The Diocese of Avezzano (Latin: Dioecesis Marsorum) is a Latindiocese of the Catholic Church in central Italy, whose name in Italian was changed in 1986. It was previously known as the Diocese of Marsi, as it still is in Latin. It has been a suffragan of the Archdiocese of L'Aquila since 1972.[1][2]
History
The diocese of Marsi had its original seat at Pescina.
According to a local legend, the Gospel was preached to the Marsican region in Apostolic times by Mark the Evangelist.[3]Rufinus, their bishop, was martyred about 240.[4] The episcopal see was originally at Santa Sabina church in Marruvium, but, as this place was isolated and therefore insecure, Pope Gregory XIII permitted, in 1580, the removal of the bishop's residence to Pescina, where the cathedral was completed in 1596.[5]
Among the bishops of the diocese was Berardo (c.1110–1130) of the family of the Counts of the Marsi. He was educated at Montecassino, and became papal governor of the Campagna. On account of his justice and of his severity in that office, he was imprisoned by Pietro Colonna, but Pope Paschal II made him a cardinal, and bishop of his native town.[6][5]
Shortly after the beginning of the episcopate of Pandolfus in 1032, in the midst of intense civil strife, Pope Benedict IX[7] divided the diocese of Marsi,[8] leaving part to Pandolfus and giving the rest to Bishop Atto, a relative of the Theophylacts. Atto's cathedral was established at S. Maria di Carsoli, and he took possession both of the territory of Carsoli and the valley of the Nerfa river.[9] At the general council held in the Lateran by Pope Victor II, on 18 April 1057, however, the decisions of Benedict IX were reversed,[10] and the diocese of Marsi reunited in its original form. Pandulfus continued as its bishop, and Atto, at the insistence of the entire assembly, was transferred to the diocese of Chieti.[11] On 9 December 1057, the new pope, Stephen IX, confirmed the decisions of the synod, and further confirmed Bishop Pandulf in the possession of the entire diocese of Marsi, including the church of Santa Sabina, of the ancient city of the Marsi, his episcopal seat.[12]
On 25 February 1114, Pope Paschal II issued a bull, "Sicut iniusta poscentibus," confirming for Bishop Berardus all of the parish boundaries and enumerating all of his privileges and rights.[13]
Pope Gregory XIII published the bull "In suprema dignitatis" on 1 January 1580, in response to petitions from Bishop Matthew, leaders, and citizens of the civitas Marsorum, who pointed out that for more than forty years the city had been devastated, the victim of wars.[14] He granted their requests, and transferred the episcopal seat, the canons, all the benefices, and other diocesan apparatus to the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Pescina.[15]
The diocesan seminary was begun by Bishop Giambattista Milanese (1562–1577), but not put into use until Bishop Matteo Colli issued a bull on 17 August 1580, in which he redirected the income of 53 benefices established by the duchess of Amalfi, as well as all the benefices on the lands of the Colonna and the Savelli.[16]
Bishop Bartolomeo Peretti 1597–1628) showed immediately upon his appointment that he was a friend of the poor and the average citizen. But he made a bad name for himself among the aristocracy, particularly the Tornese, as he mixed into their financial, political, and marital business. Like his predecessor, he was litigious. Complaints from powerful men reached Rome, and in January 1600 he was summoned to Rome by Pope Clement VIII to give an accounting of his activities. He was lodged in the Castel Sant'Angelo, and forbidden to exercise the administration of the diocese of Marsi. An apostolic administrator, Sebastiano Ghislieri, was appointed, until he was named bishop of Strongoli on 30 April 1601. He was succeeded by Paolo Pagano, who died in November 1601, and then Fulgenzio Tomassetti of Pescina until 1606. He was succeeded by Pompeo Gallosio, the Provost of Celano, for five months in 1606, until Bishop Peretti was finally released in the middle of the year.[17]
On 1 August 1606, Bishop Bartolomeo Peretti consecrated the cathedral of S. Maria delle Grazie.[18]
