Orihuela City Council has approved €98,000 in direct grants for the Diocese of Orihuela-Alicante and two cultural foundations.
The diocese will receive €63,000 for the third consecutive year, despite a council motion approved in April 2025 calling for the amount to rise to €100,000. The proposal was submitted by Vox and passed with PSOE support, while the PP abstained.
A municipal comptroller initially questioned whether the exceptional direct award had been sufficiently justified. The council later argued that the diocese occupies a unique position because it owns or manages an irreplaceable part of Orihuela’s historic heritage.
The money will support the conservation, promotion and public opening of landmarks including Orihuela Cathedral, the Episcopal Palace and several historic churches. It cannot be used for worship, religious teaching, pastoral activities or internal Church administration.
The Miguel Hernández Cultural Foundation will receive €15,000 to organise this year’s Miguel Hernández–Valencian Community International Poetry Prize.
A further €20,000 will go to Orihuela’s Historic and Artistic Heritage Foundation for activities linked to the Year of Teodomiro. These include historical publications, a short-story competition, the Night of Culture and Teodomiro Awards, and a Bartolomé Roca exhibition catalogue.
Because Orihuela is operating under an extended budget, the three grants had to be processed as exceptional direct awards rather than subsidies included in newly approved 2026 accounts.
