Roman Catholic Diocese of Montepeloso

The Diocese of Montepeloso (also Diocese of Irsina) (Latin: Dioecesis Montis Pelusii) was a Roman Catholic diocese located in the town of Montepeloso in the province of Matera in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. It was united with the Diocese of Gravina (di Puglia) to form the Diocese of Gravina e Irsina (Montepeloso) in 1818.[1][2] The name "Irsina" was given to the town of Montepeloso by vote of the council of the commune on 6 February 1895.[3]

History

The town of Montepeloso had been fortified by the Byzantines as a north-west outpost against the Lombards. There is no notice of its existence before 988.[4]

In the privilege granted by the Patriarch of Constantinople to the Metropolitan of Otranto in the 960s, the Metropolitan was granted the right to consecrate the bishops of Acerenza, Tursi, Gravina, Matera, and Tricarico.[5] Montepeloso, though it was a frontier town in Byzantine territory like these bishoprics, is not mentioned in the privilege. The Diocese of Montepeloso, nevertheless, is said to have been established by the Byzantines in the late 10th or early 11th century.[6] In 1011, the Byzantine garrison of Montepeloso was attacked by Saracen raiders, under the leadership of Ismael.[7]

In 1041, a revolt of the Lombards against the Byzantines was restarted by Ardoin, who recruited several hundred Norman knights and footsoldiers from Salerno under the leadership of William "Ironarm" Hauteville. A definitive clash took place in a day-long pitched battle at Montepeloso in September 1041, after the Normans had stolen all their cattle and cut their supply line to the coast. The Lombard and Norman victory resulted in the expulsion of the Byzantines from Montepeloso and from the hill country, and the capture of their newly appointed katapan Bojoannes, who had to be ransomed.[8] In 1042, the Norman Tancred became the Count of Montepeloso.[9]

In 1059, an unnamed bishop of Montepelosi was deposed, by order of Pope Nicholas II at the Council of Melfi.[10]

Restoration, directly dependent on Holy See

On 11 September 1123, Pope Calixtus II wrote from Benevento to Bishop Leo of Montepeloso, remarking that the diocese of Montepeloso had been appropriated by the archdiocese of Acerenzo without papal sanction, and handed it over to the diocese of Tricarico.[11] The pope had been approached, when he visited Montepeloso and again at his palace in Benevento, by the bishop-elect Leo and the people of Montepeloso, begging to be granted their own bishop. After wide consultation, he restored the Diocese of Montepeloso and consecrated Leo.[12] Leo had been Prior of the Benedictine monastery of S. Maria in Montepeloso. The diocese of Montepeloso was made directly dependent upon the Holy See.[13]

Destruction

In 1133, King Roger II of Sicily completely destroyed the town of Montepeloso, which was a center of resistance to his rule. All the inhabitants left in the town, including the women and children, were slaughtered.[14] The entire county fell under the control of the county of Andria and the Diocese of Andria[2] Another revolt broke out in the spring of 1555, after William I came to the throne and appeared to be weak. The Byzantine emperor Manuel I Komnenos sent aid, and his agents Michael Paleologus and John Doukas raised a rebellion in Apulia. Bari, Trani, Giovinazzo, Ruvo, Andria, Montepeloso, Gravina, and numerous other towns and villages submitted to the Greeks. In William's counterstrike in 1156, climaxing in the battle of 28 May 1156, the Byzantine forces were overwhelmed.[15]

Pope Celestine III (1191–1198) was repeatedly petitioned by the clergy of Montepeloso to restore the bishopric of Montepeloso, which they had long had (quam habuerunt antiquitus). He ordered the petitioners to drop the subject, permanently.[16]

In 1195, the abbess of the church of S. Thomas at Barletta complained to the pope that the Prior of Montepeloso and the vicar of Barletta had broken into the church with an armed force, and attempted to strangle the abbess. On 15 December 1195, Pope Celestine III ordered that the perpetrators be excommunicated.[17]

Restoration, and independence

In 1460, the Diocese of Montepeloso was united, aeque personaliter, to the Diocese of Andria, though not by papal action or with papal approval. Its bishops were actually the bishops of Andria.[18]

In 1479, the clergy and people of the diocese of Montepeloso, repeatedly given short shrift by the Duke and Bishop of Andria, sent a petition to Pope Sixtus IV carried by their Archdeacon, Antonio Maffei. The pope was impressed by the simple honesty of the archdeacon, and the justice of the complaints he brought in his petition.[19] On 25 June 1479, Pope Sixtus issued the bull "Romanus Pontifex", in which he pronounced the union of the dioceses of Andria and Montepeloso null and void,[20] returning the diocese of Montepeloso and the Priory of S. Maria to the status quo ante.[21] Antonio Maffei was appointed bishop of Montepeloso.

