The Diocese of Bisceglie (Latin: ''Dioecesis Vigiliensis'') was a Roman Catholic diocese located in the town of

Bisceglie Bisceglie (; nap, label= Biscegliese, Vescégghie) is a city and municipality of 55,251 inhabitants in the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, in the Apulia region (''Italian'': ''Puglia''), in southern Italy. The municipality has the fourth hig ...

on the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

in the

province of Barletta-Andria-Trani The Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani is a province of Italy in the Apulia region. The establishment of the province took effect in June 2009, and Andria was appointed as its seat of government on 21 May 2010. It was created from 10 municipalitie ...

Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

in southern Italy. It is five miles south of Trani. In 1818, it was united with the Archdiocese of Trani to form the Archdiocese of Trani-Bisceglie. (for Chronology of Bishops) (for Chronology of Bishops)

History of the diocese

In 839, and again in 840, the territory of Bisciglie was attacked and devastated by the Saracens (Arabs and Moors from north Africa). On 1 October 1071 Bishop Giovanni was present at the consecration of the church of the Monastery of Montecassino by Pope Alexander II. In 1079, Robert Guiscard, who had taken the title of Duke of Apulia, met his vassals at Melfi. Count Pietro of Trani, who considered himself Guiscard's equal, did not attend. Guiscard therefore campaigned against Trani, Bisceglie, Giovennazo, Corato and Andria, and took prisoners. The Cathedral of S. Peter was dedicated on 1 May 1295 by Bishop Leo with the assistance of seven other bishops. The Cathedral had a Chapter composed of seven dignities, sixteen Canons, and ten chaplains. In 1685 the Cathedral Chapter contained seven dignities and sixteen Canons. The dignities were: the Archdeacon, the Archpriest, two Primicerii, the Prior, the Dean, and the Penitentiary. In 1762 there were six dignities and twenty six Canons. The city of Bisceglie had c. 12,000 inhabitants, with three parish churches (and a total of ten churches inside the city); there were five houses of male religious and two monasteries of monks. The diocese of Biceglie had two Collegiate Churches, S. Adoeno (with an Abbot curate, nine Canons, and six chaplains) and Ss. Matteo e Niccolò (with two Abbots, eight Canons, and five chaplains). On 15 July 1818, Pope Pius VII, answering a petition from the Chapter of S. Adoeno, granted the Chapter the power to add to the number of choral chaplains. There were eleven churches outside the city in the territory of the diocese of Bisceglie.

Bishops of the diocese of Bisceglie

''Erected: 8th Century''
''Latin Name: Vigiliensis''
''Metropolitan:

Archdiocese of Trani In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

to 1200

:... *Georgius (Sergius) (attested 787) *Mercurius (attested 1059) *Ioannes (attested 1071, 1072) *Stephanus (1099) *Amandus (attested 30 July 1154 – 1182) *Bisantius, O.S.B. (attested 1182 – 19 October 1219)

from 1200 to 1400

:... *Nicolaus (attested 1229) *(Al)bertus (attested 1237) *Nicolaus (attested 1240) *Sergius (1267 – 1274) :''Sede vacante'' (1275/1276 – 1285) :?

Opizzo Fieschi Opizzo Fieschi ( ), also known as Opizo or Opiso dei' Fieschi, was a 13th-century Italian cleric from the powerful Genovese Fieschi family. Following his uncle Sinibaldo's election as , Opizzo was appointed the Catholic Church's patriarch of Antio ...

Apostolic Administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

'' (1280.04.01 – 1288.06.04) *Hieronymus (1285) *Leo(nius) * Leone di Gaeta (attested 1303, 1306, 1309) * Giovanni (attested 1314) * Giacomo (1317? – ?) * Nicola (1320? – ?) * Bartolomeo Fiore, O.P. (1327? – ?) * Martino Sambiasi (? – death 1348) * Simone de Rayano (5 Nov 1348 – death 1367?) * Nicola Ricci, O.F.M. (19 July 1387 – 21 April 1421) (Avignon Obedience) * Domenico (? – ?) (Roman Obedience) * Giovanni (1390? – 1390) * Giacomo Federici,

Carmelites , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...

(O. Carm.) (4 Jan 1391 – 1399?)

from 1400 to 1600

* Francesco Falconi (1399? – ?) * Nicola Falconi (1413 – death 1442) * Giacomo Pietro de Gravina (23 May 1442 – death 1476) * Bernardino Barbiani (9 Aug 1476 – 24 Aug 1487) *

Martino de Madio da Tramonti Martino may refer to: Places * Martino, Kardzhali Province, in Kardzhali Municipality, Bulgaria * Martino, Phthiotis, a village in central Greece People * Martino (given name) * Martin of Tours (316–397), one of a dozen saints bearing th ...

