Roman Catholic Diocese of Gravina-Montepeloso

The diocese of Gravina and Montepeloso is a former ecclesiastical territory of the Roman Catholic Church in Apulia, southern Italy. Gravina is about 59 km (36 mi) southwest of Bari. Since 1986 it has formed part of the merged diocese of Altamura-Gravina-Acquaviva. Gravina in Apulia was the seat of the episcopal see from the ninth century.[1][2]

The cathedral of The Assumption of the Virgin Mary, Gravina

Ecclesiastical history

Bishop Petrus of Hydruntum (968) was raised to the dignity of Metropolitan by Polyeuctus, Patriarch of Constantinople (956-970), with the obligation to establish the Byzantine Rite throughout the new ecclesiastical province, and the authority to consecrate bishops in the churches of Acerenza, Tursi, Gravina, Matera, and Tricarico, all previously dependent on the Church of Rome. The Latin Church was introduced again after the Norman conquest, but the Byzantine Rite remained in use in several towns of the archdiocese and of its suffragans, until the sixteenth century.[3]

The first known bishop of Gravina is Leo;[4] other bishops of note are: Giacomo Orsini (1302), who replaced the Greek rite with the Latin (Roman) rite, by order of Gentile Orsini Archbishop of Acerenza; Vincenzo Giustianiani (1593), a Genoese nobleman, who founded the seminary, the church of the Madonna delle Grazie and the Capuccinelle convent; Domenico Cennini (1645), who rebuilt the episcopal residence; Fra Domenico Valvassori (1686), a patron of learning and founder of an Accademia Teologica.

On 16 June 1102, Pope Paschal II confirmed for the archbishop of Acerenza all his diocese's privileges and possessions, including the suffragan (subordinate) diocese of Gravina.[5]

At the end of 1608, the palace of the dukes of Gravina was transferred to the bishops of Gravina, since they had had constructed a new palace in the Via S. Tommaso.[6] Ferdinando (Ferrante) and his wife, Giovanna Frangipane della Tolfa, also began the construction of S. Maria, called the "Purgatorio" in 1644.[7]

On 12 February 1649, Pietro Francesco Orsini, known in religion as Vincenzo Maria Orsini, O.P., the future Pope Benedict XIII, was born in Gravina. He was the eldest son of Ferdinando (Ferrante), 11th Duke of Gravina, 2nd Prince of Solofra, and Count of Muro Lucano, 2nd Prince di Galluccio.[8]

Reorganization

Following the expulsion of the French occupying forces in 1816, and the restoration of the Papal States and the Kingdom of Naples, a new concordat was signed on 16 February 1818, and ratified by Pius VII on 25 February 1818. Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies issued the concordat as a law on 21 March 1818.[9] The right of the king to nominate the candidate for a vacant bishopric was recognized, as in the Concordat of 1741, subject to papal confirmation (preconisation).[10] On 27 June 1818, Pius VII issued the bull De Ulteriore, in which he joined the diocese of Gravina, which had been a suffragan of the archdiocese of Potenza, to the diocese of Montepeluso in perpetual union, as the Diocese of Gravina e Montepeloso, one bishop to preside over both dioceses, aeque principaliter. Montepelosi was the dominant partner. Both dioceses were to be directly subject to the Holy See.[11]

Montepeloso is situated on a hill in the neighbouring Province of Potenza. The diocese dated back to the 12th century and was refounded in the 15th century; it is directly subject to the Holy See. Montepeloso has been called Irpina since 1895. The united dioceses, directly subject to the Holy See, had in the early 20th century 9 parishes and some 28,000 baptized people. In 1986, the diocese of Montepeloso (Irpina) was suppressed, and its territory became part of the "Archidioecesis Materanensis-Montis Pelusii".[12]

Diocesan Reorganization

Following the Second Vatican Council, and in accordance with the norms laid out in the council's decree, Christus Dominus chapter 40,[13] It also recommended the abolition of anomalous units such as exempt territorial prelatures. Pope Paul VI ordered a reorganization of the ecclesiastical provinces in southern Italy, beginning with consultations among the members of the Congregation of Bishops in the Vatican Curia, the Italian Bishops Conference, and the various dioceses concerned.

