Historically the Diocese of Ascoli Satriano was a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Benevento. In 1819, the diocese of Cerignola was established, and one and the same bishop held both dioceses, with the name Diocese of Ascoli Satriano e Cerignola.[1][2]
History
Ascoli
The town of Ascoli was captured by Norman adventurers in March 1041.[3] At the council of Melfi in 1043, William d'Hauteville, called William Iron Arm, became the lord of Ascoli.[4]
In 969, Ausculum Appulum (now Ascoli Satriano) appears as a city amongst the suffragan sees of Beneventum.[5] A bishop of Ascoli, deposed in 1068 by Pope Alexander II, is sometimes adduced, but he was a bishop of Ascoli Piceno, not Ascoli Satriano.[6] The first known bishop of Ascoli, however, is Risando, who consented to a donation to the monastery of Cava in 1107.
Ascoli: Chapter and cathedral
The medieval cathedral of Ascoli, which had been (re)built by King Roger of Sicily in 1111, was destroyed by the great earthquake of 1456, which also destroyed the citadel.[7]
The successor cathedral building was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and to S. Leo of Ordona.[8] Giacomo Leoncavallo dates this Leo to 105, making him the successor of the Greek Photinus, who had been sent by the Apostle Peter to evangelize Ordona, the diocese from which Ascoli allegedly descended after the town of Ordona was completely destroyed.[9] The cathedral was administered by a corporation called the Chapter, composed of six dignities (the Archdeacon, the Archpriest, the Cantor, two Primicerii, and the Treasurer) and seven canons (later fourteen).[10] In 1680, the city of Ascoli had a population of about 2,000 persons.[11] In 1737, the population was 3,000. The Chapter consisted of six dignities and fourteen canons.[12]
Cerignola
The fief of Cerignola fell to the royal treasury under Charles I of Sicily, in 1273, on the death of Simon the chancellor. In 1283, Bertrando Artus sold it to Ugone de Vicini, who in his turn sold it to Giovanni Pipino of Barletta, whose family still possessed the fief in 1320. In 1348, the Lord of Cerignano was Giacomo Arucci, whom Queen Joanna I of Naples appointed grand chamberlain. In 1398, Benedetto Azzaroli, a native of Cerignola and the Vicegerens in Apulia, purchased the castle of Cerignoli, and the king assigned him the territory as well. In 1417, the fief returned to the treasury, and Queen Joanna II of Naples sold it to Giovanni Caracciolo. In 1583, his descendant Caterina Caracciolo brought it as a dowry to Ettore Pignatelli. One or another branch of the Pignatelli family held the property until the mid-19th century, when feudalism was abolished.[13]
It has been suggested that Cerignola, on account of its relative importance, may have been formerly a diocese, but there is no evidence on the point. Since at least the 15th century, Cerignola has been outside the diocesan system (nullius diocesis), governed ecclesiastically by the archpriest of the collegiate church of S. Pietro in Carignola.[14] The archpriest[15] was a prelate, but not a bishop, and did not have the right to ordain or consecrate.[16] From 1255, the archpriest and his five canons swore an oath to the archbishop of Bari and Canosa.[17] The capitular church of Cerinola was subject to the jurisdiction of the Provost of Canosa. In a document of 30 April 1455, Pope Calixtus III uses the expression “Cidonola nullius dioc.” with reference to Cerignola.[18]
Cerignola (Dioecesis Ceriniolensis-Asculana Apuliae) was established as a diocese on 18 June 1819, by Pope Pius VII, in the bull "Quamquam Per Nuperrimam".[19] The pope was frank in his motives: increasing difficulties in financing the diocese of Ascoli, and the greater population and wealth of Cerignola.[20] Cerignola was to have one and only one bishop, who was to have all the rights of a bishop, including the power to summon a synod and require the attendance of all abbots and inferior prelates in his jurisdiction. His diocese was to be a suffragan of the archdiocese of Benevento.[21] The dioceses of Cerignola and Ascoli were to be united under one bishop, aeque personaliter, so that neither diocese was to be subject to the other.[22] The bishop who was appointed to both Cerignano and to Ascoli was authorized to appoint a separate Vicar General in each of his dioceses, and, when the bishopric became vacant, each cathedral Chapter was authorized to elect its own Vicar Capitular during the vacancy.[23]
