The Archdiocese of Lucca ( la, Archidioecesis Lucensis) is a

Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...

ecclesiastical territory or

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, 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 Roman province, pro ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. The diocese dates back as a diocese to the 1st century; it became an archdiocese in 1726. The

episcopal see An episcopal see is, in a practical use of the phrase, the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, mak ...

Lucca Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957. Lucca is known as one o ...

. It is not a

metropolitan see Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a t ...

, has no

suffragan diocese A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria ...

s, and is exempt directly to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

History

During the

Gothic Wars The Gothic Wars were a long series of conflicts between the Goths and the Roman Empire between the years 249 and 554. The main wars are detailed below. Gothic War (249–253) (Goths under Cniva against the Roman Empire) The War was probably in ...

the city of

was besieged and taken by

Totila Totila, original name Baduila (died 1 July 552), was the penultimate King of the Ostrogoths, reigning from 541 to 552 AD. A skilled military and political leader, Totila reversed the tide of the Gothic War, recovering by 543 almost all the t ...

in 550. Hoping for assistance from the

Franks The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...

, the Lucchesi obstinately resisted the attack of

Narses , image=Narses.jpg , image_size=250 , caption=Man traditionally identified as Narses, from the mosaic depicting Justinian and his entourage in the Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna , birth_date=478 or 480 , death_date=566 or 573 (aged 86/95) , allegi ...

, surrendering only after a siege of seven months (553). It later fell into the hands of the

Lombards The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 and ...

, was thenceforward a place of great importance, and became the favourite seat of the Marquesses of Tuscany. In 981

Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor Otto II (955 – 7 December 983), called the Red (''der Rote''), was Holy Roman Emperor from 973 until his death in 983. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto II was the youngest and sole surviving son of Otto the Great and Adelaide of Italy ...

bestowed on its bishop civil jurisdiction over the entire diocesan territory; but in 1081

Emperor Henry IV Henry IV (german: Heinrich IV; 11 November 1050 – 7 August 1106) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 to 1105, King of Germany from 1054 to 1105, King of Italy and Burgundy from 1056 to 1105, and Duke of Bavaria from 1052 to 1054. He was the son ...

made it a free city and conferred other favours upon it, especially in the way of trade. This was the origin of the

Republic of Lucca The Republic of Lucca ( it, Repubblica di Lucca) was a medieval and early modern state that was centered on the Italian city of Lucca in Tuscany, which lasted from 1160 to 1805. Its territory extended beyond the city of Lucca, reaching the surr ...

. Lucca was generally on the side of the pope against the emperor, and hence joined the League of S. Ginesio (1197). There is a legend that the

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

was preached at Lucca by St. Paulinus, a disciple of

St. Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupation ...

, and the discovery in 1197 of a stone, recording the deposition of the relics of Paulinus, a holy martyr, apparently confirmed this belief. On the stone, however, St. Paulinus is not called Bishop of Lucca, nor is there any allusion to his having lived in Apostolic times. The first bishop of certain date is Maximus, present at the

Council of Sardica The Council of Serdica, or Synod of Serdica (also Sardica located in modern day Sofia, Bulgaria), was a synod convened in 343 at Serdica in the civil diocese of Dacia, by Emperors Constans I, augustus in the West, and Constantius II, augustus in t ...

(343). At the

Council of Rimini The Council of Ariminum, also known after the city's modern name as the Council of Rimini, was an early Christian church synod. In 358, the Roman Emperor Constantius II requested two councils, one of the western bishops at Ariminum and one of th ...

(359),

Paulinus, Bishop of Lucca Saint Paulinus was an early Christian, who, along with a priest, deacon and soldier—all of whose names were forgotten through time—suffered martyrdom in 67. Paulinus is believed to have been converted and sent by St. Peter, whom he met at A ...

, was present. Perhaps the above-mentioned legend arose through a repetition of this Paulinus. Remarkable for sanctity and miracles was St. Fridianus (Frediano) (560–588), son of Ultonius,

King of Ireland King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

, or perhaps of a king of

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

(Ultonia), of whom in his "Dialogues" (III, 10)

Gregory the Great Pope Gregory I ( la, Gregorius I; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregori ...

relates a miracle. In 739, during the episcopate of Walprandus, Richard, King of the Angles and father of the Saints

Willibald Willibald (; c. 700 – c.787) was an 8th-century bishop of Eichstätt in Bavaria. Information about his life is largely drawn from the Hodoeporicon (itinerary) of Willibald, a text written in the 8th century by Huneberc, an Anglo-Saxon nun fro ...

, Wunibald, and

Walburga Walpurga or Walburga ( ang, Wealdburg, la, Valpurga, Walpurga, Walpurgis, sv, Valborg; c. AD 71025 February 777 or 779), also spelled Valderburg or Guibor, was an Anglo-Saxon missionary to the Frankish Empire. She was canonized on 1 May c. 870 ...