(Martino de Maggio) (24 Aug 1487 – 18 Nov 1507) *

Antonio Lupicino Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular ma ...

(19 November 1507 – 1524) *

Geronimo Sifola Geronimo ( apm, Goyaałé, , ; June 16, 1829 – February 17, 1909) was a prominent leader and medicine man from the Bedonkohe band of the Ndendahe Apache people. From 1850 to 1886, Geronimo joined with members of three other Central Apache b ...

(11 May 1524 – death 1565) *

Giovanni Andrea Signati Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...

(22 Aug 1565 – 23 Sept 1575) *

Leonardo Bonaccorsi Leonardo is a masculine given name, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese equivalent of the English, German, and Dutch name, Leonard. People Notable people with the name include: * Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), Italian Renaissance scienti ...

(23 Sept 1575 – death 1576) *

Giovanni Battista Soriani Giovanni Battista Soriani, O. Carm. (died 25 June 1582) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Bisceglie (1576–1582). Biography Giovanni Battista Soriani was ordained a priest in the Order of the Brothers of Our Lady of Mount ...

, O. Carm. (22 Aug 1576 – death 25 June 1582) *

Nicola Secadenari Nicola may refer to: People * Nicola (name), including a list of people with the given name or, less commonly, the surname ** Nicola (artist) or Nicoleta Alexandru, singer who represented Romania at the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest * Nicola peopl ...

(1583 – death 30 July 1583) * Alessandro Cospi (7 Oct 1583 – death 15 May 1609)

from 1600 to 1817

Antonio Albergati Antonio Albergati (16 September 1566 – 13 January 1634) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Bisceglie (1609–1627), ''(in Latin)'' Apostolic Nuncio to Germany (1610–1621), and Apostolic Collector to Portugal (1621–1624). ...

(1609.08.03 – 1627)"Archbishop Antonio Albergati"
''

Catholic-Hierarchy.org ''Catholic-Hierarchy.org'' is an online database of bishops and dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Catholic Churches. The website is not officially sanctioned by the Church. It is run as a private project by David M. Cheney in ...

''. David M. Cheney. Retrieved November 24, 2016 * Nicola Bellolatto (1627.03.08 – death 1636.07.15) * Bernardino Scala (12 January 1637 – 28 May 1643) * Guglielmo Gaddi (1643.08.31 – death 1652.02.07)"Bishop Guglielmo Gaddi"
''

''. David M. Cheney. Retrieved October 7, 2016 * Giuseppe Lomellini,

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(1652.08.26 – death 1657.08.25) * Cesare Cancellotti (1 April 1658 – 16 June 1662) * Giovanni Battista Penna,

O.E.S.A. The Order of Saint Augustine, ( la, Ordo Fratrum Sancti Augustini) abbreviated OSA, is a religious mendicant order of the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1244 by bringing together several eremitical groups in the Tuscany region who were fo ...

(9 April 1663 – death 2 July 1664) * Francesco Antonio Ricci, O.F.M. Obs. (15 September 1664 – death 28 April 1685) * Giuseppe Crispini (10 Sept 1685 – 13 November 1690) * Pompeo Sarnelli (17 February 1692 – death 7 July 1724) * Antonio Pacecco (Antonio Pacicco), O.F.M. (11 September 1724 – death March 1739) * Francesco Antonio Leonardi (15 July 1739 – death 1762) * Donato Antonio Giannelli (22 November 1762 – death 1783) :''Sede vacante'' (1783 – 1792) * Salvatore Palica,

O.S.B. Cel. The Celestines were a Roman Catholic monasticism, monastic Order (religious), order, a branch of the Benedictines, founded in 1244. At the foundation of the new rule, they were called Hermits of St Damiano, or Moronites (or Murronites), and did ...

(26 March 1792 – 1800) :''Sede vacante'' (1800 – 1818)The diocese was under the Administratorship of the Archbishop of Trani. Cappelletti, p. 76. ''The Diocese of Bisceglie was united on 27 June 1818 with the Archdiocese of Trani to form the Archdiocese of Trani e Bisceglie''

References

Books

Reference Works

* (in Latin) * (in Latin) * * pp. 857–858. (Use with caution; obsolete) * (in Latin) * (in Latin) * (in Latin) * * *

Studies

* * *Kehr, Paulus Fridolin (1962). ''Italia pontificia. Regesta pontificum Romanorum.'
Vol. IX: Samnium–Apulia–Lucanium
. Berlin: Weidmann. * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bisceglie, Diocese Former Roman Catholic dioceses in Italy Former Roman Catholic dioceses in Europe