Bishop Benedetto Mattei (1760–1776) made frequent trips during his episcopate both to Rome and to Naples, where he had family and diocesan business. On his return to the diocese, he preferred to stay at the family palazzo in Celano rather than in the less congenial Pescina, where the episcopal palace was in a run-down condition. The absence of the bishop was inconvenient for the canons of the cathedral Chapter of S. Maria delle Grazie in Pescina, and when Bishop Mattei set up a throne in the church of S. Giovanni in Celano for his pontifical convenience, even designating the church a co-cathedral, the Chapter was outraged. The bishop announced that he would make the arrangement permanent, but on 24 June 1776 he died.[19]
Synods
A diocesan synod was an irregularly held, but important, meeting of the bishop of a diocese and his clergy. Its purpose was (1) to proclaim generally the various decrees already issued by the bishop; (2) to discuss and ratify measures on which the bishop chose to consult with his clergy; (3) to publish statutes and decrees of the diocesan synod, of the provincial synod, and of the Holy See.[20]
The first diocesan synod was held by Bishop Giambattista Milanese (1562–1577), shortly after his return from the Council of Trent.[21]
Bishop Bartolomeo Perretti held a diocesan synod in the cathedral of S. Maria delle Grazie on 10 June 1612.[22] Bishop Ascanio de Gasparis (1650–1664) held a diocesan synod on 21–22 April 1653 in Pescina.[23] A diocesan synod was held by Bishop Diego Petra (1664–1680) at Pescina on 25–27 July 1673.[24] Bishop Francesco Corradini presided at a diocesan synod on 25 April 1686.[25] Bishop Camillo Giovanni Rossi (1805–1818) held a diocesan synod on 10–12 September 1815 in the cathedral of Santa Maria delle Grazie.[26]
Reorganization in the 20th century
The 1915 Avezzano earthquake destroyed 96% of the city of Avezzano and severely damaged much of the province of Aquila; there were estimated to be 30,000 deaths directly caused by the tremors.[27]
In 1922, Abbot Placido Nicolini of the monastery of Santissima Trinità de Cava petitioned Pope Pius XI to allow the place called Paterno in the diocese of Marsico, which belonged to the city of Tramutola, to be assigned to the jurisdiction of the part of Tramutola which belonged to his abbey. On 29 May 1922, the Consistorial Congregation in the papal Curia issued the appropriate document granting the request. The diocese of Marsi therefore lost territory, population, and income.[28]
Following the Second Vatican Council, and in accordance with the norms laid out in the council's decree, Christus Dominus chapter 40,[29] Pope Paul VI ordered a reorganization of the ecclesiastical provinces in southern Italy. On 15 August 1972, a new ecclesiastical province was created, with L'Aquila, which had previously been directly subject to the Holy See, as the new metropolitan archbishopric. The diocese of the Marsi (later renamed Avezzano) and the diocese of Valva e Sulmona were appointed suffragans.[30]
In 1986, Pope John Paul II was carrying out a general reorganization of the ecclesiastical provinces and dioceses of Italy, in accordance with the directions of the Second Vatican Council, the new 1984 concordat with the Republic of Italy, and canon and civil law. In the case of the diocese of Marsi, it was decided that the papal Curia would continue to use the official name Dioecesis Marsorum, but that in the Italian vernacular it should be referred to as Diocesi di Avezzano.[31]
^Di Pietro (1872), pp. 5-8. The claim makes it very difficult to harmonize with the tradition that Mark was the evangelizer and first bishop of Alexandria in Egypt; and that the body of Mark was brought to Venice from Alexandria. Cf. Lanzoni, p. 364, for a bishop Marcus.
^The existence of Bishop Rufinus is questioned by Lanzoni, p. 364. The sources point to a Saint Rufinus of Assisi, Lanzoni, pp. 471-475. Di Pietro (1872), pp. 9-16.
^ ab One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Benigni, Umberto (1910). "Diocese of Marsi". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
^The hagiographical Vita Sancti Berardi is printed by Ughelli I, pp. 895-901. Lorenzo Cardella, Memorie storiche de' Cardinali della santa Romana chiesa, Tomo primo (Roma: Pagliarini 1792), pp. 245-246.