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.[25]
Bishop Francesco Antonio Punzi (1685–1728) held a diocesan synod in Ascoli on 26–28 October 1692.[26] Bishop Antonio Maria Nappi (1818–1830) presided over a diocesan synod held in Ascoli on 21–23 June 1824.[27] Bishop Nappi then held a diocesan synod for the diocese of Cerinola in the cathedral of Cerinola from 30 June to 2 July 1824.[28] Bishop Leonardo Todisco Grande (1849–1872) presided over a diocesan synod on 10–12 April 1853.[29] Bishop Antonio Sena presided over a diocesan synod in the cathedral at Ascoli on 25–27 June 1878.[30]
Change of metropolitan
On 30 April 1979, the diocese of Foggia was promoted, to become the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Foggia (Latin Name: Fodiana-Bovinensis). It was assigned as suffragan dioceses: Siponto, Troia, Asculum et Cerinola, Bovino, Lucera, and S. Severo. Asculum e Cerinola had up to that point been suffragans of the archdiocese of Benevento.[31]
Consolidation 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.[32]
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. 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 dioceses of Ascolana Apuliae e Cerignola be merged into one diocese with one bishop, with the Latin title Dioecesis Ceriniolensis-Asculana Apuliae. The seat of the diocese was to be in Cerignola, and the cathedral of Cerignola was to serve as the cathedral of the merged dioceses. The cathedral in Ascolana was to become a co-cathedral, and the cathedral Chapter was to be a Capitulum Concathedralis. There was to be only one diocesan Tribunal, in Cerignola, 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 former diocese of Ascolana.[33]
^Kehr IX, p. 53, no. 11: "...concedentes tibi tuaeque sanctae Beneventanae ecclesiae, quaecunque legaliter et rationabiliter antiquo jure tempore praedecessorum tuorum visa est possidere, id est: Bivinum, Asculum, Larinum, Sipontum, et ecclesiam sancti Michaelis archangeli in monte Gargano cum omnibus earum pertinentiis, et omnia praedia cum ecclesiis, familiis utriusque sexus, et massis, totaque infra tuam parochiam loca....'
^Kehr IX, p. 146, no. 1, n.: "unde sequitur notitiam registri Alexandri II ad Esculanum ep. Apuliae esse referendam."
^Leoncavallo, in: D'Avino, p. 33 col. 2, with note 7: "fu da un orribile tremuoto
scossa, ed adeguata al suolo." Mario Baratta, I terramoti d'Italia (Torino: Bocca 1901), pp. 66-74, at p. 69.
^The existence of this Leo is highly doubted: Francesco Lanzoni, Le diocesi d'Italia dalle origini al principio del secolo VII (an. 604), vol. I, Faenza 1927, p. 288: "Leo? — L'Ughelli (X, 114), mentre lo colloca in Ordona, gli dà il titolo di santo e assegna la sua festa al 12 gennaio. Negli indici dei Bollandisti non trovo questo s. Leone. Incontrasi un oscuro Leo anche in Siponto; ma non ardisco pronunziarmi su questo Leone o s. Leone."
^Pius VII characterized Cerignola as: "Parochialis ecclesia, Divo Petro Apostolorum Principi sacro, ab antiquissimo tempore, per unum archipresbyterum una cum suo diviso et separato territorio, et ordinaria quasi episcopali jurisdictione gubernari solita." Collezione degli atti emanati dopo la pubblicazione del Concordato dell'anno 1819, Parte terza (1820 a 1825) (Napoli: De Turchini 1830), p. 112.
^A list of the archpriests: Disanto & Pergola, p. 16.
^Giuseppe Tozzi, in: D'Avino, p. 198: "Che questa Chiesa per lo innanzi non sia stata giammai sede vescovile,è chiaro abbastanza; però, che sia stata una collegiata sotto la direzione di un arciprete, godendo il diritto del nullius dicecesis, esistono delle memorie sin dalla metà del secolo decimoterzo, che lo attestano."
^G. B. Nitto De Rossi & Francesco Nitti di Vito (edd.), Codice diplomatico barese: le pergamene del Duomo di Bari (952-1264)(in Latin and Italian) Bari 1897, pp. 194-195, no. 104: "Nos autem habito consilio discretorum, cognoscentes nos esse subiectos et diocesanos ecclesie canusine, eidem archidiacono loco et vice dicti electi barine et canusine sedis debitam hobedientiam firmatam corporali iuramento prestavimus reverenter." Disanto & Pergola, p. 14.