Pope Sixtus IV made the diocese of Montepelosi directly dependent upon the Holy See.[22]

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.[23] The re-erection of the dioceses of the kingdom and the ecclesiastical provinces took more than three years. 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).[24] On 27 June 1818, Pius VII issued the bull De Ulteriore, in which he joined the diocese of Gravina to the diocese of Montepeluso in perpetual union, as the Diocese of Gravina e Montepeloso, one bishop to preside over both dioceses. Montepelosi was the dominant partner.[25]

Diocesan restructuring of 1986

The Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), in order to ensure that all Catholics received proper spiritual attention, decreed the reorganization of the diocesan structure of Italy and the consolidation of small and struggling dioceses. It also recommended the abolition of anomalous units such as exempt territorial prelatures.[26]

On 11 October 1976, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gravina-Montepeloso was dismembered. Montepeloso was moved, to join the diocese of Matera, as the Diocese of Matera e Irsina (Montepeloso), two dioceses united in having one and the same bishop. The diocese of Gravina became a suffragan of the archdiocese of Bari-Bitonto.[27]

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, as was the case with Montepeloso and Gravina, was to be abolished. Instead, 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 suppressed, and that its territory be incorporated along with the Prelature of Altamura and the Prelature of Aquaviva into a new diocese, the "Dioecesis Altamurensis-Gravinensis-Aquavivensis."[28] At the same time, the diocese of Montepeloso (Irpina) was suppressed, and its territory became part of the "Archidioecesis Materanensis-Montis Pelusii".[29]

Bishops of Montepeloso
Antonellus, O.S.F. (1452–1463)[30]
Giovanni Domenico de Cupis (1532–1537 Resigned) Administrator[38]
Raffaele Parrillo (1683)
  • Fabrizio Susanna (1684–1705)[55]
  • Antonio Aiello (1706–1714)[56]
  • Domenico Potenza (1718–1739)[57]
  • Cesare Rossi (1739–1750)[58]
  • Bartolomeo Coccoli (1750–1761)[59]
  • Francesco Paolo Carelli (1761–1763)[60]
  • Tommaso Agostino de Simone (1763–1781)[61]
  • Francesco Saverio Saggese (1792–1794)[62]
  • Archangelo Lupoli (1797–1818)[63]
27 June 1818: United with the Diocese of Gravina (di Puglia) to form the Diocese of Gravina e Montepeloso