On 18 February 1984, the Vatican and the Italian State signed a new and revised concordat. Based on the revisions, a set of Normae was issued on 15 November 1984, which was accompanied in the next year, on 3 June 1985, by enabling legislation. According to the agreement, the practice of having one bishop govern two separate dioceses at the same time, aeque personaliter, was abolished. The Vatican continued consultations which had begun under Pope John XXIII for the merging of small dioceses, especially those with personnel and financial problems, into one combined diocese.

On 30 September 1986, Pope John Paul II ordered that the diocese of Gravina be merged with the territorial prelatures of Altamura and of Aquaviva into one diocese with one bishop, with the Latin title Dioecesis Altamurensis-Gravinensis-Aquavivensis. The seat of the diocese was to be in Altamura, where the prelatial church was to serve as the cathedral of the merged diocese. The cathedral in Gravina and the prelatial seat in Aquaviva were to have the honorary titles of "co-cathedral"; the Chapters were each to be a Capitulum Concathedralis. There was to be only one diocesan Tribunal, in Altamura, and likewise one seminary, one College of Consultors, and one Priests' Council. The territory of the new diocese was to include the territory of the suppressed diocese and territorial prelatures. To make the territories of the new diocese congruent, the town of San Teramo in Colle was detached from the archdiocese of Bari-Bitonto and added to that of Altamura. The new diocese was made a suffragan of the archdiocese of Bari-Bitonto.[14]

Bishops

Diocese of Gravina (di Puglia)

Erected: 9th Century
Metropolitan: Archdiocese of Acerenza e Matera

to 1450
...
  • Leo (attested 876)[15]
...
Sede vacante (attested in 1091)[16]
...
  • Guido (attested 1123/24)[17]
...
  • Hugo (attested 1155)[18]
...
  • Robertus (attested 1179)[19]
  • Thomas (attested 1188 – 1212)[20]
  • Samuel (attested 1219 – 1238)[21]
...
  • Pantaleone (c. 1245 – 1266)[22]
  • Jacobus (1250 – 1266)[23]
Sede vacante (1266 – 1281)[24]
  • Petrus, O.S.B. (1282)[25]
  • Palmerius (1283 – 1286)[26]
  • Nicolaus da Potenza, O.P. (1287 – 1291)[27]
  • Johannes (1291 – 1294)[28]
  • Jacobus (1296 — 1306)[29]
  • Franciscus (1311 – 1318)[30]
  • Nicolaus
  • Richardus Caracciolo (1335 – 1343)
  • Andreas da Perugia, O.Min. (1343 – 1345)
  • Tancredus da Auleto, O.Min. (1346 – 1348)
  • Bernardus Coccius (1349 – 1350)
  • Johannes da Gallinario, O.Min. (1350 – 1373)
  • Lucianus da Gravina, O.E.S.A. (1373 – 1381?)[31]
  • Nicolaus da Madio, O.P. (1386 – ? ) Avignon Obedience
  • Philippus (1386? – 1395) Roman Obedience[32]
  • Franciscus (1395 – 1400)
  • Antonius (1400 – 1402) Roman Obedience[33]
  • Rogerius de Langobardi (1402 – 1411) Roman Obedience[34]
  • Henricus, O.Min. (1411 – 1429)
  • Giovanni Roberti Santoro (1429 – 1446?)[35]

1447 to 1818
Marino Orsini (Marinus de Ursinis) (1447–1473) Administrator[36]
Sede vacante (1806 – 1818)

Diocese of Gravina e Irsina (Montepeloso)

United: 27 June 1818 with the Diocese of Montepeloso
Latin Name: Gravinensis et Montis Pelusii
Immediately Subject to the Holy See