^Disanto & Pergola, p. 14: "Archivio parrocchiale S. Pietro Apostolo, Cerignola, Indulgenza della Cappella di Santa Lucia 30 Aprile 1455."
^"cum tamen Nos in aliam ob causam in hanc ingressi fuerimus deliberationem, nisi quod propter nimiam redituum modicitatem episcopalium mensarum, aut obscuritatem locorum, in eorum pluribus episcopalis dignitas, jam inde a felicis recordationis Benedictae Papae decimi quarti, praedecessoris nostri temporibus, in indecoram prorsus declinationem abisse, et paene vilescere nosceretur, non idcirco, a novis instituendis hujusmodi sedibus, aliena mens nostra unquam fuit, et animus, si in hoc necessitas, utilitasve concurreret, et illustriora quaedam praedictae ditionis loca, id proprio jure ac merito postularent."
^"...ipsam sic erectam Cathedralem Ecclesiam Ceriniolensem alteri Cathedrali Ecclesiae Asculensi perpetuo aeque principaliter dicta Apostolica auctoritate unimus, adnectimus, et incorporamus; ita tamen ut neutra alteri sit subjecta...."
^F.A.Punzi, Synodus diocesana ecclesiae asculanae in Apulia celebrata ab illustrissimo et reverendissimo Domino Francisco Ant. Punzi Dei et Apostolicae Sedis gratia episcopo asculano dominica XXII post Pentecosten 26 mensis octobris, cum duobus sequentibus diebus anno Dom. 1692, (in Latin), Benevento:Typographia archiepiscopalis 1694.
^A. M. Nappi, Synodus asculanensis ab illustriss. et reverendiss. Domino Antonio Maria Nappi Asculani, et Ceriniolae episcopo celebrata diebus 21. 22 et 23 mensis Junii anni M DCCCXXIV in cathedrali ecclesia Asculi,(in Latin), Napoli: P. Tizzano 1824.
^Synodus ceriniolensis ab illustriss. ac reverendiss. Domino Antonio Maria Nappi, Asculi et Ceriniolae episcopo, celebrata diebus 30 }unii ac l et 2 julii anni MDCCCXXIV in cathedrali ecclesia Ceriniolae, (in Latin), Napoli: P. Tizzano 1824.
^L. Todisco Grande, Synodales Constitutiones et Decreta ab Illustrissimo et Reverendissimo Domino Leonardo Todisco Grande Asculan et Ceriniolen Episcopo edita et emanata in sua prima diocesana Synodo celebrata die decima aprilis et duobus diebus sequentibus anni 1853, (in Latin), Napoli, 1853.
^A. Sena, Constitutiones synodales ab ill.mo et rev.mo Domino Antonio Sena Asculi Satriani et Ceriniolae episcopo editae in sua prima synodo diebus XXV. XXVI, XXVII Junii MDCCCLXXVIII in cathedrali asculano tempio celebrata, (in Latin), Roma, 1878.
^Acta Apostolicae Sedis 71 (Città del Vaticano 1979), pp. 563-564: "Novam vero condimus ecclesiasticam provinciam Fodianam nominandam, quae constabit tum Ecclesia Fodiana hodie metropolitana facta tum hisce ei suffraganeis Ecclesiis: Sipontina, quae dignitatem sedis archiepiscopalis sibi servabit; Troiana, Apostolicae Sedi immediate adhuc subiecta; Asculana et Ceriniolensi, Bovinensi, Lucerina et Sancti Severi, quae ad hunc usque diem metropolitanae Ecclesiae Beneventanae suffraganeae erant; Vestana, quae usque ad praesens suffraganea erat metropolitanae Ecclesiae Sipontinae."
^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."
^Acta Apostolicae Sedis 79 (Città del Vaticano 1987), pp. 657-659.
^This person is known only through a forged bull, recording his presence at the council of Melfi in 1059 and the consecration of the church of the Archangel Michel in Voltura. Klewitz, p. 45: "...ist eine uns heute verlorene Fälschung. Cf. Ughelli VIII, p. 226. Cappelletti XIX, pp. 141-142.
