This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2016)
Establishment of the diocese
Pope Calixtus II (Guy of Burgundy), Archbishop of Vienne since 1088, was elected pope at Cluny on 2 February 1119. He spent more than a year fortifying France and Germany against the excommunicated Emperor Henry V through synods and councils, and dealing with affairs as co-regent in Castile for his nephew Alfonso VII of León and Castile, who had become heir to the throne in 1109, and then king in 1116. In the spring of 1120, Calixtus turned his attention to Italy, arriving in Rome on 3 July.
At the Lateran Palace, on 14 January 1121, Pope Calixtus signed the bull "Et synodalium", the text of which is found only in the Cronica Trium Tabernarum.[3] In the bull, the Pope announced that he had restored the diocese of Tres Tabernae (Taberna) to its original state, that he has consecrated Bishop Joannes, and that he had restored to him the possessions of the diocese. He did this after having received an embassy from Count Gaufredus of Catanzaro and the people of Tres Taberna, requesting restoration of the diocese, and after sending Cardinal Desiderius of S. Prassede to Calabria on an inspection tour.
In July 1121 Pope Calixtus travelled to Campania, spending time in Aversa, Salerno, Melfi, and Taranto. He arrived in Catanzaro by 21 December.[4] The purpose of his visit was to arrange a truce and peace between Count Roger and Duke William of Italy.[5] He failed in his mission.[6]
In the bull "Notum sit omnibus", allegedly published on 28 December 1121, Pope Calixtus states that he dedicated the church of the Virgin Mary and Saints Peter and Paul in Catanzaro; that he granted and confirmed to that church the episcopal seat and dignity of the diocese of Tres Tabernae; granted the favor of absolution from all of their sins upon being buried in that church's cemetery; that annually on the festival of that church, which was to be celebrated for eight days, the Faithful were to be granted one year's remission of the punishment due their sins, provided they made a sacramental confession.[7] The bull, however, is a forgery.[8] The signatories of the bull present several problems: Rainaldus of Mileto was not yet bishop of Mileto; Vellardus of Agrigento signed (though the real bishop's name was Albert); Bishop Gerardof Potenza signed, though he had been dead for nearly three years; Bishop Polichronius of Genicocastro signed, though neither the diocese nor the bishop is known, except in a Greek hagiographical text of the end of the 12th century.[9]
In 1122, Pope Calixtus II transferred to Catanzaro the see of Taverna (Tres Tabernae), which is taken as the date of foundation of the diocese, at least according to the Catholic Encyclopedia.[10] The date and circumstances, however, are hotly debated by scholars.[11]
No bishop of Calabria attended the First Lateran Council of Pope Calixtus II in Rome in 1123, held to deal with investiture, simony, clerical concubinage, and an expedition against the Saracens.[12]
In the 1140s, the diocese of Tres Tabernae is listed as one of the "exempt dioceses" in Calabria. By the end of the century, the Liber censuum indicates that it had become a suffragan (subordinate) of the archdiocese of Reggio Calabria, as the diocese of Catanzaro (Catacensis).[13]
On 27 March 1638, a major earthquake struck Calabria, killing thousands. In Catanzaro, the death of the Patrician, Onofrio Cattaneo, the Franciscan Francesco Pistoia of Catanzaro, and the priest Geronimo Gerasio, were recorded; in the whole territory some 200 persons died.[14] In the earthquake of 8 March 1832, the most severely damaged buildings were: the school (lyceum), the headquarters of the royal intendent, the civic hospital, and the prison. A total of 234 persons died in the quake, four of them in the city of Catanzaro.[15]
Cathedral and Chapter
The cathedral of the Assumption is administered and staffed by a corporation of Canons, consisting, in 1692, of four dignities and fourteen Canons.[16]
Religious orders
The Dominicans first arrived in Catanzaro in 1401.[17]
The contract for a Jesuit college (lyceum) in Catanzaro was signed on 1 February 1563.[18] Bishop Ottaviano Moriconi (1572–1582) facilitated their establishment.[19] The Jesuits were expelled from Catanzaro on 20 November 1767.