  • Ludovico Maria Roselli, O.F.M. (2 Oct 1818 Confirmed – 15 Oct 1818 Died)
  • Cassiodoro Margarita (21 Dec 1818 Confirmed – 1 Sep 1850 Died)
  • Franciscus Xaverius Giannuzzi Savelli (17 Feb 1851 Confirmed – 14 Aug 1851 Died)
  • Mario De Luca (27 Sep 1852 Confirmed – 24 Mar 1855 Died)
  • Raffaele Antonio Morisciano (28 Sep 1855 Confirmed – 27 Sep 1858 Appointed, Bishop of Squillace)
  • Alfonso Maria Cappetta (Cappelta) (20 Jun 1859 Confirmed – 22 Jul 1871 Died)
  • Vincenzo Salvatore (6 May 1872 – 7 Sep 1899 Died)
  • Cristoforo Maiello (14 Dec 1899 – 8 Mar 1906 Died)
  • Nicolo Zimarino (1906 – 1920)[42]
  • Giovanni Maria Sanna, O.F.M. Conv. (1922 – 1953 Retired)[43]
  • Aldo Forzoni (14 May 1953 – 30 Nov 1961 Appointed, Bishop of Diano-Teggiano)
  • Giuseppe Vairo (19 Jan 1962 – 23 Dec 1971 Resigned)
  • Salvatore Isgró (25 Apr 1975 – 18 Mar 1982 Appointed, Archbishop of Sassari)

Diocese of Gravina

11 October 1976: Diocese Split into the Diocese of Gravina and the Diocese of Matera e Irsina
Metropolitan: Archdiocese of Bari-Canosa

  • Tarcisio Pisani, O.M. (28 Jun 1982 – 30 Sep 1986)[44]

On 30 September 1986, the diocese of Gravina was suppressed.

