García Ramírez (bishop)

García Ramírez (died 17 July 1086) was an Aragonese prelate and infante. He served as the bishop of Jaca, then the only diocese in Aragon, from 1076 until his death. He temporarily served as the bishop of Pamplona, the principal diocese of neighbouring Navarre, from 1078 until 1082. He was a younger son of King Ramiro I of Aragon and Queen Ermesinda and thus a brother of King Sancho Ramírez. He had good relations with King Alfonso VI of León and Pope Gregory VII, both of whom took his side when he was involved in a dispute with his brother.

García was illiterate, and his assumption of episcopal office had more to do with high politics than religion. The diocese of Aragon was an itinerant see, with its de facto seat at the monastery of San Adrián de Sasave, prior to the election of García. In 1074, Bishop Sancho traveled to Rome to seek a papal dispensation to retire, citing physical infirmity. Given that he had personally undertaken the long journey to Rome, it is most likely that his removal was sought by the king for political reasons. By October 1076, García was bishop with his seat at Jaca, which had been the main seat of the rulers of Aragon for centuries. Within a year, a new cathedral in the Romanesque style was under construction.

García worked with his brother, King Sancho, to reduce the influence of the secular clergy. To this end, he introduced the Augustinian rule into the chapter of the new cathedral, and with it the Roman rite. These reforms, although intended merely to increase the relative power of the bishop and king, converged with the wider Gregorian reforms promoted by the pope.

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