The diocese of

Bagnoregio Bagnoregio is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Viterbo in the Italian region of Lazio, located about northwest of Rome and about north of Viterbo. History The current main town was in ancient times a suburb of the hill town in ...

is a former Roman Catholic territory, located in the modern

Province of Viterbo Viterbo ( it, provincia di Viterbo) is a province in the Lazio region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Viterbo. Geography Viterbo is the most northerly of the provinces of Lazio. It is bordered to the south by the Metropolitan City of Rome C ...

in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

region of

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, located about northwest of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

."Diocese of Bagnoregio (Bagnorea)"
''

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 February 29, 2016.Titular Episcopal See of Bagnoregio
''GCatholic.org''. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved March 5, 2016. Prior to the creation of the Kingdom of Italy, it belonged to the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

, and was located in the region of Umbria. It had been given to the Papal States by the Emperor Louis I in 822. In terms of religious administration, it was directly dependent upon the Holy See (Papacy). The pope appointed an Apostolic Administrator for the diocese of Bagnoregio on 8 June 1970, and the bishop was not replaced when he died in 1971. The diocese was suppressed on 30 September 1986 by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

History

According to tradition, St. Ansanus preached the Gospel here in the third century and the church of Santa Maria delle Carceri outside the Alban Gate was said to have been built above the prison in which he was confined. He was not, however, a bishop. There are no records as to the date of the erection of the diocese.

Pope Gregory I 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 ...

, about the year 600, was informed of the election of the deacon John in Bagnoregio, and a letter of the Pope to the Bishop of Chiusi instructs the bishop to investigate the election, since the deacon John was not known by the Pope. The result of the investigation is unknown, and it cannot be said that deacon John became bishop. The diocese grew over the centuries, gaining territories from the dioceses of Perugia and Orvieto, and incorporating what had been the diocese of Bomarzo. The latest known bishop of Bomarzo is recorded in the Roman synod of

Pope Benedict VIII Pope Benedict VIII ( la, Benedictus VIII; c. 980 – 9 April 1024) was bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 18 May 1012 until his death. He was born Theophylact to the noble family of the counts of Tusculum. Unusually for a medieva ...

in 1015. Up to the time of pope

Urban V Pope Urban V ( la, Urbanus V; 1310 – 19 December 1370), born Guillaume de Grimoard, was the head of the Catholic Church from 28 September 1362 until his death in December 1370 and was also a member of the Order of Saint Benedict. He was the on ...

Montefiascone Montefiascone is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Viterbo, in Lazio, central Italy. It stands on a hill on the southeast side of Lake Bolsena, about north of Rome. History The name of the city derives from that of the Falisci (''Mons Fa ...

was part of the ''Diocese of Castrum Balneorensis'' (Bagnoregio's Latin name), but on 31 August 1369 it was separated out by Pope Urban and made the seat of a new diocese.

Ferdinando Ughelli Ferdinando Ughelli (21 March 1595 – 19 May 1670) was an Italian Cistercian monk and church historian. Biography He was born in Florence. He entered the Cistercian Order and was sent to the Gregorian University in Rome, where he studied under t ...

, without any documentary proof, claims the Diocese of Bagnorea was joined to the

Diocese of Viterbo The Diocese of Viterbo ( la, Dioecesis Viterbiensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in central Italy. From the 12th century, the official name of the diocese was the Diocese of Viterbo e Tuscania. In 1 ...

on 4 February 1449, but neglects to mention when they were reestablished as separate dioceses. At the end of the 17th century, the diocese was composed of 12 towns (''oppida'') and 6 villages (''villae''). In 1680, the city of Bagnoregio had approximately 1800 inhabitants. In 1764, there were some 2500 inhabitants. In 1913, the Diocese of Bagnorea contained 24 parishes; 106 churches, chapels, and oratories; 54 secular priests, 45 seminarians, 63 members of female religious orders, 2 schools for girls, and a population of 26,380. On the morning of 11 June 1695, a very severe earthquake struck Bagnoregia. There had been three foreshocks earlier in the month, which drove people from their homes, but the earthquake of 11 June destroyed everything, leaving not a single building intact. It was described as having been as long as it takes to recite a "Pater noster". The cathedral, episcopal palace, and seminary were in ruins, as were several churches and monasteries. There were 31 dead, and 61 injured. After the earthquake and aftershocks subsided, the cathedral that had been in

Civita di Bagnoregio Civita di Bagnoregio is a town in the Province of Viterbo in central Italy, a ''suburb'' of the comune of Bagnoregio, east from it. It is about north of Rome. The only access is a footbridge from the nearby town, with a toll introduced in 20 ...

was replaced by one at

itself. The transfer of the episcopal seat was ordered by

Pope Innocent XII Pope Innocent XII ( la, Innocentius XII; it, Innocenzo XII; 13 March 1615 – 27 September 1700), born Antonio Pignatelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 July 1691 to his death in September 1700. He ...

in the bull ''Super Universas Ecclesias'' of 19 February 1699. The French army of King Napoleon I of Italy (Emperor Napoleon I of France) occupied Bagnoregio in 1810, and abolished the diocese of Bagnoregio on 12 August 1810, handing it over to the diocese of Montefiascone. This uncanonical act was never approved by

Pope Pius VII Pope Pius VII ( it, Pio VII; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. Chiaramonti was also a m ...

