Diocese of Piazza Armerina

Diocese of Piazza Armerina

Dioecesis Platiensis
Cathedral in Piazza Armerina
Location
CountryItaly
Ecclesiastical provinceAgrigento
Statistics
Area2,003 km2 (773 sq mi)
Population
  • Total
  • Catholics
  • (as of 2023)
  • 208,539 Decrease
  • 203,000 (est.) Decrease (96.4%)
Parishes75
Information
DenominationCatholic Church
RiteRoman Rite
Established3 July 1817
(208 years ago)
CathedralCattedrale di Maria SS. delle Vittorie
Secular priests86 (diocesan) Decrease
24 (Religious Orders) Decrease
14 Permanent Deacons
Current leadership
PopeLeo XIV
BishopRosario Gisana
Map
Website
www.diocesipiazza.it

The Diocese of Piazza Armerina (Latin: Dioecesis Platiensis) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Sicily. It is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Agrigento.[1]

History

The town of Piazza was destroyed in 1166, at the command of King William I of Sicily, due to the rebellious character of its nobles and citizens. It was rebuilt by order of King William II of Sicily (1166–1189). He ordered the building of churches, the most impressive of which was dedicated to the Assumption of Mary, which became a collegiate church under Pope Clement VIII in 1603.[2] The Chapter had four dignities (Provost, Cantor, Treasurer, and Dean) and twenty-four Canons.[3] The collegiate church was also the city's parish church, and the Provost had the "cure of souls".[4]

Since the second half of the 17th century, there had been a Jesuit college in Piazza. The great earthquake of 1693 ruined both the Jesuit college and its church, though the damages were repaired.[5] The college was forced to close when the Jesuits were expelled from the kingdom in 1778.[6]

The establishment of a diocese at Piazza Armerina, located in central Sicily, emerged as part of a broader early 19th-century reform to enhance pastoral care in the region. There were only nine bishops in the entire island of Sicily in 1805, all of whom were overburdened by growing population and difficulties of travel.[7] After persistent appeals to King Ferdinand IV in 1805, Pope Pius VII commissioned an inquiry, and by 1808 local civic leaders had already pledged financial support and provided a residence and seminary for the future bishop of the Diocese of Piazza Armerina. In 1809, Pope Pius VII was arrested and deported, along with the curial cardinals, while the Papal States were annexed to the French state. During his captivity in France and in Savona from 1809 to 1814, the pope refused to carry out any functions whatever, and plans for the ecclesiastical development of Sicily were halted. The territory of Piazza Armerina was still only a part of the diocese of Siracusa.

Establishment of the diocese

The diocese was formally established on 3 July 1817 by Pope Pius VII, with the bull "Pervetustam locorum".[8] Territory for the new diocese was taken from territory of the Diocese of Catania.[9] The new diocese was assigned to the ecclesiastical Province of Monreale.

The college of Canons of Santa Maria Assunta was abolished, and the church was raised to the status of a cathedral. The canons of the college were then appointed canons of the cathedral Chapter, with the same three dignities, to which the pope added a fourth, the Archdeacon.[10]

On 16 February 1962, the cathedral of Santa Maria della Vittoria was given the honor of being named a minor basilica by Pope John XXIII.[11]

The first bishop, Girolamo Aprile e Benso, a native of Caltagirone, was appointed on 2 October 1818, and was consecrated a bishop on 17 January 1819.[12] He appointed the archdeacon of the cathedral, Vincenzo Velardita, his vicar-general, and, in 1824, at the age of 65, he requested that Velardita be made a bishop to serve as a coadjutor in his responsibilities. Velardita became titular bishop of Gortyn (Crete) and auxiliary bishop of Piazza.[13]

Changes in metropolitan

On 20 May 1844, Pope Gregory XVI issued a bull entitled "In Suprema", which reorganized the diocesan boundaries of Sicily. In the bull, to relieve the excessive population and size of the diocese of Syracuse, several communes (such as Assoro, San Filippo d’Agira, Leonforte, and Nissoria) were reassigned to the Diocese of Nicosia, while others (Mirabella Imbaccari, Raddusa) were transferred to Caltagirone. At the same time, new areas (Butera, Gela, Mazzarino, Niscemi, and Riesi) were added to the Diocese of Piazza Armerina. The diocese became a suffragan of the newly created Archdiocese of Siracusa.[14]

The diocesan seminary for priestly formation opened in Piazza Armerina in 1859.[15] Bishop Gerbino transformed the church of Saint Dominic into a residence for the seminarians in 1887.[16] In 2025, it had ten seminarians.[17]

In World War I, 270 soldiers from Piazza died.[18]