Change of status
Since the 12th century, Catanzaro had been a suffragan diocese (subordinate) of the archbishop of Reggio Calabria. On 5 July 1927, [Pope Pius XI] changed the status of Catanzaro, liberating it from the metropolitan jurisdiction of Reggio Calabria and making it directly dependent on the Holy See (Papacy). He then raised the diocese to the dignity of an archdiocese, without however naming any suffragan dioceses.[20]
Acquisition of diocese of Squillace
From 1927 to 1986, the Archbishop of Catanzaro was also appointed Bishop of Squillace, holding two dioceses at the same time.[21]
On 18 February 1984, the Vatican and the Italian State signed a new and revised concordat, which was accompanied in the next year 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. Otherwise Catanzaro and Saquillace might have continued to share a bishop, as the archbishop of Catanzaro e Squillace. 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 Catanzaro and Squillace be merged into one diocese with one bishop, with the Latin title Archidioecesis Catacensis-Squillacensis. The seat of the diocese was to be in Catanzaro, and the cathedral of Catanzaro was to serve as the cathedral of the merged diocese. The cathedral in Squillace was to become a co-cathedral, and its cathedral Chapter was to be a Capitulum Concathedralis. There was to be only one diocesan Tribunal, in Catanzaro, 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 dioceses of Squillace and of Catanzaro.[22] The diocese was directly subject to the Holy See.
Losses of territory
On 18 November 1989, the Congregation of Bishops in the Roman Curia, with the consent of Pope John Paul II, transferred fifteen parishes from the diocese of Catanzaro-Squillace to the diocese of Locri-Gerace. At the same time, Catanzaro-Squillace received five parishes from Locri-Gerace, Crotone-Santa Severina, Lamezia Terme and Cosenza-Bisignano.[23]
Metropolitan archdiocese
On 30 January 2001, Pope John Paul II promoted the archdiocese of Catanzaro-Squillace to the status of metropolitan archdiocese, and assigned it as suffragan dioceses the archdiocese of Crotone-Santa Severina and the diocese of Lamezia Terme.[24]
^Caspar, p. 43, summarized by Kehr, p. 79, nos. 1-4. The bull has been denounced as a forgery by Ughelli, De Meo, Batiffol, and others (Kehr, p. 80, top). Ughelli points out (p. 358) that the Pope subscribes as "Calixtus catholicae ecclesiae Pontifex", which was never the pontifical style; Caspar disguises the problem by putting the correct "Episcopus" in the text, though it is not in the manuscripts, and reporting the state of the manuscripts only in the scholarly apparatus.
^P. Jaffé, Regesta pontificum Romanorum , editio secunda (Leipzig: Veit 1885), pp. 781, 795, 801-803.
^Cronica Trium Tabernarum section 19: "[19.] Post aliquantum uero temporis ueniens isdem felicis memoriae papa Calixtus in Calabriae partibus, ut inter domnum regem Rogerium, qui tunc comes erat, et inter Guillelmum ducem treguas reformaret et pacem...." The Chronicle of Taverna has been published by Erich Caspar, "Die chronik von Tres Tabernae in Calabrien," in Quellen und Forschungen aus italienischen Archiven und Bibliotheken. 1907. 10 (Rome: Loescher 1907), p. 45. William was Duke of Pouille, not Duke of Italy. Batiffol, p. 237.
^Caspar, pp. 46-49; Caspar has tampered with the date formula.
^Kehr, pp. 80-81, no. 7, who indicates that elements in the forgery were borrowed from a genuine bull for the Monastery of S. Trinita de Mileto.
^Batiffol, p. 238. Caspar, p. 47, has again "corrected" the text for Bishop Albertus, inserting the name which is not in the manuscripts, though the true fact is reported only in the footnotes.