See also

References
  1. "Diocese of Gravina" Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 20 March 2016
  2. "Diocese of Gravina" GCatholic.org. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved 20 March. 2016
  3. Liutprand of Cremona, "Relatio de legatione Constantinopolit,ana... a. 968.969," ch. 62, in: Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptorum Tomus III (Hannover: Hahn 1839), p. 361. L. Duchesne (1903), "L'eveché de Montepeloso," (in French), in: Mélanges d'archéologie et d'histoire XXIII (1903), pp. 363-373, at pp. 365, 371. Kehr IX, p. 408.
  4. Kehr IX, p. 481, contends that this is Leo Sabinensis, not Leo Gravinensis: "Ex serie itaque episcoporum reiciendus est Leo ille, quern Ughellus aliique ex concilio a. 876 in partibus Galliae celebrate laudaverunt; est potius episcopus Sabinensis, legatus Adriani II papae."
  5. Ughelli VII, p. 29. Kehr IX, p. 458, no. 9: "munit Acherontinam ecclesiam apost. decreti auctoritate et confirmat, quaecumque metropolitano iure praeteritis temporibus ei pertinuisse noscuntur, videlicet Venusium, Gravinam, Tricaricum, Tursum, Potentiam, ut potestatem habeat in eis episcopos ordinandi ac consecrandi."
  6. Nardone, p. 101.
  7. Nardone, p. 102.
  8. Nardone, pp. 98, 101. J.N.D. Kelly & M.J. Walsh, Oxford Dictionary of Popes 2nd edition (Oxford UP 2010), p. 297.
  9. F. Torelli (1848), La chiave del concordato dell'anno 1818 I, second edition (Naples: Fibreno 1848), pp. 1-19.
  10. Torelli I, p. 9.
  11. Bulliarii Romani Continuatio Tomus 25 (Rome 1853), p. 57, § 23: "Ecclesiam vero Gravinensem concathedralem declarantes, alteri episcopali ecclesiae Montis Pelusii aeque principaliter in perpetuum unimus."
  12. Acta Apostolicae Sedis 79 (Città del Vaticano 1987), pp. 732-735.
  13. Christus Dominus 40. Therefore, in order to accomplish these aims this sacred synod decrees as follows: 1) The boundaries of ecclesiastical provinces are to be submitted to an early review and the rights and privileges of metropolitans are to be defined by new and suitable norms. 2) As a general rule all dioceses and other territorial divisions that are by law equivalent to dioceses should be attached to an ecclesiastical province. Therefore dioceses which are now directly subject to the Apostolic See and which are not united to any other are either to be brought together to form a new ecclesiastical province, if that be possible, or else attached to that province which is nearer or more convenient. They are to be made subject to the metropolitan jurisdiction of the bishop, in keeping with the norms of the common law. 3) Wherever advantageous, ecclesiastical provinces should be grouped into ecclesiastical regions for the structure of which juridical provision is to be made.
  14. Acta Apostolicae Sedis 79 (Città del Vaticano 1987), pp. 716-718.
  15. Leo: Ughelli VII, p. 115. Cappelletti XXI, p. 367. Cesare Baronio (Baronius), Annales ecclesiastici (new edition by Augustino Theiner) Tomus quintusdecimus (15) (Barri-Ducis, 1868), p. 268 § 25: "Et post laudes actas in dominum Apostolicum, et domnum imperatorem et imperatricem, et caeteros juxta morem, data oratione a Leone Gravinensi episcopo, soluta est Synodus."
  16. In a document of Unfridus, lord of the city of Gravina, in December 1091, it is remarked that the diocese had been without a bishop for some time (diu). Kehr, p. 481.
  17. Kehr IX, p. 482, no. 1. Guido was one of four bishops appointed by Pope Calixtus II to investigate the claims for sainthood for the late Bishop Gerard of Potenza.
  18. In November 1155, Marchese Silvestro of Gravina granted property and vassals to the monastery of Cava. Bishop Hugo witnessed the document. Mattei-Cerasoli (1918), p. 380.
  19. Bishop Robertus was present at the Third Lateran Council of Pope Alexander III in March 1179. Ughelli VII, p. 117 no. 4. Kamp, p. 787, with note 7.
  20. Thomas: Ughelli VII, p. 117 no. 5. Kamp, pp. 787-788.
  21. In February 1238, Bishop Samuel witnessed a grant of Bishop Giovanni of Mottola to the monastery of Cava. It is uncertain whether it was Bishop Thomas or Bishop Samuel who attended the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215. Bishop Samuel built at his own expense the church of the Madonna di Altamura, which later became a collegiate church, headed by an archpriest nullius (i.e. exempt from the jurisdiction of the neighbouring bishop)Ughelli VII, p. 118. Mattei-Cerasoli (1918), p. 380. Kamp, pp. 788-790.
  22. Pantaleone: Eubel I, p. 268.
  23. Jacobus da Tarento was deposed on 18 October 1266 by the papal legate, Radulfus of Albino, with the consent of Pope Clement IV, on the grounds that he was a supporter of King Manfred of Sicily. The letter of Pope Clement IV is printed by Edmund Martène and Ursin Durand, Thesaurus novus anecdotorum, Tomus secundus (Paris 1717), p. 414, no. 388. Ughelli VII, p. 117 no. 8. Eubel I, p. 268. Kamp, pp. 791-792.
