octavi Vilà, until now bishop of Girona, will become the next archbishop of Barcelona, according to 3Cat and Ara. He replaces Cardinal Joan Josep Omella i Omella, who is stepping down and, per 3Cat, will retire to Saragossa.
The Vatican announced the appointment on Wednesday, the same day as the general strike over housing in Catalonia, 3Cat reported. Both dioceses called the media to a news conference at 12 h, according to the Catalan outlet go.eln.cat.
Who is Octavi Vilà
Vilà is a Cistercian monk born in Tarragona in December 1961. He joined the Poblet monastery, where he was abbot from 2015 to 2024, according to 3Cat. During that period he presided over the Cistercian Congregation of the Crown of Aragon and the Meeting of Abbots and Provincials of Catalonia.
He has degrees in geography and history and in library science from the Universitat de Barcelona, and studied philosophy and theology between 2007 and 2015, 3Cat said. Today he sits on the Episcopal Commission for Consecrated Life of the Spanish Episcopal Conference and chairs the Interdiocesan Liturgy Commission of the Tarraconense Episcopal Conference.
Sources differ on when he entered Poblet. 3Cat and go.eln.cat say 2005, while Ara says 2006, at age 45.
Why Omella is leaving
Bishops are required to retire at 75, but Omella is already 80, 3Cat noted, and the appointment came after five years of waiting and considerable expectation among Catholics. Ara reported that the Vatican’s decision had been made some time ago and that Omella told the Episcopal Council on Tuesday. Go.eln.cat said the process of finding a successor sped up after the pope’s visit to Catalonia in June, which it called historic.
The official announcement is to appear in the bulletin of the Holy See. Pope Leo XIV is on an official trip to South America, including Argentina, according to go.eln.cat.
What this means for the Church in Catalonia
Ara described Vilà as representing the most Catalanist line within the Church. It said this breaks with recent years, when the archbishops came from outside Catalonia, though always with some tie to the region. Go.eln.cat said he is seen as a bridge figure with good relations across Catalan society.
Vilà takes the post only two years after becoming bishop of Girona. Ara called him a young bishop in church terms. Go.eln.cat noted that, born in 1961, he has about a decade before he must submit his resignation to the pope at 75, though the pope can postpone it, as happened with Omella.
His departure leaves the Girona diocese, which had been vacant for a long time before his arrival, in need of a new bishop, according to go.eln.cat. When he was named bishop of Girona, Vilà said believers and non-believers alike were welcome in the Church, a remark go.eln.cat recalled.
Sources: 3Cat 324, go.eln.cat, Ara