^The five bulls of Pope Calixtus II referring to Tres Tabernae (Taverna) and Catanzaro, found only in the Chronicle of Taverna, have been attacked as falsifications, though one is certainly authentic. Pierre Batiffol, "Chronique de Taverna et les fausses décretales de Catanzaro," Revue des questions historiques 51 (Paris 1892), pp. 235-244. He was answered by Paul Favre, "Les fausses décretales de Catanzaro," Revue des questions historiques 53 (Paris 1893), pp. 519-522; with a reply by P. Batiffol, pp. 522-527. Paul Fabre, "Correspondence," Revue des questions historiques 54 (Paris 1894), pp. 596-599, with a rejoinder by Batiffol at p. 599. See also Kehr, pp. 77-78 for additional bibliography. P. Fedele in Archivio storico per le province Napolitane 32 (1907), pp. 203-206.
^Domenico Taccone-Gallucci, Regesti dei Romani Pontefici per le chiese della Calabria (Roma 1902), p. 325.
^Louis Duchesne, "Les évêchés de Calabrie," in: Mélanges Paul Favre, reprinted in Scripta Minora. Études de topographie romaine et de géographie ecclésiastique (Rome: École Française de Rome 1973), pp. 439-454, at p. 14 [452]: "Quant à l'évêché de Très Tabernae, il fut fondé en 1121 (J. 6890; cf. 6937, 6938, 6942). Dans le courant du XIIe siècle on le transféra à Catanzaro, mais il perdit son exemption; les provinciaux d'Albinus et de Cencius le marquent parmi les suffragante de Reggio." P. Fabre, Le Liber censuum, I (Paris: Fontemoing 1905), pp. 21-22.
^D'Amato, pp. 213-214. M. Baratta, I terramoti d'Italia (Torino 1901), p. 130, reports 4 deaths, 18 houses and one church destroyed. The bishop' palace and the cathedral suffered considerable damage.
^Bassovinus (or Basuinus) was a native of Aversa. He became bishop of Aversa between 1210 and 1215. He died in 1221. Ughelli IX, p. 368. Eubel, Hierarchia catholica I, p. 174. Kamp, pp. 950-951.
^Fortunato was a Canon of Catanzaro as early as 1217, and was later promoted to Cantor of the cathedral Chapter by 1233. He is named bishop-elect in a document of 21 August 1251. His latest document is in April 1252. Eubel I, p. 174. Kamp, p. 952.
^Niccolo: Eubel I, p. 174. Kamp, p. 954, note 52, rejects the report of Ughelli, p. 372, of a bishop Nicolaus in 1275, since it contradicts other documentary evidence.
^A native of Teramo, Nicolaus was a Doctor of Canon Law, and had been a Canon of the Vatican Basilica. He was appointed Bishop of Catanzaro by Pope Urban V on 18 February 1368. He died a year later. Ughelli IX, p. 374. Eubel I, p. 174.
^Astulfus (Arnulphus, Alphonsus), according to Eubel, held a licensiate in Canon Law and had been Provost of Cesena. He was appointed Bishop of Catanzara by Pope Urban V on 27 April 1369. Under Urban VI, he served as Collector of Papal Revenues in the province of Cosenza. According to Ughelli, he died under Boniface IX around 1398. Ughelli IX, p. 374. Eubel I, p. 175.
^Thomas was appointed by Pope Boniface IX on 6 December 1398. Ughelli reports his death in 1421. Ughelli IX, p. 374. Eubel I, p. 175.
^Hortensius is known only to Gams, p. 874, from whom Eubel borrows the reference.
^Petrus Amuloga, a native of Catanzaro, had been appointed Bishop of Isola by Urban VI on 30 December 1388. He defected from Boniface IX to Clement VII on 19 March 1394, and was declared deposed. He continued to hold the diocese of Isola until 1410. Bishop Petrus was named Bishop of Catanzaro by Pope Martin V on 7 April 1421. He died in 1435. Eubel I, pp. 175; 285 with notes 2 and 4.
^Fra Antonio's bulls were issued on 26 October 1435. He died in 1439. Eubel, Hierarchia catholica II, p. 121.
^Nicolas was appointed on 21 December 1440 by Pope Eugenius IV. Ughelli states that he was appointed Bishop of Orte on 2 July 1445. He died in Rome in 1467. Ughelli I, p. 740; IX, p. 374. Eubel II, p. 121.
^Riccardius: Ughelli IX, p. 374. Eubel II, p. 121.