  24. Ughelli states that the episcopal seat was vacant for a period of sixteen years. Ughelli VII, p. 118: "Item statim post adventum b.m. D. Regis Caroli I vacavit cathedralis ecclesia Gravinensis per sexdecim annos et plus...."
  25. Petrus was a monk of Montecassino. He died on 26 November 1283. Cappelletti XXI, p. 367. Eubel I, p. 268.
  26. On 23 November 1282, the papal legate in Sicily, Gaillard of Sabina, issued an order prohibiting the cathedral Chapter of Gravina from electing a new bishop, and reserving to himself the right to provide a suitable successor. Eubel I, p. 268, note 1.
  27. Nicolaus de Madia: Ughelli VII, p. 118, no. 11. Eubel I, p. 268.
  28. Johannes: Eubel I, p. 268.
  29. In February 1304, Bishop Jacobus confirmed the donation of the church of S. Maria Nova, which had already been made by Bishop Urso. Ughelli VII, p. 119. Mattei-Cerasoli (1918), p. 381.
  30. On 19 April 1318, Bishop Franciscus restored the church of S. Maria Nuova to the monastery of Cava. Ughelli VII, p. 119. Mattei-Cerasoli (1918), pp. 381-382.
  31. An inscription in the sacristy of the cathedral of Gravina, erected in 1723, states that Bishop Lucianus lived "usque ad Ann. MCCCLXXXI" (1381). Nardone, p. 195.
  32. Philippus was appointed by Urban VI (Roman Obedience), apparently in 1386. He was transferred to the archdiocese of Otranto by Pope Boniface IX on 1 May 1395 (or 16 April 1395). He died in 1417. Eubel I, pp. 268, 280.
  33. Antonius was transferred to the diocese of Isola on 4 January 1402. In the same year, on 2 October, he was transferred to the diocese of Iserna, and on 14 May 1404 (or 12 July 1404) to the diocese of Terracina. He was removed from office in 1411, as a follower of Pope Gregory XII (Roman Obedience), who had been deposed for heresy and schism by the Council of Pisa on 5 June 1409. Eubel I, pp. 268, 285, 287, 478.
  34. Rogerius, a native of Gravina, was appointed on 4 January 1402, by Pope Boniface IX. Nardone, p. 151. Eubel I, p. 268.
  35. Nardone (p. 195) quotes an inscription in the sacristy of the cathedral of Gravina, erected in 1723, which states that Bishop Santoro "floruit usque ad Ann. MCDXLVI" (1446). . Elsewhere, Nardoni (p. 152) states that Bishop Santoro died on 25 January 1447.
  36. Jean Guiraud (L'état pontifical après le grand schisme, p. 116.) states that Marino was a son of Francesco Orsini, Conte di Gravina from 1417, and Duke from 1436; and the natural son of Pescarella, a Roman lady (later legitimized by Queen Johanna II of Naples). He was the brother-in-law of Onorato Caetani, lord of Sermoneta, who married his eldest sister Caterina in 1437. Marino Orsini had been a protonotary apostolic, and an intimate of Pope Eugenius IV. He was a papal messenger to the Emperor in 1433. He was administrator of the diocese of Conversano from 1434 to 1437. In 1144, he was governor of Umbria. He was Archbishop-elect of Palermo from 4 June 1445 to 30 July 1445, and then Archbishop of Tarento, from 30 July 1445 until his death. He was also named Bishop of Gravina on 14 February 1447, which he held along with Tarento until his death in 1471 (according to Ughelli). He was papal legate in England from 1451 to 1453. On his return, he was appointed governor of the Marches in 1455. Ughelli VII, p. 121. Eubel II, pp. 161, 211, 246. Margaret M. Harvey, England, Rome, and the Papacy, 1417-1464 (Manchester University Press, 1993), pp. 96. 98, 116-117.
  37. Eubel II, p. 161.
  38. Eubel III, p, 205.
  39. "Bishop Francesco Bossi" Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 21 March 2016
  40. Gauchat, Patritius (Patrice) (1935). Hierarchia catholica medii et recentioris aevi. Vol. IV. Münster: Libraria Regensbergiana. p. 197. (in Latin)
  41. Valvassori was born in Trezzo (diocese of Milan) in 1627. He was a master of theology, and had been Procurator and then Minister General of his Order. He was appointed bishop of Gravina on 18 March 1686, by Pope Innocent XI. He died in Gravina on 2 October 1689. Ritzler & Sefrin Hierarchia catholica VI, p. 213 with note 3. David M. Cheney, "Bishop Domenico Valvassori, O.S.A." Catholic-Hierarchy.org: Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  42. Zimarino was born in Casalbordino (diocese of Vasto) in 1847. He was named Bishop of Lacedonia on 30 November 1895. On 1 (or 6) December 1906, he was transferred to the diocese of Gravina e Montepeloso. He died on 15 May 1920.Nardone, p. 182.
  43. Sanna was born in 1873 in Oristano (Cagliari). He was appointed Bishop of Ampurias e Tempio on 22 December 1914, and consecrated a bishop on 2 February 1915. He was transferred to the diocese of Gravina e Irsina on 12 May 1922. He retired on 15 April 1953, and was granted the honorary titular bishopric of Eucarpia (Phrygia, Turkey). He died in 1956. Nardone, p. 182.
  44. On 30 September 1986, Bishop Pisani received the new title of Bishop of Altamura-Gravina-Acquaviva delle Fonti. The diocese of Gravina was incorporated into the merged dioceses.

Bibliography

Episcopal lists

Studies

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