, who was a prisoner of Napoleon at Fontainebleau until 1814.

Chapter and cathedral

The cathedral in civitas Bagnoregio was dedicated to Saint Donatus. In 1621, the cathedral was administered by a Chapter composed of one dignity, the Archdeacon, and seven Canons. In 1764, there were two dignities and fourteen Canons.

Diocesan synods

A diocesan synod was an irregularly held, but important, meeting of the bishop of a diocese and his clergy. Its purpose was (1) to proclaim generally the various decrees already issued by the bishop; (2) to discuss and ratify measures on which the bishop chose to consult with his clergy; (3) to publish statutes and decrees of the diocesan synod, of the provincial synod, and of the Holy See. As of 1862, the bishops of Bagnoregio had presided over eighteen synods. Bishop Umberto Locati (1568–1587) held a diocesan synod in 1573. Bishop Carlo Trotti (1598–1611) held a synod in 1599. Bishop Lelio Ruini (1612–1621) held two diocesan synods, one in 1615, and another in 1621. Bishop Carlo Bovi (1622–1635) held four diocesan synods, in 1629, 1632, 1633, and 1634. In 1639, Bishop Pietro Paolo Febei (1635–1649) presided over a diocesan synod in the cathedral; he held another in 1646. Bishop Vincenzo Candiotti (1653–1680) held five synods, one of them in 1679. Bishop Uldericus Nardi (1698–1705) had a synod in 1703. He was the first to hold a synod in the Cathedral of S. Nicholas and S. Donatus. Onofrio Elisei (8 Jun 1705 –1721) held two synods, in 1710 and in 1718. Bishop Onofrio Pini (24 Sep 1721 – Jun 1754 Died) presided over a diocesan synod in 1745. Bishop Gaetano Brinciotti (1854–1867) held a diocesan synod in the cathedral on 27–29 May 1860.

End of the diocese

By the middle of 1986, papal policy in the selection of bishops had concentrated in the person of Bishop Luigi Boccadoro: the

Diocese of Viterbo e Tuscania The Diocese of Viterbo ( la, Dioecesis Viterbiensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in central Italy. From the 12th century, the official name of the diocese was the Diocese of Viterbo e Tuscania. In 1 ...

, the diocese of

Acquapendente Acquapendente is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Viterbo, in Lazio (Italy). Acquapendente is a centre for the agricultural production of vegetables and wine, and has a tradition of pottery craftsmanship. History The area of modern Acquapen ...

(since 1951), the diocese of Montefiascone (since 1951), and the Administratorship of the diocese of Bagnoregio (since 1971); he was also the Abbot Commendatory of Monte Cimino. On September 30, 1986,

moved to consolidate these several small dioceses by suppressing them and uniting their territories into the diocese of Viterbo e Tuscania, whose name was changed to the Diocese of Viterbo. The diocese of Balnoregio ceased to exist. In 1991, the name only (not the diocese, or its former institutions) was revived, to serve as a titular see for the benefit of the Holy See.

Bishops

to 1400

:... *Ioannes ? (attested 600) :... : hiarense(attested 680) :... * nonymous(attested 769) :... *Alifredo (attested 826) :... *Leo (attested 853) *Romanus (attested 855) :... * Aldualdus (attested 861–868) :... *Joannes (attested 1015) :... *Ingo (attested 1059) *Joannes (attested 1065) *Albertus ? :... *Marsilius (attested 1177) :... *Borgondius (attested 1206, 1208) :... * Rusticus (1255 – death 1270) * Simon (1272–1295) * Stephanus Tasche, O.P. (1297–1306) * Simon (1306–1327) * Tramus Monaldeschi, O.P. (1327–1328) * Matteo di Castelpietro, O.Min. (1328–1342) * Giovanni, O.F.M. (1342–1348) * Giovanni da Civita Castellana (1348–1357) * Alamanno da Montefiascone (1357–1363) * Bonaventura Vanni, O.F.M. (attested 1363–1402) (Roman Obedience) * Matteo degli Avveduti, O.F.M. (1383– 1399) (Avignon Obedience) * Angelo ? (1399–1409 ?)