^Palamides had been Abbot of S. Petrus ad aram in Naples. Ughelli IX, p. 374. Eubel II, p. 121.
^Born in Catanzaro, Tornafranca had been a parish priest, and then Dean of the cathedral Chapter. He was appointed Bishop of Catanzaro by Pope Julius II on 27 April 1509. He died in 1523. Calabretta, p. 158. Eubel III, p. 158.
^De Paola, who had been a monk of S. Maria de Curatio, and Treasurer of the cathedral Chapter of Catanzaro, had previously been Bishop of Neocastro (1518–1523). He was transferred to the diocese of Catanzaro by Pope Adrian VI on 24 July 1523. He resigned the diocese in favor of Cardinal Andrea della Valle Ughelli, p. 376. Eubel III, p. 158, 256.
^Girolamo de Paola, the nephew of Bishop Antonio de Paola, was appointed Bishop of Catanzaro by Pope Clement VII on 9 May 1530. He presided for less than fourteen months. Ughelli IX, p. 376. Eubel III, p. 158.
^Angelo Geraldini, a native of Amerina, was the nephew of Bishop Giovanni Geraldini. He was appointed Bishop of Catanzaro by Pope Clement VII on 6 March 1532. He died in Amerina in 1536, at the age of 77. Ughelli IX, pp. 376-377. Eubel III, p. 158 with note 4.
^Sforza Geraldini was appointed on 18 August 1536 by Pope Paul III. He died in Rome on 28 February 1550. Ughelli IX, p. 377. Eubel III, p. 158.
^Angelo Horabona of Aversa was appointed by Pope Pius IV on 12 April 1570, and was granted special permission to collect funds, due to the present poverty of the diocese. He was nominated Archbishop of Trani by King Philip II, and transferred to the diocese of Trani on 17 March 1572 by Pope Pius V. Eubel III, pp. 158 with note 10; 317 with note 7.
^Moriconi was a priest of the diocese of Nocera, and a Doctor in utroque iure. Eubel III, p. 158.
^Nicolò Orazi was a native of Bologna, and held the degree of Doctor in utroque iure from the University of Bologna. He was appointed Bishop of Catanzaro by Pope Gregory XIII on 31 January 1582. He was consecrated by Cardinal Gabriele Paleotto, Archbishop of Bologna, whose Vicar General he had been. He died on 11 July 1607. Ughelli IX, p. 377. Eubel III, p. 158 with note 11.
^Pisculli had previously been Minister General of the Conventual Franciscans. He was appointed bishop of Catanzaro on 17 September 1607. He died in 1618. Ughelli IX, p. 377.
^Caracciolo was appointed on 7 January 1619 by Pope Paul V. He resigned in 1629, and was appointed Bishop of Oppido on 29 January 1630. He died in 1631. Gauchat IV, pp. 141, 264.
^Lucas Castellini was a native of Faenza and a noted theologian. He was Procurator, and then Vicar General of the Dominican Order (1611). On 19 November 1629 he was named Bishop of Catanzaro. He died in January 1631, after a term of fourteen months. Ughelli IX, p. 368. Dizionario biografico universale (in Italian). Vol. I. Firenze: David Passigli. 1840. p. 900. Gauchat, Hierarchia catholica IV, p. 141 with note 4.
^Caputo was born in Naples in 1598, and held the degree of Doctor in utroque iure. He had previously been Bishop of S. Marco (1630–1633). He was transferred to the diocese of Catanzaro on 8 August 1633 by Pope Urban VIII. He was a notable anti-Semite, who summoned the Holy Inquisition to root them out of his diocese. He died on 19 November 1645. Ughelli, pp. 378-379. Gauchat, pp. 141, 231 with note 7.
^A native of Catanzaro, Olivadosi had previously been Bishop of Lavella (1626–1627), and of Bova (1627–1646). He was transferred to the diocese of Catanzaro by Pope Innocent X on 16 July 1646. He died on 10 November 1656. Ughelli, p. 379. Gauchat, pp. 119 with note 4; 141; 217 with note 8.