^The name Joannes is found in a forged bull of Pope Urban II in favor of the monastery of Cava. Klewitz, p. 46. Cf. Ughelli VIII, p. 226. Cappelletti XIX, p. 142.
^In April 1107, a donation was made to the monastery of Cava, "per consensum et ortationem domni Risandi, venerabilis Episcopi S. Sedis episcopii Asculensis." Mattei-Cerasoli (1918), p. 366. Klewitz, p. 46.
^Kehr IX, p. 145: "Sikenolfus ex charta a. 1123 m. nov. (ed. Pratesi 1. c. p. 63 n. 5) notus."
^Bishop Joannes was present at the Third Lateran Council of Pope Alexander III in March 1179. J.D. Mansi (ed.), Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio, editio novissima, Tomus XXII (Venice: A. Zatta 1778), p. 461. Cappelletti XIX, p. 142.
^Goffridus: Kehr IX, p. 146, no. 3, with note. On 18 May 1197, he was present at the dedication of the church of S. Marco de Bovino.
^Petrus: Kehr IX, p. 145: "et Petrus a. 1205 et 1224 (Pratesi 1. c. 81 n. 14 et p. 34)."
^Angelo: Cappelletti XIX, pp. 143-144. Gams, p. 853; Eubel I, p. 111.
^Following the death of Bishop Angelo, the cathedral Chapter met and cast more than two-thirds of the votes for Bishop Francissus of Bisaccio; there were two other candidates. Demanding that the archbishop of Benevento not certify any of the candidates, they appealed to the pope in Avignon. On a technicality, the pope voided the election. He then appointed a committee of three cardinals to examine the credentials of Bishop Franciscus. He was appointed bishop of Ascoli on 19 May 1311, by Pope Clement V. His successor was appointed on 3 July 1311. Cappelletti XIX, p. 144. Regestum Clementis papae V Vol. VI (Rome: Typographia Vaticana 1887), pp. 151-152, no. 6853. Eubel I, pp. 111, 136.
^Bishop Franciscus (formerly of Bisaccio) died at Avignon within weeks of his appointment to the See of Ascoli. Pope Clement V had reserved to the papacy the appointment of the next bishop, and therefore on 3 July 1311, he named Bishop Franciscus of Massa Lubrense as the next bishop of Ascoli. Regestum Clementis papae V Vol. VI (Rome: Typographia Vaticana 1887), p. 237, no. 7101. Eubel I, pp. 111, 312.
^Pascharello da Ascoli was appointed bishop by Pope Boniface IX on 6 April 1397. He died in 1418. Cappelletti XIX, p. 144. Eubel I, p. 112.
^Jacobus had been Primicerius of the collegiate church of S. Pietro in Ascoli. He was named bishop of Ascoli on 22 May (or 1 June) 1458, by Pope Martin V. Cappelletti XIX, p. 145. Gams p. 853 col. 2. Eubel I, p. 112; II, p. 96.
^Buccarelli held a doctoral degree in Canon Law. He was appointed bishop by Pope Pius II on 13 November 1458. He was transferred to the diocese of Nola by Pope Paul II on 9 August 1469. He died in 1475. Cappelletti XIX, p. 145. Eubel II, pp. 96, 204.
^Pietro Luca da Gerona, a master of theology, was appointed on 6 September 1469 by Pope Paul II. He was transferred to the diocese of Teramo on 27 November 1477, by Pope Sixtus IV; he died a few months later. Eubel II, pp. 90, 96.
^Gallerani was a native of Siena, and held the degree of Doctor in utroque iure (JUD). He was appointed bishop of Ascoli on 27 November 1477. He died in Siena on 11 August 1479. Cappelletti XIX, p. 145. Eubel II, p. 96.
^Giosuè was a native of Naples, and held the degree of Doctor in utroque iure (JUD). He was the chamberlain of the cardinal of Naples. He was appointed bishop of Ascoli on 1 December 1480, by Pope Sixtus IV. He resigned the diocese on 23 June 1509, in favor of his nephew, Agapito. Cappelletti XIX, p. 145. Eubel II, p. 96.