^Benedict IX, installed at the age of 20, was pope three times: 21 October 1032–September 1044; 19 March–1 May 1045; 8 November 1047–16 July 1048. His name was Theophylact, son of Alberico, Count of Frascati, and nephew of Pope Benedict VIII and Pope John XIX. J.N.D. Kelly & M. J. Walsh, Oxford Dictionary of Popes, second edition, Oxford UP 2010, pp. 142-143.
^Kehr p. 241, no. 1: "Marsicanam ecclesiam, intestino et diuturno malo et plusquam civili discordia saecularium hominum miserabiliter discissam, in duos, episcopatus contra ss. patrum canones dividit."
^Kehr IV, p. 241, no. 2: "divisionem illam unius dioecesis in duas partes evacuat et abdicat atque in antiquam sui status unionem reformat..."
^Ughelli VI, pp. 676-696. Di Pietro (1872), pp. 42-43.
^Ughelli I, pp. 890-891. Di Pietro (1872), pp. 41-42. Kehr IV, p. 241, no. 3: "concedit et decernit secundum quod synodaliter a Victore iudicatum est, firmum Marsicanum episcopatum cum omni sua integritate et pertinentia, inter quae nominatim ecclesiam s. Sabinae antiquae civitatis Marsorum ad episcopalem sedem."
^Mutius Phoebonius (Muzio Febonio), Historiae Marsorum libri tres: una cum eorundem episcoporum catalogo, Catalogus, p. 40: "quòd a quadringentis annis, & ultrà, cum Ciuitas Marsicanen. ob temporum & bellorum calamitates destructa & desolata fuisset...."
^Phoebonius, Catalogue, pp. 39-41. Di Pietro (1872), pp. 158-159.
^Benedictus XIV (1842). "Lib. I. caput secundum. De Synodi Dioecesanae utilitate". Benedicti XIV ... De Synodo dioecesana libri tredecim (in Latin). Vol. Tomus primus. Mechlin: Hanicq. pp. 42–49. John Paul II, Constitutio Apostolica de Synodis Dioecesanis Agendis (March 19, 1997): Acta Apostolicae Sedis 89 (1997), pp. 706-727. Andrea Tilatti, "Sinodi diocesane e concili provinciali in italia nord-orientale fra Due e Trecento. Qualche riflessione,"Mélanges de l'Ecole française de Rome. Moyen-Age, Temps modernes T. 112, N°1. 2000, pp. 273-304.
^Synodus dioecesana Marsicana per Reverendum D. Bartolomeum Perretti Episcopum Marsicanum Decreto edito et promulgato indicta et promulgata hoc anno 1612 die 10 Mensis Junii, Deo adiuvante, in ecclesia cathedrali, de more. (ms. Biblioteca Nazionale di Napoli, cited by Rossi (1817), p. 6.
^Constitutiones synodales Marsicanae, editæ ac promulgatæ ab Ill.mo et Rever. D. Ascanio de Gasperis Marsorum Episcopo diebus vigesima prima, & secunda Mensis Apriliş Anni 1653 Piscinae.(in Latin). (Roma: F. Moneta 1654).
^Constitutiones Synodales Marsicanaeeditae ab Illustr. et Rever. D.D. Didaco Petra Marsorum Episcopo diebus 15. 26. et 27. mensis Julii an. 1673 Piscinae.(in Latin). (Romae: ex typ. Nicolai Angeli Tinapii 1673).
^Synodus Marsicana . CCCLXXI . Constitutiones, et decreta diocesanae Synodi celebratae ab Illustr. et Rever. Domino D. Francisco Bernardino Corradino anno Domini 1686. Mense Aprilis die 25. Romae 1715.
^Synodus Marsicanaab illustriss., ac rev. domino d. Jo. Camillo Rossi Marsorum episcopo ss. d. n. Pii pp. 7. praelato domestico, et pontif. solio assist. eidemque S. Sedi immediate subiecto celebrata diebus 10. 11. et 12. mensis Septembris an. 1815. In Ecclesia Cathedrali S. Mariae Gratiarum civitatis Piscinae, (in Latin), Naples: typis Porcelli, 1817.
