The historical origins of the Chapter of the Cathedral of Mallorca date back to the very beginnings of the restoration of the Church in Mallorca. In 1240, Pope Gregory IX gave the first Bishop of Mallorca, Ramon de Torrella, permission to establish the chapter with canons and dignities.
Since then, the Cathedral Chapter has become the group of priests that is responsible for carrying out solemn liturgical celebrations and also for performing the services entrusted to it by canon law or by the Bishop. One of the main duties of the Chapter is to promote the Cathedral as the seat of the Bishop’s magisterium as pastor of Church in Mallorca, and as a sign of the unity in the faith of Mallorcan believers, and to make the Cathedral the centre of the liturgical life of the diocese because it is the Bishop’s church.
Other duties include:
- Promoting the evangelisation of Mallorcan society as a priority.
- Promoting the preaching of the Gospel, entrusted in first place to the bishop, who has the Seat, and as his assistants, to exercise the ministry of preaching in accordance with the norms of the sacred liturgy.
- Making the Cathedral the mother church of the Church in Mallorca.
- Promoting the cultural expression of faith in society and dialogue between faith and culture, as well as charitable activity.
- Offering the Cathedral as a church for ecumenical assembly by Christians and believers from other confessions, encouraging inter-confessions celebrations including different branches of Christianity.
- Serving visitors and tourists pastorally.
- Conserving the cultural heritage of the Cathedral and the Chapter, enriching it and displaying it for public attention and appreciation.
- Administering the property of the Cathedral and of the Chapter in accordance with canon law and the specific regulations of the Diocese of Mallorca.
The Chapter comprises two departments, which in turn are made up of other areas led by canons, as shown in the organisational chart.
The seal of the Cabildo represents the seated figure of the Virgin with the Child Jesus in her arms, according to the iconography of the shield on the Baroque Chapterhouse vault.
On 4 November 2017, the Chapter agreed, as a general aim for this four-year period, to give the Cathedral a new internal organisational model, based on its dual role of evangelisation and historical transmission of Christian cultural values.
With this aim, in February 2019, a specialist company was entrusted with analysing the management of the Cathedral in order to give the Chapter the objective data necessary to achieve this objective.
The results dof this analysis can be summarised as follows :
1.- The Chapter is the sole institutional body that manages the running of the Cathedral, and it delegates the operational and representative duties to the Dean President.
2.- A new organisational chart, meeting the needs of the Cathedral’s role as a Catholic church dedicated to celebrating the Faith and to Evangelisation and, at the same time, as a vehicle for social transmission of Christian culture through its architectural heritage, which has been protected since 1931 as an Asset of Cultural interest. The functional centre of the new organisational chart therefore comprises two departments: the Department of Evangelisation, Celebration and Faith and the Department of Culture, Heritage, Museums and Archive, the cultural and historical expression of the Faith. These departments include different areas, with canons responsible for each one, as stated in the Chapter charter.
3.- Antoni Ximenis Palmer, the Prefect of the Cathedral Sacristy will coordinate the technical management of the Department of Evangelisation, Celebration and Faith. And Dr Mercè Gambús Saiz (PhD in History of Art, degree in Law, lecturer in history of art at the University of the Balearic Islands and lead researcher in that university’s Research Group for the Preservation of Artistic and Religious Heritage) will be the scientific-technical coordinator of the Department of Culture, Heritage, Museums and Archive..
4.- In order to make the coordination, monitoring and management of the Cathedral in its specific functions (Faith - Cultural transmission - Administration of material assets) more efficient, two technical directorates have been created: the Administrative Technical Directorate, which the Chapter has entrusted to Joan Pastor Nieto (Degree in Management and Security and Master’s in Security) and the Financial-Economic Directorate, which is headed by Rafel Mesquida Oliver (Diploma in Tourism, Postgraduate degree in Accountancy and Financial Management and Financial Advisor for Religious and Third Sector Entities).
Position: Dean, administrator and director of the residence
Born: 06/06/1947 - Palma
Ordained: 13/06/1971
Assumption of office: 23/12/2002
Position: Treasurer of the brotherhood of Saint Peter and Saint Bernard
Born: 23/03/1948 - Palma
Ordained: 28/05/1972
Assumption of office: 31/01/2014
Position: Vice-dean, vice-administrator, secretary, canon responsible for the Department of Evangelisation and director of evangelisation
Born: 06/01/1958 - Palma
Ordained: 27/09/1987
Assumption of office: 28/10/2014
Position: Canon responsible for the area of Sacramental Pastoral
Born: 25/08/1957 - Palma
Ordained: 21/06/1987
Assumption of office: 27/10/2018
Position: Canon penitentiary
Born: 11/05/1954 - Sóller
Ordained: 16/05/1981
Assumption of office: 27/10/2018
Born: 09/01/1950 - Son Carrió
Ordained: 31/03/1979
Assumption of office: 27/10/2018
Position: Canon in charge of the Department of Culture and the Department of Infrastructure and services and director of Museum of Sacred Art of Mallorca
Born: 08/01/1959 - Palma
Ordained: 19/06/1993
Assumption of office: 03/07/2019
Position: Precentor for liturgy and music
Born: 05/07/1968 - Deià
Ordained: 08/01/1995
Assumption of office: 03/07/2019
Born: 03/04/1969 - Santanyí (Calonge)
Ordained: 07/01/1996
Assumption of office: 15/12/2021
Born: 06/07/1963 - Palma
Ordained: 19/11/1989
Assumption of office: 15/12/2021
Born: 23/12/1933- Capdepera
Ordained: 19/03/1957
Assumption of office: 10/02/1962
Born: 23/08/1940 - Lloseta
Ordained: 20/06/1965
Assumption of office: 29/06/1994
Born: 29/11/1930 - Sa Pobla
Ordained: 20/06/1954
Assumption of office: 29/06/1994
Born: 14/02/1944 - Alcúdia
Ordained: 26/03/1967
Assumption of office: 02/06/1999
Born: 25/01/1943 - Sta. Eugènia
Ordained: 19/06/1966
Assumption of office: 23/12/2002
Born: 20/05/1944 - Vilafranca
Ordained: 18/06/1967
Assumption of office: 23/12/2002
Born: 27/10/1942 - Porreras
Ordained: 19/06/1966
Assumption of office: 31/01/2014
Nacido: 03/10/1940 - Palma
Ordenado: 16/06/1973
Toma de posesión: 31/01/2014
Born: 26/11/1943 - Colònia Sant Pere
Ordained: 21/06/1969
Assumption of office: 27/10/2018