The Diocese of Alessandria ( la, Dioecesis Alexandrina Statiellorum) is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, northern Italy. It is a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...

of the

Archdiocese of Vercelli The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vercelli (in Latin, ''Archidioecesis Vercellensis'') is a Latin rite Metropolitan see in northern Italy, one of the two archdioceses which, together with their suffragan dioceses, form the ecclesiastical region ...

."Diocese of Alessandria (della Paglia)"
''

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 September 25, 2016 "Diocese of Alessandria "
''GCatholic.org''. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved September 25, 2016

History

In 1168, in response to the aggression of Emperor

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on ...

, the leaders of Milan, Cremona and Piacenza, established a new town in order to discomfit Frederick's ally

Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the capit ...

. Seeking support for their undertaking, they sent ambassadors to Pope Alexander III (1159–1181) in 1170, announcing that they had named the new city in his honor and begging for his support. They offered the city to the Papacy to be forever the vassal of the Holy Roman Church.

Alessandria Alessandria (; pms, Lissandria ) is a city and ''comune'' in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, about east of Turin. Alessandria ...

was made a see in 1175 by

Pope Alexander III Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland ( it, Rolando), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181. A native of Siena, Alexander became pope after a con ...

, with territory removed from the diocese of Acqui. The clergy of Acqui objected, of course, and, at a vacancy in the bishopric of Alessandria, they sometimes attempted to elect a bishop of their own; the Papacy was therefore faced with the need to sort out conflicts between the Chapter of Alessandria and the Chapter of Acqui. In a Brief of 30 January 1176, he declared that he had selected Alessandria's first bishop, though he did so without any prejudice to the rights of the Chapter for the future to elect their bishop, just as the other suffragans of Milan did. The diocese was suppressed in 1213 by

Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III ( la, Innocentius III; 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216), born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 to his death in 16 J ...

, due to their support of the

Emperor Otto IV Otto IV (1175 – 19 May 1218) was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1209 until his death in 1218. Otto spent most of his early life in England and France. He was a follower of his uncle Richard the Lionheart, who made him Count of Poitou in 1196 ...

. It was restored in 1240 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 ...

as part of his strategy to defeat Frederick II. The territory of the

diocese of Acqui The Roman Catholic Diocese of Acqui ( la, Dioecesis Aquensis) straddles the (civil) regions of Piedmont and Liguria, in northwest Italy. The ancient Roman name of the place was ''Aquae Statiellae'', which was sometimes confused with ''Aquae Sentia ...

was united with that of Alessandria until 1405, when Acqui again received its own bishop. The diocese was suppressed in 1803, as part of the effort on the part of the Papacy to regularize the situation after the liquidation of the "

Cisalpine Republic The Cisalpine Republic ( it, Repubblica Cisalpina) was a sister republic of France in Northern Italy that existed from 1797 to 1799, with a second version until 1802. Creation After the Battle of Lodi in May 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte organized t ...

", which had been created in northern Italy by General Napoleon Bonaparte. Alessandria was re-established as independent in 1817. It was vacant from 1854 to 1867.

List of Bishops

Parishes

The diocese has 75 parishes, all within the

ese

province of Alessandria The Province of Alessandria ( it, Provincia di Alessandria; pms, Provincia ëd Lissandria; in Piedmontese of Alessandria: ''Provinsa ëd Lissändria'') is an Italian province, with a population of some 425,000, which forms the southeastern part o ...

.chiesacattolica.it
(retrieved:2008-03-11 12:43:17 +0000) In 2012, there was one priest for every 1,641 Catholics. ;

:Cuore Immacolato di Maria :Madonna del Buon Consiglio :Madonna del Suffragio :Nostra Signora del Carmine :S. Alessandro :S. Baudolino :S. Giovanni Evangelista :S. Giuseppe Artigiano :S. Lorenzo :S. Maria della Sanità :S. Maria di Castello :S. Paolo :S. Pietro :S. Pio V :S. Rocco :S. Stefano :Santi Apostoli :SS. Annunziata :Natività di Maria ( Cantalupo) :Beata Vergine Assunta ( Casalbagliano) :S. Rocco ( Cascinagrossa) :S. Giorgio ( Castelceriolo) :Nostra Signora di Fatima ( Litta Parodi) :S. Bartolomeo ( Lobbi) :SS. Nome di Maria ( Mandrogne) :Beata Vergine del Rosario ( San Giuliano Nuovo) :Beata Vergine Assunta ( San Giuliano Vecchio) :S. Michele ( San Michele) :Beata Vergine Immacolata (

Spinetta Marengo Spinetta Marengo ( pms, Marengh) is a town in Piedmont, Italy located within the municipal boundaries of the ''comune'' of Alessandria. The population is 6,417. On 14 June 1800 the village was the scene of an Battle of Marengo, important battle ...