^Acta Apostolicae Sedis 14 (Rome: Typis polyglottis Vaticanis 1922), p. 381.
^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.
^Acta Apostolicae Sedis(in Latin) 64 (Città del Vaticano 1972), pp. 665-666: "novam condimus provinciam ecclesiasticam, quae coalescet Ecclesia ipsa Aquilana, dioecesibus Marsorum, Valvensi et Sulmonensi, prae oculis videlicet habita norma decreti Concilii Vaticani II « Christus Dominus », n. 40. Item Sacrum Aquilanum Antistitem dignitate Metropolitae perpetuo insignimus."
^Acta Apostolicae Sedis 79 ( Città del Vaticano 1987), pp. 447-448 (in Latin).
^Bishop Luminosus attended the Roman synod of Pope Martin I, from 5–31 October 649. J.D. Mansi (ed.), Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio, editio novissima, Tomus X (Florence: A. Zatta 1764), pp. 867-868. Di Pietro (1872), pp. 31-32.
^Bishop Leodrisius attended the first Roman synod of Pope Leo IV, on 8 December 853. J.D. Mansi (ed.), Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio, editio novissima, Tomus XIV (Venice: A. Zatta 1769), p. 1020. Di Pietro, pp. 32-33.
^Ughelli I, p. 888. Di Pietro, pp. 36-39. Schwartz, pp. 281-282.
^Ratherius (Rottarius, Rottaris) attended the Roman synod of Pope John XIII, on 26 May 969. J.D. Mansi (ed.), Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio, editio novissima, Tomus XIX (Venice: A. Zatta 1774), p. 22. Di Pietro, pp. 33-35. Schwartz, p. 281.
^Bishop Guinisius (Quinisius, Quinigi) was the son of Bishop Albericus, "quem de quadam meretrice susceperat," and his successor. Schwartz, p. 282.
^Bishop Atto was present at the Roman synod of Pope Leo IX on 2 May 1050. J.D. Mansi (ed.), Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio, editio novissima, Tomus XIX (Venice: A. Zatta 1774), p. 771. Schwartz, p. 282. [Anon.], "ATTONE,"(in Italian), Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Volume 4 (1962).
^On 1 October 1071, Bishop Pandulfus was present when Pope Alexander II consecrated the new basilica at Montecassino. Schwartz, p. 282. Kehr, Italia pontificia IV, p. 241, no. 3 (9 December 1057).
^Oderisius was born in Sulmona. He had been canon of S. Panfilo, and was rector of S. Maria
delle Frascherie. Di Pietro (1872), pp. 100-101.
^Ughelli I, p. 910, reports from the Vatican registers that Bishop Caesarius died in Rome in 1254. Di Pietro (1872), p. 102.
^Jacobus had been a canon of the cathedral of Marsi. Eubel I, p. 327 with note 2.
^Following the death of Bishop Giacomo, the Chapter of Marsi elected Alexander de Pontibus, a cleric in minor orders; this was rejected by Pope Boniface VIII. He appointed instead, on 2 October 1295, the Dominican Giacomo Buschi (Jacobus dictus Busse). Antoine Thomas, Les registres de Boniface VIII Tome 1 (Paris: Thorin 1884), p. 143, no. 401. Eubel I, p. 327 with note 3.
^Petrus had been a canon of Auxerre. Pope John XXII named him Bishop of Anagni (1320–1327), after rejecting the candidate elected by the cathedral Chapter of Anagni. He then transferred him to the diocese of Marsi on 20 March 1327. He was appointed Bishop of Chieti by Pope Benedict XII, on 10 May 1336, after a disputed election and after the pope rejected both candidates. He died on 17 November 1336. Eubel I, pp. 87 with note 4, 327, 481.
^Bernardus had been Archdeacon of Salerno. He was appointed Bishop of Marsi by Pope Urban V on 17 December 1365. He governed until 1371, or later. Di Pietro (1872), pp. 119-120. Eubel I, p. 327.
