The diocese of Ruvo was a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Apulia, southern Italy, which existed until 1986, when it was united into the diocese of Molfetta-Ruvo-Giovinazzo-Terlizzi. From 1818 to 1982, it was united with the diocese of Bitonto, as the diocese of Ruvo and Bitonto.[1][2]
History
According to legend, Saint Peter, the apostle and friend of Jesus Christ, appointed the first bishop of Ruvo, Cletus, in 44;[3] he later became pope (c. 79 – 91). Ughelli records a Procopius, Bishop of Ruvo, of unknown date, though he doubts his existence.[4] Bishop Joannes is attributed to the year 493, but his connection with Ruvo is doubtful; he occurs in the legends of Canosa and Siponto.[5]
In June 1025, Pope John XIX confirmed for Archbishop Bisantius of Canosa (Bari) the possessions and territories of his diocese, which included the suffragan bishops of: Canosa, Bari, Medunio, Giovenazzo, Molfetta,[6]Ruvo, Trani, Canne, Minervino Murge, Acquaviva, Monte Meloni, Lavellano, Cisterna, Vitalbe, Salpi, Conversano, and Polignano.[7]
Reorganization of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, 1818
Following the extinction of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy, the Congress of Vienna authorized the restoration of the Papal States and the Kingdom of The Two Sicilies (Naples). A concordat was finally signed on 16 February 1818, and ratified by Pius VII on 25 February 1818. Ferdinand issued the concordat as a law on 21 March 1818.[8] 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).[9]
On 27 June 1818, Pius VII issued the bull De Ulteriore, in which he reestablished the metropolitan archbishopric of Bari, and assigned as suffragan (subordinate) dioceses: Bitonto, Ruvo, Conversana. The diocese of Bitunto, however, was united to the diocese of Ruvo, æque principaliter, that is, one and the same bishop would govern the two independent dioceses.[10]
On 4 September 1982, Father Antonio Bello, the pastor of the church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Tricase, was appointed Bishop of Molfetta, Giovenazzo and Terlizzi. The appointment did not include the dioceses of Ruvo and Bitonto, which were formerly held along with Molfetta æque principaliter, thereby apparently reviving the two dioceses. On 30 September 1982, however, Bishop-elect Bello was appointed bishop of Ruvo, thereby restoring Ruvo to the governance of the bishop of Molfetta. On the same day, 30 September 1982, the diocese of Bitonto was assigned to Archbishop Mariano Magrassi of Bari, thus separating Bitonto from Molfetta.[11]
Diocesan Reorganization
Following the Second Vatican Council, and in accordance with the norms laid out in the council's decree, Christus Dominus chapter 40,[12]Pope Paul VI ordered a reorganization of the ecclesiastical provinces in southern Italy. He ordered consultations among the members of the Congregation of Bishops in the Vatican Curia, the Italian Bishops Conference, and the various dioceses concerned.[13]
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 dioceses of Molfetta, Giovenazza, Terlizzi and Ruvo be merged into one diocese with one bishop, with the Latin title Dioecesis Melphictensis-Rubensis-Iuvenacensis-Terlitiensis. The seat of the diocese was to be in Molfetta, whose cathedral was to serve as the cathedral of the merged diocese. The cathedrals in Giovenazza, Terlizzi, and Ruvo 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 Molfetta, 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 dioceses. The new diocese was a suffragan of the archdiocese of Bari-Bitonto.[14]
Chapter and cathedral
Ruvo di Puglia has a late Apulian Romanesque cathedral dating to the 11th-12th centuries.[15] Outside of the city are the ruins of a more ancient church, possibly of the late fourth or early fifth century, which has been called a cathedral.[16]
The cathedral of Ruvo, dedicated to the Taking Up of the Body of the Virgin Mary into Heaven, had no canons at all, though it was administered by four dignities (the Archdeacon, the Archpriest, the senior Primicerius, and the junior Primicerius) and a staff of more than forty priests, eleven deacons, and more than seventy subdeacons and clerics. There is no other church in the city except the cathedral.[17]
The diocese of Ruvo had no seminary. It shared the facilities of the diocese of Bitonto.[18]
^Ughelli VII, p. 763: "suum fuissse episcopum affirmant Rubenses; sed quis fuerit hic Procopius, quo tempore floruerit, non habent: fides apud ipsos esto... mera traditio est."
^Lanzoni, p. 303: "Anche Ruvo ci presenta (Ughelli, VII, 763) un numeroso e strano catalogo, in cui compaiono: 1. Cletus, ordinato da s. Pietro nell'a. 44, e succeduto a Lino nella cattedra romana. — 2. Anonimo dopo Cleto. — 3. Adrianiis Germandus, a. 108. — 4. Ioannes. — 5. Brocardus Piellius, a. 340. — 6. Epigonins, che sarebbe intervenuto al terzo concilio di Cartagine. — 7. Procopius. — 8. Ioannes,
493. Ma quest'ultimo viene dalle leggende di Canosa (vedi) e di Siponto. Il settimo è senza prove, e destò i sospetti dello stesso Ughelli. Il sesto, il quinto, il quarto e il terzo giustamente furono scartati dal secondo editore deli' Italia Sacra. Un Epigonius prese bensì la parola nel terzo concilio di Cartagine (Mansi, III, 887), ma fu vescovo d'Africa non dì Apulia."