Bishop Antonino Catarella (1942–1970) suppressed all the confraternities in the diocese on the grounds of internal struggles and strife with the clergy.[19] During World War II, Bishop Catarella and the other bishops of Sicily prepared and disseminated plans to declare Sicily an independent state from the Kingdom of Italy.[20]

An administrative reorganization of the dioceses of Sicily occurred on 2 December 2000, when the diocese of Piazza Armerina was removed from the province of Siracusa to become suffragan to the newly elevated Archdiocese of Agrigento.[21]

Bishops

  • (1818 – 1836) : Girolamo Aprile e Benso[22]
  • (1838 – 1840) : Pietro Naselli, C.O.[23]
  • (1844 – 1845) : Pier Francesco Brunaccini, O.S.B.[24]
  • (1846 – 1867) : Cesare Agostino Sajeva[25]
  • (1872 – 1887) : Saverio Gerbino[26]
  • (1887 – 1903) : Mariano Palermo[27]
  • (1903 – 1941) : Mario Sturzo[28]
  • (1942 – 1970) : Antonino Catarella[29]
  • (18 Nov 1970 – 1986) : Sebastiano Rosso[30]
  • (8 Jan 1986 – 12 Feb 2002 Died) : Vincenzo Cirrincione
  • (2002 – 2013) : Michele Pennisi[31]
  • (2014 – ) : Rosario Gisana[32]