^Pietro Albertini was appointed on 14 January 1380 by Pope Clement VII, and transferred to the diocese of Pozzuoli on 15 June 1380. Eubel I, p. 327.
^Tomasi was appointed by Pope Clement VII on 15 June 1380. He participated in the Council of Pisa in 1409. On 16 February 1418, he was transferred to the diocese of Capri by Pope Martin V. He died in 1420. J.D. Mansi (ed.), Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio, editio novissima, Tomus XXVI (Venice: A. Zatta 1784), p. 1243. Di Pietro (1872), p. 125-127. Eubel I, pp. 164, 328.
^Giacomo Romano was appointed by Urban VI. He is said to have died in 1385. Di Pietro (1872), p. 122. Eubel I, p. 328.
^Gentile d'Ajaccio was named bishop of Nicastro by Pope Boniface IX on 13 January 1399. Di Pietro (1872), p. 122-125. Eubel I, p. 328.
^Filippo: Di Pietro (1872), p. 127-129. Eubel I, p. 328.
^Gauchat, Hierarchia catholica IV, p. 232 with note 2.
^Colonna was the son of Mario Colonna (the son of Muzio and Giulia Frangipane), Signore di Roviano e Riofreddo of the Paliano branch of the Colonna family; and Giulia Santacroce. He had been Referendary of the Two Signatures, and was Governor of Tivoli. He was named bishop of Marsi by Pope Urban VIII on 17 November 1629. He enlarged the episcopal palace in Pescina with money raised by selling his share of his maternal inheritance. He died on 5 September 1632. Di Pietro (1872), pp. 174-176. Gauchat IV, p. 232 with note 4.
^Massimo: Di Pietro (1872), pp. 177-178. Gauchat IV, p. 232 with note 5.
^Caccia: Di Pietro (1872), pp. 179-181. Gauchat IV, p. 232 with note 6.
^De Gasparis: Di Pietro (1872), pp. 182-189. Gauchat IV, p. 232 with note 7.
^Petra was appointed Archbishop of Sorrento on 29 April 1680, by Pope Innocent XI. Gauchat IV, p. 232 with note 8. Ritzler & Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica V, p. 366 with note 2.
^Corradini: Di Pietro (1872), pp. 193-200. Ritzler & Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica V, p. 257 with note 2.
^De' Vecchi: Di Pietro (1872), pp. 201-203. Ritzler & Sefrin V, p. 257 with note 3.
^Dragonetti died on 20 December 1730. Di Pietro (1872), pp. 203-205. Ritzler & Sefrin V, p. 257 with note 4.
^Barone had previously been Bishop of Bova. He was appointed Bishop of Calvi Risorta Ritzler & Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica VI, p. 277 with note 2.
^Brizi: Ritzler & Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica VI, p. 277 with note 3.
^Lajezza: Ritzler & Sefrin VI, p. 277 with note 5.
^Bolognese died on 16 (or 17) March 1803. Di Pietro (1872), pp. 231-237. Ritzler & Sefrin VI, p. 277 with note 6.
^The diocese was administered during the vacancy by Nicola di Giorgio, Bishop Bolognese's Vicar General, who was elected Vicar Capitular by the cathedral Chapter on 22 March 1803. Di Pietro (1872), p. 238.
^Rossi was nominated bishop of Marsi by Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, and confirmed by Pope Pius VII on 26 June 1805. He was named Bishop of San Severo by King Ferdinand on 22 May 1818, and transferred by Pius VII on 26 June 1818. He died in 1837. Di Pietro (1872), pp. 237-243. Ritzler & Sefrin VII, p. 172, 254, 343.
Cercone, Franco (1975), "Le constitutiones synodales marsicanae," (in Italian), in: Bullettino della deputazione abruzzese di Storia patria LXV (1975), pp. 621–627.
Kehr, Paul Fridolin (1908). Italia pontificia. vol. IV. Berlin 1909. pp. 239–251. (in Latin)
Melchiorre, Angelo (1985). "La Diocesi dei Marsi dopo il Concilio di Trento," (in Italian), in: Bullettino della Deputazione Abruzzese di Storia Patria 75 (1985), pp. 297- .
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