^Via was born in the village of Celico (diocese of Cosenza) in 1635. He held the degree of Doctor in utroque iure (JUD) (Rome, Sapienza), and became a lecturer in civil and canon law at the Sapienza. He was appointed bishop of Ascoli on 14 November 1672, by Pope Clement X. He died in December 1679. Cappelletti XIX, p. 150-151. Ritzler & Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica V, p. 100 with note 3.
^Lenti was a native of Ascoli, and held the degree of Doctor in utroque iure (JUD). He was a canon of the cathedral of Ascoli. He served as Vicar of the abbey of Farfa, and Vicar General and Governor of Vellitri. He was appointed bishop of Ascoli on 29 April 1680, by Pope Innocent XI. He died in Ascoli in September 1684. Cappelletti XIX, p. 151. Ritzler & Sefrin V, p. 100 with note 4.
^Born in Naples in 1643, Punzi held the degree of Doctor in utroque iure (JUD) (Naples 1664). He was a canon of the cathedral of Gravina, and Vicar General of the diocese. He served as Vicar Apostolic of Spoleto. He was named bishop of Ascoli on 14 May 1685, by Pope Innocent XI. He held a diocesan synod in 1692. He restored and redecorated the cathedral of Ascoli. He died in March 1728. Cappelletti XIX, p. 151. Ritzler & Sefrin V, p. 100 with note 5.
^De Martini was born in Fragneti (a village of the Abbey of S. Sophia) in 1670. He obtained a license in theology from the College of S. Thomas in Naples. He was parochial archpriest of Fragneti. He was appointed bishop of Ascoli on 10 May 1728, by Pope Benedict XIII (Orsini), and was consecrated in Rome by the pope personally on 23 May. He died in Naples in November 1737. Cappelletti XIX, p. 151. Ritzler & Sefrin V, p. 100 with note 6.
^Campanile was born in Barletta in 1702. He held the degree of Doctor in utroque iure (JUD) (Naples 1724). He was archpriest of Nazareth when he was appointed bishor of Ascoli on 20 December 1737, by Pope Clement XII. He was consecrated a bishop in Rome on 22 December by Cardinal Francesco Antonio Finy. He died in Ascoli in November 1771. Ritzler & Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica VI, p. 101 with note 2.
^Di Tommaso was born in Naples in 1721, and held the degree of Doctor in utroque iure (JUD) (Naples). He served as Vicar General of the diocese of Acerenza e Materna, then Melphi e Rapolla, and finally Benevento. He was named bishop of Ascoli on 16 December 1771. He died in 1807. Gams, p. 853 col. 2. Ritzler & Sefrin VI, p. 101 with note 3.
^Grande was born in Bisceglia in 1788. He studied at the seminary in Bisceglia, and then studies theology and canon law at the University of Naples, where he was granted a doctorate in theology. He became curate of Bisceglia, and was named a canon of the cathedral Chapter. He was appointed Vicar General of Lacedonia in 1824, and was elected Vicar Capitular during the vacancy of 1828. He then became Vicar General of the diocese of Nardo. He was selected by the King of the Two Sicilies to be Bishop of Cotrone on 20 October 1833, and was approved by Pope Gregory XVI on 20 January 1834. In 1848, he requested transfer to another diocese, after having been driven out of Cotrone by the revolution of 1848, and he was provided to the diocese of Carignola e Ascoli by Pope Pius IX on 20 April 1849. In 1860, when the king of Naples was overthrown and the entire kingdom annexed by the Kingdom of Piedmont (Savoy), he was a vocal supporter of the deposed king and critic of the annexation of the Papal States, and was forced to flee to his native Bisceglia, where he lived until 1865. He was accused of conspiracy against the Kingdom of Italy, and was condemned to prison in the citadel of Trani, from which, after thirty days, he was sent into exile in Florence. He attended the First Vatican Council in 1869. He died on 13 May 1872. Actes et histoire du concile oecuménique de Rome MDCCCLXIX, 1er du Vatican, 1869, Volume 7 (Paris: A. Pilon, 1869), pp. 219-220.
^M. D'Alessandro (1910), Mons. Domenico Cocchia cappuccino. Vescovo di Ascoli e Cerignola. Cenni biografici, (in Italian), Chieti, 1910.
^On 8 January 2022, Renna was appointed Archbishop of Catania. "Rinunce e nomine, 08.01.2022" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 8 January 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
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