References

  1. ^ Acta Apostolicae Sedis (in Latin) Vol. 93 (Città del Vaticano 2001), pp. 128-129.
  2. ^ Cappelletti, pp. 629-630.
  3. ^ Bullarii Romani continuatio Vol. 14, p. 329, col. 2 § 5.
  4. ^ Cappelletti, p. 630.
  5. ^ Masuzzo, p. 27.
  6. ^ Seminario Vescovile di Piazza Armerina, "La Storia del nostro Seminario" (in Italian); retrieved: 6 September 2025. Nicholas Whithorn (Translator), Piazza Armerina: The Roman Villa of Casale Morgantina, (Affinità elettive, 2003), p. 103.
  7. ^ Bullarii Romani continuatio Vol. 14, p. 327, col. 2 § 2. Ritzler & Sefrin VI, p. 456: Palermo-Monreale, Agrigento, Mazara, Catania, Syracuse, Messana, Cefalù, Patti, Lipari.
  8. ^ Bullarii Romani continuatio (in Latin) Vol. 14 (Rome: Camera Apostolica 1849), pp. 326-339.
  9. ^ "motu proprio, et ex certa scientia, deque apostolicae potestatis plenitudine a dioecesi Cathaniensi praefatа, cui proprio jam viduata pastore novus episcopus, et pastor nuperrime datus est, infrascriptas duodecim terras, saepedictam videlicet civitatem, ut praefertur, nuncupatam Platine, ac aliam Aidone, ac aliam Asaro, ac aliam Barafranca, ac aliam Caropipi, ac aliam Castrogiovanni, ac aliam sancto Filippo di Argirò, ac aliam Imbaccari, ac aliam Leonforte, ac aliam Nissorìa, ac aliam Pietrapersia, et reliquam terras hnjusmodi Villarosa respective nuncupatas... dismembramus, dividimus,et separamus."
  10. ^ Bullarii Romani continuatio Vol. 14, p. 332, col. 1 § 7.
  11. ^ Acta Apostolicae Sedis vol. 54 (Città del Vaticano 1962), pp. 706-707.
  12. ^ "Bishop Girolamo Aprile e Benso [Catholic-Hierarchy]". catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  13. ^ Cappelletti, p. 630. Ritzler & Sefrin, Hierarchia catolica VII, p. 206.
  14. ^ Collezione degli atti emanati dopo la pubblicazione del Concordato dell'anno 1818: I brevi e le lettere apostoliche, i reali decreti e rescritti, le circolari ed istruzioni pubblicate da gennajo 1842 a tutto dicembre 1844; non che una copiosa appendice a' precedenti volumi. 10 (in Italian). Stamperia dell'Iride. 1847. p. 128.
  15. ^ Seminario Vescovile di Piazza Armerina, "La Storia del nostro Seminario" (in Italian); retrieved: 6 September 2025.
  16. ^ Masuzzo, p. 33.
  17. ^ Seminario Vescovile di Piazza Armerina, "Seminaristi" (in Italian); retrieved: 6 September 2025.
  18. ^ Masuzzo, p. 33.
  19. ^ Masuzzo, s.v. "1972".
  20. ^ Antonello Battaglia, Separatismo siciliano: I documenti militari, (in Italian) (Roma: Edizioni Nuova Cultura, 2015), pp. 117-118.
  21. ^ Acta Apostolicae Sedis Vol. 93 (Città del Vaticano 2001), pp. 128-129: "Simili modo, nova erecta ecclesiastica Provincia Agrigentina constabit ex metropolitana Ecclesia Agrigentina, exque suffraganeis Ecclesiis Calatanisiadensi, hucusque metropolitanae Ecclesiae Montis Regalis suffraganea, et Platiensi, hactenus archidioecesi Syracusanae suffraganea."
  22. ^ Aprile e Benso: Cappelletti, p. 630. Ritzer & Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica VII, p. 310 with note 2.
  23. ^ A native of Palermo and a member of the family of the Princes Naselli, Pietro Naselli was Provost of the Oratorian house in Piazza. He was nominated bishop of Piazza on 3 July 1837, by King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies, and approved by Pope Gregory XVI on 15 February 1838. He resigned on 13 Jul 1840, and was made titular archbishop of Nicosia (Cyprus). He died in 1862. Cappelletti, p. 630. Ritzler & Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica VII, pp. 282, 310.
  24. ^ A native of Messina, Brunaccini was nominated bishop of Piazza on 20 May 1844, by King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies, and approved by Pope Gregory XVI on 17 June 1844. He was appointed Archbishop of Monreale on 24 Nov 1845. He died on 14 June 1850. Cappelletti, p. 630. Ritzler & Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica VII, pp. 272, 310.
  25. ^ Born in Agrigento on 9 November 1794, Sajeva was nominated bishop of Piazza by King Ferdinand II on 12 April 1845, and confirmed by Pope Gregory XVI on 19 January 1846. He died on 13 March 1867. Ritzler & Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica VII, p. 310.
  26. ^ A native of Caltagirone, Gerbino was appointed bishop of Piazza by Pope Pius IX on 23 February 1872, the King of Italy not being recognized by the Vatican. On 14 March 1887, Bishop Gerbino was appointed Bishop of Caltagirone. He died on 16 March 1898. Ritzler & Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica VIII, pp. 171, 459.
  27. ^ Born at Maletto (Sicily), Palermo had been Bishop of Lipari (1881–1887). He was transferred to the diocese of Piazza on 14 March 1887. He died on 9 February 1903. Ritzler & Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica VIII, pp. 346, 459.
  28. ^ A native of Caltagirone (Sicily), Sturzo was the brother of Dom Luigi Sturzo, one of the founders of the Italian Christian Democratic Party, and was author of numerous articles, including "La guerra e la pace," in: Rivista di filosofia neo-scolastica, Volume 7 (Milano 1915), pp. 615-619. and "Il natale e la guerra" (Vita e pensiero). S. Latora (ed.), Dizionario enciclopedico dei pensatori e dei teologgi di Sicilia (secc. XIX e XX) (in Italian) (Caltanissa-Roma: Sciascia 2010), pp. 3058-3064. M. Aleo, Mario Sturzo filosofo (in Italian) (Caltanissa-Roma: Sciascia 2003). He had been prefect of studies and professor of Canon Law at the seminary of Piazza Armerina, and was a canon of the cathedral Chapter. He was appointed bishop of Piazza on 22 June 1903, and consecrated a bishop on 29 June. In 1931, he was ordered by the Congregation of the Holy Office (Inquisition) to retract all his philosophical publications in the Rivista di Autoformazione. He died on 11 November 1941.
  29. ^ Born in Cammarata (diocese of Agrigento) in 1889, Catarella was appointed bishop of Piazza by Pope Pius XII on 10 January 1942, and consecrated on 8 March. He resigned the diocese on 29 October 1970, and was granted the titular bishopric of Vissalsa (Mauretania Caesariensis; Morocco), which he resigned on 8 January 1971. He died on 9 December 1972. Angelo Noto, Notizie storiche del seminario di Argigento (1860-1963) (in Italian) (Agrigento: Edizioni del Seminario, 1963), p. 225.
  30. ^ Bishop Rosso resigned on 8 January 1986, on grounds of ill health.
  31. ^ Pennisi was born in Licodia Eubea, southeast of Caltagirone. He was named bishop of Piazza on 12 April 2002, by Pope John Paul II. On 8 February 2013), Pennisi was appointed, Archbishop of Monreale (2013–2022).
  32. ^ Gisana was appointed by Pope Francis on 27 February 2014, and consecrated a bishop on 5 April 2014. David M. Cheney, Catholic-Hierarchy.org, "Bishop Rosario Gisana"; retrieved: 5 September 2025.[self-published source]. Diocesi di Piazza Armerina, "Il vescovo: biografia" (in Italian); retrieved: 6 September 2025.

Bibliography

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Diocese of Piazza Armerina". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

37°22′N 14°22′E / 37.367°N 14.367°E / 37.367; 14.367

allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_Diocese_of_Piazza_Armerina