^Kehr IX, p. 317, no. 2. The authenticity of the bull, and of its constituent elements, has been the subject of vigorous controversy: A. Pratesi, "Alcune diocesi di Puglia nell’età di Roberto il Guiscardo: Trani, Bari e Canosa tra greci e normanni," in: Roberto il Guiscardo e il suo tempo, Roma 1975, pp. 227-242.
^F. Torelli (1848), La chiave del concordato dell'anno 1818 Vol. I, second edition (Naples: Fibreno 1848), pp. 1-19.
^Bulliarii Romani Continuatio Tomus 15 (Rome 1853), p. 58, § 12: "Archiepiscopalis ecclesia Barensis habebit in regia ditione citra Pharum suffraganeas episcopales ecclesias Bituntinam, Rubensem, et Conversanam praevia vero suppressione episcopalis ecclesiae Bitectensis illius civitatem ac dioecesim archiepiscopali ecclesiae Barensi perpetuo adjungimus atque aggregamus. Cathedralem autem ecclesiam Rubensem alteri episcopali ecclesiae Bituntinae aeque principaliter perpetuo unimus."
^Acta Apostolicae Sedis 74 (Città del Vaticano 1982), p. 1186.
^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.
^G. Feliciani (2005), "Il riordinamento delle diocesi in Italia da Pio XI a Giovanni Paolo II," in: L. Vaccaro (ed.), Storia della Chiesa in Europa tra ordinamento politico-amministrativo e strutture ecclesiastiche, Brescia 2005, pp. 283-300.
^Acta Apostolicae Sedis 79 (Città del Vaticano 1987), pp. 735-738.
^Bishop Joachim is said to have been elected in 1009, and to have governed for 40 years. There is no evidence for either assertion. Ughelli (Coleti) VII, p. 764, refers to an "indiculus Episcoporum hujus Ecclesiae". Cappelletti XXI, p. 36. Gams, p. 918.
^Ughelli (Coleti) VII, p. 764, makes him the successor of Joachim, and refers to the same "indiculus Episcoporum hujus Ecclesiae".
^Bishop Guibertus (or Gisilbertus, or Guillelmus) took part in the consecration of the major church of the abbey of Montecassino by Pope Alexander II on 1 October 1071. In 1182, he granted the church of S. Sabino to the monastery of Montepeloso. Leo Marsicanus, "Chronicon Casinensi" III. 29, in: Monumenta Germaniae Historica Scriptorum Tomus VII (Hannover: Hahn 1846), p. 720. Lupus Protospatarius, Year 1082, in: Monumenta Germaniae Historica Scriptorum Tomus V (Hannover: Hahn 1844), p. 61. Ughelli VII, p. 764. Cappelletti XXI, p. 36, no X.
^On 13 May 1180, Pope Alexander III issued a mandate to Bishop Daniel and Bishop Petrus of Venosa to look into the accusations against Bishop Bertrandus of Trani. Kehr IX, pp. 349-350, nos. 1-2. Kamp, p. 652.
^An unnamed bishop of Ruvo took part in the consecration of Archbishop Berardus of Bari. Kamp, p. 653, with note 11.
^An unnamed bishop of Ruvo took part in the Fourth Lateran Council of 1215. Kamp, p. 653, with note 12.
^Fra Simon was appointed bishop of Ruvo by Pope Martin V on 26 January 1418. Bishop Simon was transferred to the diocese of Alessano on 7 April 1431, by Pope Eugenius IV. Eubel I, p. 426; II, p. 85.
^In 1589, Bishop Orazio was deprived of his seat by Pope Sixtus V, "per gravi colpe." Cappelletti XXI, p. 38. Eubel III, p. 287.
^A native of Monte Regale, and a noted Franciscan theologian, Pasquali was named bishop of Ruvo on 3 July 1589, by Pope Sixtus V. On 31 May 1604, Bishop Pasquali was appointed Bishop of Rieti. Eubel III, p. 287 with note 6.
^Saluzzi was a priest of Bitonto, and became a jurisconsult. He was appointed bishop of Ruvo by Pope CLement VIII on 13 September 1604, and was consecrated in Rome by Cardinal Filippo Spinelli on 3 October 1604. He died on 29 December 1620. Gauchat, Hierarchia catholica IV, p. 298 with note 2.