, died at Lucca and was buried in the church of S. Frediano. Under Blessed Giovanni (787) it is said the Volto Santo was brought to Lucca. Other bishops were: *

Anselmo Badagio Pope Alexander II (1010/1015 – 21 April 1073), born Anselm of Baggio, was the head of the Roman Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1061 to his death in 1073. Born in Milan, Anselm was deeply involved in the Pataria refor ...

(1073), later Pope Alexander II; *succeeded as bishop by his nephew

Anselm of Lucca Anselm of Lucca ( la, Anselmus; it, Anselmo; 1036 – 18 March 1086), born Anselm of Baggio ('), was a medieval bishop of Lucca in Italy and a prominent figure in the Investiture Controversy amid the fighting in central Italy between Matil ...

, a noted writer; * Apizio (1227), under whom Lucca was deprived of its episcopal see for six years by

Pope Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX ( la, Gregorius IX; born Ugolino di Conti; c. 1145 or before 1170 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decre ...

; *the Franciscan Giovanni Salvuzzi (1383), who built the episcopal palace; * Nicolò Guinigi (1394), exiled by his relative

Paolo Guinigi Paolo Guinigi (c. 1372 - 1432) was a lord of Lucca from 1400 until 1430. Biography Paolo was born in Lucca in 1372. He was the youngest son of Francesco Guinigi, member of one of the most outstanding families of Lucca. He was sent to London in 13 ...

, Lord of Lucca. In 1408

Pope Gregory XII Pope Gregory XII ( la, Gregorius XII; it, Gregorio XII; – 18 October 1417), born Angelo Corraro, Corario," or Correr, was head of the Catholic Church from 30 November 1406 to 4 July 1415. Reigning during the Western Schism, he was oppose ...

went to Lucca to come to a personal agreement with the

antipope Benedict XIII Pedro Martínez de Luna y Pérez de Gotor (25 November 1328 – 23 May 1423), known as in Spanish and Pope Luna in English, was an Aragonese nobleman who, as Benedict XIII, is considered an antipope (see Western Schism) by the Catholic Church ...

, and was there abandoned by his cardinals. Also: * the writer

Felino Maria Sandeo Felino Maria Sandeo (1444–1503), often quoted under the Latin name of Felinus, was an Italian canonist of the fifteenth century. Biography He was born at Felino, in the Diocese of Reggio, in 1444. He taught canon law from 1466 to 1474 at Fe ...

(1499), nephew of

Ariosto Ludovico Ariosto (; 8 September 1474 – 6 July 1533) was an Italian poet. He is best known as the author of the romance epic ''Orlando Furioso'' (1516). The poem, a continuation of Matteo Maria Boiardo's ''Orlando Innamorato'', describes the ...

; *Cardinal Sisto della Rovere (1508); *Cardinal Francesco Sforza Riario (1517) *Cardinal Bartolommeo Guidiccioni (1605), under whom the Diocese of San Miniato was formed and separated from Lucca; *Cardinal Girolamo Bonvisi (1657); * Bernardino Guinigi (1723), the first archbishop (1726); *the scholar Gian Domenico Mansi (1764–1769); *

Benedetto Lorenzelli Benedetto Lorenzelli (11 May 1853 – 15 September 1915) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of Studies from 1914 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1907. ...

(1904-1910), last nuncio to Paris before the separation (resigned as nuncio to France in 1904) (Cardinal in 1907).

Parishes

The archdiocese has a total of 362 parishes, all of which fall within the (civil)

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

of Tuscany. 354 are in the

Province of Lucca The province of Lucca ( it, provincia di Lucca) is a province in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Lucca. It has an area of and a total population of about 390,000. There are 33 ''comuni'' (singular: ''comune'') in the pro ...

and 8 in the

Province of Pistoia The province of Pistoia ( it, provincia di Pistoia) is a province in the Tuscany region of central Italy. Its capital is the city of Pistoia and the province is landlocked. It has an area of and a total population of 291,788 inhabitants (as of 2 ...

.Source for parishes: . For a listing of parishes by province and commune see

List of parishes of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lucca List of parishes by province and commune for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lucca.Source for parishes: . Tuscany Province of Lucca Province of Pistoia ;Pescia :S. Frediano (Aramo (Pescia), Aramo) :S. Bartolomeo (Collodi (Pescia), Collodi) ...

Notes and references

Bibliography

* Guidi, P. "Serie cronologica dei vescovi e degli arcivescovi di Lucca," ''Schola Clericorum et Cura Animarum'', Vol. V, 1905, to Vol. XI, 1911. Lucca. * Nicolai, U. (1966). ''I vescovi di Lucca.'' Lucca, 1966.

External links

* Benigni, Umberto
"Lucca."
The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. Retrieved: 23 November 2019.
List of bishops
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roman Catholic Archdiocese Of Lucca

Province of Lucca Province of Pistoia

Lucca

History

Parishes

See also

Notes and references

Bibliography

External links