) :Natività di Maria (Spinetta Marengo) :S. Bartolomeo ( Valle San Bartolomeo) :Beata Vergine Assunta ( Valmadonna) :S. Varena ( Villa del Foro) ; Alluvioni Cambiò :S. Carlo :S. Anna ( Grava) ; Bassignana :S. Stefano :S. Maria della Neve ( Fiondi) :Beata Vergine Assunta ( Mugarone) ;

Borgoratto Alessandrino Borgoratto Alessandrino is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region of Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southwest of Alessandria, on the Bormida river. It borders the following municip ...

:Beata Vergine Assunta ;

Bosco Marengo Bosco Marengo (; pms, Ël Bòsch ) is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southeast of Alessandria. Bosco Marengo borders the following ...

:Santi Pietro e Pantaleone :S. Maria Maddalena ( Levata) :S. Michele Arcangelo ( Quattro Cascine) ; Capriata d’Orba :S. Pietro ; Carentino :Beata Vergine Assunta ;

Casal Cermelli Casal Cermelli is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about south of Alessandria. Casal Cermelli borders the following municipalities: Bosco Marengo, ...

:Beata Vergine Assunta :S. Antonio Da Padova ;

Castellazzo Bormida Castellazzo Bormida (Ël Castlass in Piedmontese, and Castlass an Burmia or Castlas an Burmia locally) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southw ...

:S. Carlo :S. Maria :S. Martino ; Castelspina :Beata Vergine Assunta ;

Felizzano Felizzano (Flissan in Piemontese) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about west of Alessandria. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,405 ...

:Santi Michele e Pietro ;

Frascaro Frascaro is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southwest of Alessandria. Frascaro borders the following municipalities: Borgoratto Alessandrino ...

:S. Nicolao ;

Frugarolo Frugarolo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southeast of Alessandria. Frugarolo borders the following municipalities: Alessandria, Bosco Mar ...

:S. Felice ;

Gamalero Gamalero (Gamaleri in Piedmontese) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southwest of Alessandria. Gamalero borders the following municipalities: ...

:S. Lorenzo :S. Rocco (

San Rocco Roch (lived c. 1348 – 15/16 August 1376/79 (traditionally c. 1295 – 16 August 1327, also called Rock in English, is a Catholic saint, a confessor whose death is commemorated on 16 August and 9 September in Italy; he is especially invoked a ...

) ; Isola Sant’Antonio :S. Antonio Da Padova ;

Montecastello Montecastello is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about east of Turin and about northeast of Alessandria. Montecastello borders the following municipalities: Alessandria, Bassigna ...

:S. Maria di Ponzano ;

Oviglio Oviglio (Ovij or J'Oij in Piedmontese) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southwest of Alessandria. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population ...

:S. Felice ; Pasturana :S. Martino ;

Pecetto di Valenza Pecetto di Valenza ( pms, Apsèj) is a commune of the Province of Alessandria in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy with a population of 1282 (December 2008 estimate). It is south of the river Po, and about northeast of the provincial capit ...

:S. Maria ;

Pietra Marazzi Pietra Marazzi is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about east of Turin and about northeast of Alessandria. Pietra Marazzi borders the following municipalities: Alessandria Ales ...

:S. Martino :S. Germano ( Pavone d’Alessandria) ; Piovera :S. Michele Arcangelo ;

Predosa Predosa is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about south of Alessandria. Predosa borders the following municipalities: Basaluzzo, Bosco Marengo, Capria ...

:Natività di Maria :Beata Vergine Assunta ( Castelferro) :S. Lorenzo ( Mantovana) ;

Quargnento Quargnento (; pms, Quargnent) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about east of Turin and about northwest of Alessandria. It is home to a notable Catholic basilica, ''San Dalmaz ...

:S. Dalmazio ; Rivarone :Natività di Maria ; Solero :S. Perpetuo ; Tassarolo :S. Nicolao ;

Valenza Valenza ( pms, Valensa) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about east of Turin and about north of Alessandria. History A stronghold of the Ligures, it was conquered by the Roma ...

:Nostra Signora della Pietà :S. Antonio :S. Eusebio :S. Maria Maggiore :Sacro Cuore di Gesù

References

Books

Reference works

* p. 811. (Use with caution; obsolete) * p. 83. (in Latin) * p. 85. * pp. 102–103. * p. 77. * p. 77. * p. 75.

Studies

* * * * *

Acknowledgment

{{authority control

Province of Alessandria Alessandria Religious organizations established in the 1170s