Bishop of Girona
Octavi Vilà Mayo, O.Cist., was born in Tarragona on December 11, 1961. He pursued his philosophical and theological studies at the Faculty of Theology of Catalonia. He entered the novitiate at the Monastery of Poblet on January 26, 2006 and made his temporary profession on January 26, 2007, and made his solemn profession on August 15, 2010. He was ordained a deacon on June 27, 2014, and ordained a priest on May 1, 2015. His academic background includes a degree in Geography and History (1984), a diploma in Library and Information Science from the University of Barcelona (1987), and a diploma in New Information Technologies from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (1996). He served as Secretary and Vice President of the Bibliographic Archive of Santes Creus (1998–2005) and has authored various articles and historical studies. Since December 3, 2015, he has served as Abbot of the Monastery of Santa María de Poblet. He was confirmed as abbot by the community until reaching the statutory age limit on December 2, 2021. As Abbot of Poblet, he serves as president of the Cistercian Congregation of the Crown of Aragon and is a member of the General Chapter and the Synod of the Cistercian Order; he is also president of the board of the Montserrat Tarradellas i Macià Archive and a member of the Poblet board of trustees. Before entering the monastery, he worked at the Tarragona newspaper archive between 1983 and 2005. He served as secretary of the Poblet brotherhood (2000–2005); secretary of the Poblet board of trustees (from 2003); secretary and vice-president of the Santes Creus bibliographic archive (1998–2005); a board member of the Montserrat Tarradellas i Macià Archive (2000–2005); and a member of the inaugural editorial board of the magazine *Poblet* (also 2000–2005). He contributes to the press and has authored various works on contemporary history and librarianship, particularly regarding the management of newspaper collections. Together with Dr. Maria Bonet, he revised and updated the 2015 reissue of Agustí Altisent's *History of Poblet*. On February 29, 2024, Pope Francis announced his appointment as Bishop of Girona. His episcopal ordination took place on April 21, 2024, at the Cathedral of Girona. He was confirmed as abbot on February 27, 2016.