See also

References
  1. "Diocese of Montepeloso" Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved March 23, 2016
  2. "Diocese of Irsina" GCatholic.org. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved February 29, 2016
  3. Duchesne (1903), p. 363.
  4. Gordon Brown (2003), The Norman Conquest of Southern Italy and Sicily (London: McFarland 2003), pp. 40-43. Duchesne (1903), p. 364.
  5. Liutprand of Cremona, "Relatio de legatione Constantinopolitana... a. 968.969," ch. 62, in: Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptorum Tomus III (Hannover: Hahn 1839), p. 361.
  6. L. Duchesne (1903), pp. 365, 371.
  7. "Ismael fecit bellum in Monte Peloso cum ipsis Graecis" ("Annales Barenses, in: Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Vol. V, p. 53). Duchesne (1903), p. 365.
  8. Brown, pp. 42-44.
  9. Duchesne (1903), p. 366.
  10. Kehr IX, p. 477, nos. 1, 2.
  11. "Nimirum nostra Montis Pilosi ecclesia quondam episcopalis gloria dignitatis ac proprii pastoris fuit solatio decorata; uerum quidem ecclesiae Acheruntinae antistes sine ulla sanctae Romanae ecclesiae auctoritate, cui soli episcopatus coniungere uel disiungere licitum est, eam Tricaricensi ecclesiae couniuit." Duchesne, pp. 371-372.
  12. Duchesne (1903), p. 372: "eidem ecclesiae antiquam episcopalis cathedrae restituimus dignitatem et te, dilecte in Christo frater Leo, eiusdem cleri et populi communi consensu et concordi uoto electum in ipsius loci episcopum nostris tanquam beati Petri manibus largiente Domino consecrauimus...."
  13. Kehr IX, pp. 476; 478, no. 5.
  14. Randall Rogers, Latin Siege Warfare in the Twelfth Century, (Oxford: Clarendon 1997), pp. 111-112. Janosi, pp. 58-59.
  15. Donald Matthew, The Norman Kingdom of Sicily (Cambridge UP 1992), pp. 268-269.
  16. Janosi, pp. 69-72, document VI. Kehr IX, p. 479, no. 9.
  17. Kehr IX, p. 305. Matthew, p. 293.
  18. Gams, p. 848, column 2.
  19. Janosi, pp. 275-276.
  20. "...de fratruum nostrorum consilio casu quo de unione, annexione, et incorporatione hujusmodi aliquando constaret, illas nullas et invalidas fuisse...."
  21. The bull is quoted in full in Janosi, pp. 281-282.
  22. Kehr IX, p. 477.
  23. F. Torelli (1848), La chiave del concordato dell'anno 1818 I, second edition (Naples: Fibreno 1848), pp. 1-19.
  24. Torelli I, p. 9.
  25. 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."
  26. In its decree Christus Dominus, section 22, it stated: "Concerning diocesan boundaries, therefore, this sacred synod decrees that, to the extent required by the good of souls, a fitting revision of diocesan boundaries be undertaken prudently and as soon as possible. This can be done by dividing dismembering or uniting them, or by changing their boundaries, or by determining a better place for the episcopal see or, finally, especially in the case of dioceses having larger cities, by providing them with a new internal organization.... At the same time the natural population units of people, together with the civil jurisdictions and social institutions that compose their organic structure, should be preserved as far as possible as units. For this reason, obviously, the territory of each diocese should be continuous."
  27. The bull Apostolicis Litteris (in Latin), in: Acta Apostolicae Sedis 68 (1976), pp. 641-642.
  28. Acta Apostolicae Sedis 79 (Città del Vaticano 1987), pp. 715-718.
  29. Acta Apostolicae Sedis 79 (Città del Vaticano 1987), pp. 732-735.
  30. Antonellus was actually bishop of Andria0. Cf. Gams, p. 999 col. 2.
  31. Antonius: Janora, pp. 133-134, quoting his funeral monument.
  32. Maffei built the first episcopal palace. Janora, pp. 274-276.
  33. Eubel Hierarchia catholica II, p. 195.
  34. Cantelmi was a Neapolitan, and claimed descent from the kings of Scotland. Janora, p. 277. Eubel II, pp. 196-197 with notes 2 and 3.
  35. Carmini (de Cerbaria) was appointed Bishop of Montepeloso on 10 January 1491, by Pope Innocent VIII. He was transferred to the diocese of Trivento by Pope Alexander VI on 26 November 1498. Eubel II, p. 196, 257.
  36. Janosa, p. 278, prefers the spelling "Coppuleo" or "Coppola". Eubel II, p. 197; III, p. 249.
  37. Landolfi: Janosi, p. 278. Eubel III, p. 249.
  38. De Cupis was a nephew of Pope Paul III. Janosi, p. 278. Eubel III, p. 249.
  39. Tempestino of Montefalco in Umbria was Commendatory of S. Biagio in Rome. He died in Rome in 1540. Janosi, pp. 278-270. Eubel III, p. 249.
  40. Martino was appointed bishop on 15 November 1540. On 10 May 1541, Santacroce was granted permission to take possession of the diocese of Montepeloso even though his bulls of appointment and installation had not yet been processed. Eubel III, p. 249 with note 6.