^Romano is universally styled 'Marco Romano' in contemporary documents, and signs himself by that name. He is called 'Marco Cristalli' in more recent writings. He was born in the village of Le Grottaglie (Tarento), and became a doctor of theology. He was rector of the Collegio de propaganda Fide in Rome. He was appointed bishop of Ruvo by Pope Innocent X on 19 November 1646, and consecrated in Rome by Cardinal Nicola Ludovisi on 30 October 1646. He died in September 1649. Giuseppe Silos, Historiarum clericorum regularium, pars III (Palermo: P. de Insula 1666), pp. 314-316. Gauchat IV, p. 298 with note 4.
^Ritzler & Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica V, p. 336 with note 3.
^Sorrentino was born in the city of Cava in 1640. He held the degree of Doctor in utroque iure (Rome, Sapienza, 1670). He was named bishop of Ruvo on 13 March 1673, by Pope Clement X. On 27 April 1676, Bishop Sorrentino was appointed Bishop of Vulturara e Montecorvino. He died in September 1708 in Cava. Ritzler & Sefrin V, pp. 336 with note 4; 419 with note 2.
^Gallesi was born in the town of Finale (Savona) in 1639. He held the degree of Doctor in utroque iure (Rome, Sapienza). He was named a Consultor at the Sacred Congregation of the Index of Prohibited Books. Pope Clement X appointed him bishop of Ruvo on 22 June 1676. He died c. November 1679. Ritzler & Sefrin V, p. 336 with note 5.
^Alitto was born in Bitunto. He held the degree of Doctor in utroque iure (Rome, Sapienza). He was Vicar General of the diocese of Bitunto, and Cantor in the cathedral Chapter. He was appointed bishop of Ruvo on 11 March 1680, by Pope Innocent XI, and consecrated in Rome by Cardinal Francesco Nerli on 18 March 1680. He died in Bitunto in 1698. Ritzler & Sefrin V, p. 337 with note 6.
^Morgioni was born in Ischia in 1661. He held the degree of Doctor in utroque iure (Rome, Sapienza), and became Vicar General of the diocese of Ischia. He was named bishop of Ruvo on 19 December 1698, by Pope Innocent XII. On 18 May 1705 Pope Clement XI appointed Morgioni Bishop of Minori. He died in Ischia, in November 1712. Ritzler & Sefrin V, pp. 270 with note 6; 337 with note 7.
^Gambadoro was a native of Monte Gargano (diocese of Siponto), born in 1669. He held the degree of Doctor in utroque iure (Naples, 1695). He was named bishop of Ruvo by Pope Clement XI, on 14 December 1705. He died in Ruvo in August 1730. Ritzler & Sefrin V, p. 337 with note 8.
^De Turris was born Vico in 1684. He held the degree of Doctor in utroque iure (Naples, 1709). He became Vicar General of the diocese of Vico Equense and canon of the cathedral in 1724. He was named Archpriest of the terra di Gragano. He was appointed bishop of Ruvo in the consistory of 12 February 1731 by Pope Clement XII, and was consecrated a bishop in Rome on 18 February 1731. He died in Ruvo on 24 June 1759. Ritzler & Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica VI, p. 360 with note 2.
^Ruggieri was born in the village of Peschisolidi (diocese of Sora) in 1721. He held the degree of Doctor in utroque iure (Rome, Sapienza, 1759). He was Rector of the seminary of Fondi and Carinola, then of Palestrina. He was appointed bishop of Ruvo by Pope Clement XIII on 24 September 1759. He died on 14 February 1804, at the age of 83, after 45 years as a bishop. Ritzler & Sefrin VI, p. 360 with note 3.
^Manieri was a native of Nardo. He was nominated bishop by King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies on 28 November 1818, and approved by Pope Pius VII on 29 March 1819. He was consecrated in Rome by Cardinal Lorenzo Litta on 12 April 1819. He died in 1833. Ritzler & Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica VII, p. 326. André Chapeau; Charles N. Bransom Jr. (1988), "Franciscan Bishops,"Franciscan Studies, Vol. 48 (1988), p. 340, no. 98.
^De Stefano was born at Monteforte Irpino in 1853. He was appointed bishop of Ruvo e Bitonto on 19 January 1893, by Pope Leo XIII. On 24 March 1898, Stefani was appointed Archbishop of Trani e Barletta (e Nazareth e Bisceglie) by Pope Leo. He died in 1906. Ritzler & Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica VIII, pp. 487, 561.
Bernardi, Francesco (2012). "Una strage evitata. Ruvo e la pestilenza del 1656."(in Italian)Luce e vita. Documentazione Semestrale – Ufficiale per gli atti di Curia per la Diocesi di Molfetta-Ruvo-Giovinazzo-Terlizzi. Molfetta 2010/2.
Pellegrini, V. (1980). Ruvo: Diocesi e Vescovi(in Italian). Molfetta: Mezzina 1980.
Ricci, Vito (2018). Ruvo Medievale. La città e gli uomini, il castello e i feudatari dai Normanni agli Aragonesi.(in Italian). Pegasus Edizioni/Centro Studi Cultura e Memoria Ruvo di Puglia, 2018. ISBN 978-88-6271-085-5
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