^Rossi was born in Naples in 1685. He was appointed Bishop of Catanzaro on 1 October 1727 by Pope Benedict XIII, and consecrated a bishop by the pope personally on 5 October. On 26 September 1735, Rossi was transferred to the diocese of Melfi e Rapolla by Pope Clement XII. He was named Archbishop of Palermo on 8 July 1737, where he died on 6 July 1747. Ritzler-Sefrin V, p. 150 with note 7.
^Romano had previously been Vicar General of Cardinal Corsini, suburbicarian Bishop of Frascati. He was then named Bishop of Orte e Campli. He was transferred to the diocese of Catanzaro on 26 September 1735 by Pope Clement XII. He never took possession of the diocese, but died in Naples on 6 January 1736. Cappelletti XXI, p. 185. Ritzler-Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica VI, p. 155 with note 2.
^D'Alessandria was born in Monte Leone in the diocese of Mileto in 1743. He was appointed Bishop of Catanzaro by Pope Pius VII on 26 June 1805. He died on 15 January 1818. Notizie per l'anno 1806 (Roma: Cracas 1806), p. 127. Ritzler-Sefrin Hierarchia catholica VII, p. 141.
^Born in Rome in 1778 of a family originating in Sora, Clari, a Basilian monk, had been a teacher of rhetoric in the minor seminary of Sora. He was nominated Bishop of Catanzaro by King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies on 8 May 1818, and confirmed by Pope Pius VII on 25 May. He was nominated Archbishop of Bari-Canosa by King Ferdinand I on 20 June 1823, and confirmed by Pope Leo XII on 17 November 1823. He died on 15 February 1858. Notizie per l'anno 1834 (in Italian). Roma: Cracas. 1834. p. 82. Cappelletti XXI, p. 24. Ritzler-Sefrin VII, pp. 106, 141.
^Belloredo had been a founding member of the Accademia Cattolico Teandrofila in 1822. In 1823 he was elected General Delegate of the Neapolitan provinces to the General Chapter of the Dominican Order. He was nominated Bishop of Catanzaro by King Francesco I of the Two Sicilies on 22 March 1824, and confirmed by Pope Leo XII on 24 May 1824. On 1 November 1828 he was nominated Archbishop of Reggio Calabria by the King, and on 28 January 1828 was transferred from Catanzaro to Reggio. In 1829 he became bishop of S. Agata dei Goti and of Acerra. He died in 1833. Archivio storico per le province napoletane (in Italian). Naples: Ed. Detken & Rocholl e F. Giannini. 1879. pp. 382–383. Ritzler-Sefrin VII, pp. 61, 141, 321.
^De Riso was a Benedictine monk of Montecassino, and had been Abbot of S. Pietro in Perugia. He was appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Bishop Raffaele de Franco on 9 August 1883, and to qualify him as a bishop he was named titular bishop of Argos (Greece). He was consecrated in Rome on 15 August 1883, but eight days later Bishop de Franco died, making De Riso the incumbent bishop of Catanzaro. He died on 28 May 1900. He was the author of Della vita, e delle opere dell' Abbate Gioacchino [di Fiore] (Milan 1872). La Scienze e la fede. Serie quarta (in Italian). Vol. 31. Naples: Manfredi. 1883. p. 469. Ritzler-Sefrin VIII, pp. 120, 191.
^Di Maria was appointed Bishop of Catanzaro on 6 December 1906 by Pope Pius X. On 11 June 1918, Di Maria was appointed, Titular Archbishop of Iconium by Pope Benedict XV, to give him sufficient rank to be Apostolic Delegate to Canada. He was transferred to Switzerland in 1926 with the title of Apostolic Nuncio. He died in 1937. Soeur Paul-Émile, S.C.O.) (1989). The Grey Nuns of the Cross, Sisters of Charity of Ottawa. Vol. II. Ottawa: Sisters of Charity. pp. 193, 196, 199. ISBN978-0-9693277-2-1. Pięta, Hierarchia catholica IX, p. 118.
^CV of Bishop Bertolone: Arcidiocesi Metropolitana di Catanzaro-Squillace, Arcivescovo, "Biografia: S.E. Mons. Vincenzo Bertolone; retrieved: 21 October 2019.(in Italian)
![[icon]](File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small}