  41. Paolo de Cupis, a canon of the Lateran Basilica, was appointed bishop of Montepeloso on 27 January 1546 by Pope Paul III. On 25 February 1548, De Cupis was appointed Bishop of Recanati by Pope Paul III. Janosi, p. 279. Eubel III, p. 249 with note 7; 281.
  42. Ascanio Ferrari, a native of Bisignano, was appointed bishop on 24 February 1548. He resigned in 1550. Janosi, p. 279. Eubel III, p. 249 with note
  43. Following the resignation of Bishop Ascanio Ferrari, Vincenzo Ferrari, his brother, who was Dean of the Cathedral of Rossano, was appointed bishop of Montepeloso, on 5 December 1550. He resigned in 1561. His successor was appointed on 5 December 1561. Janosi, p. 279 (who places his appointment on 14 November 1550). Eubel III, pp. 249; 323.
  44. Giovanni Ludovico di Coperio was appointed by Pope Pius IV on 5 December 1561. He was named Bishop of Mottola on 5 July 1566, by Pope Pius V. He died in 1579. Janosi, p. 280. Eubel III, pp. 249, 251.
  45. Vincenzo Ferrari was named Administrator of Montepeloso during the reign of Bishop Giovanni Ludovico, in 1564. He continued on after Bishop Giovanni was transferred to Mottola. On 2 June 1578, Bishop Vincenzo was appointed Bishop of Umbriatico. He died in 1579. Janosi, p. 280. Eubel III, pp. 249; 323.
  46. Maranta: Eubel III, p. 249.
  47. Dragomani: Janosi, pp. 385-386. Eubel III, p. 249.
  48. Gauchat, Patritius (Patrice) (1935). Hierarchia catholica medii et recentioris aevi. Vol. IV. Münster: Libraria Regensbergiana. pp. 247–248. (in Latin)
  49. Scribani, a Genoese, held the degree of Doctor in utroque iure. He was appointed Bishop of Montepeloso on 20 October 1596, by Pope Clement VIII. He died in 1600. Janosi, p. 386. Gauchat IV, p. 247 with note2.
  50. Didacus held the title of master theology, and was Prior of the Carmelite monastery of S. Martino ai Monti in Rome. He was appointed Bishop of Montepeloso in the consistory of 20 November 1623, by Pope Urban VIII, and was consecrated a bishop by Cardinal Garsias Mellini on 24 November. Merini was appointed Bishop of Isernia on 24 August 1626. Janosi, p. 388. Gauchat IV, pp. 211 with note 6; 247 with note 7.
  51. Gaudi dei Conti di Castelli d' Interamna was appointed by Pope Urban VIII on 12 January 1637. He was consecrated in Rome by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Palotti on 18 January. He died in October 1637 in Gravina. Janosi, p. 392. Gauchat IV, p. 248 with note 9.
  52. Orsini, a Roman, was appointed on 1 March 1638. He completely rebuilt the episcopal palace. He died, according to Janosi in 1654. Janosi, p. 392-393. Gauchat IV, p. 248 with note 10.
  53. Cesarini held the degree of Doctor in utroque iure. He was appointed Bishop of Montepeloso by Pope Alexander VII on 5 July 1655. On 12 March 1674, Cesarini was appointed Bishop of Nola by Pope Clement X. Janosi, p. 393. Gauchat IV, p. 248 with note 11. Ritzler & Sefrin V, p. 291 with note 2.
  54. Riario: Ritzler & Sefrin V, p. 274 with note 2.
  55. Susanna: Ritzler & Sefrin V, p. 274 with note 3.
  56. Aiello: Ritzler & Sefrin V, p. 275 with note 4.
  57. Potenza: Ritzler & Sefrin V, p. 275 with note 5.
  58. Rossi was born in Marsi in 1696. He held the degree of Doctor in utroque iure (Rome, Sapienza 1722). He was Archdeacon and Vicar General of Muro Lucano, and then Vicar General of Ariano, and of Materana. He was appointed bishop of Montepeloso on 15 July 1739, by Pope Clement XII, and was consecrated a bishop in Rome on 19 July by Cardinal Annibale Albano. Bishop Rossi was appointed Bishop of Gerace on 23 February 1750, by Pope Benedict XIV. He died in Gerace on 14 November 1755. Ritzler & Sefrin VI, pp. 235 with note 3; 295 with note 2.
  59. Coccoli: Ritzler & Sefrin VI, pp. 296 with note 3.
  60. Carelli: Ritzler & Sefrin VI, pp. 296 with note 4.
  61. De Simone: Ritzler & Sefrin VI, pp. 296 with note 5.
  62. Saggese: Ritzler & Sefrin VI, pp. 296 with note 6.
  63. Lupoli was born at Frattamaggiore (diocese of Aversa) in 1765. He held the degree of doctor of theology (Naples 1797). He was nominated by the King of the Two Sicilies, Ferdinand I, on 31 October 1797, and confirmed by Pope Pius VI to the post of bishop of Montepeloso on 18 December 1797. He was nominated by the King of Naples, Ferdinand IV, and confirmed by Pope Pius VII to the post of Archbishop of Conza e Campagna on 25 May 1818. In 1831, he became Archbishop of Salerno. He died in 1834. Ritzler & Sefrin VI, pp. 296 with note 7; VII, pp. 158, 330.

Books

Studies

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