The Diocese of Lugano (Latin: ''Dioecesis Luganensis'') 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 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 associa ...

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 ...

in Switzerland covering the canton of

Ticino Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...

. The diocese immediately exempt 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 R ...

. In 2004, there were 233,017 baptised of 306,846 inhabitants. It is currently ruled by the Bishop Pier Giacomo Grampa and has as its principal patron

St. Charles Borromeo Charles Borromeo ( it, Carlo Borromeo; la, Carolus Borromeus; 2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was the Archdiocese of Milan, Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584 and a Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was a lead ...

, Archbishop of Milan, and as a secondary patron Saint

Abundius Abundius (also Abondius, Abundias, or Abbondio; early fifth century – 469), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Abundius, was a bishop of Como, Northern Italy. Biography Abundius was born at Thessalonica. Around 448 Abundius became the ...

, Bishop of Como.

History

The Diocese of Lugano was erected by a

Bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions, includin ...

Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-ol ...

(7 September 1888). The territory covered is that of the Swiss canton of

, where the population is almost entirely Catholic and Italian is the common language. Before the Diocese of Lugano was founded the Canton of Ticino was under the jurisdiction, in ecclesiastical matters, of bishops who were not Swiss. The smaller, northern part belonged to the

Archdiocese of Milan The Archdiocese of Milan ( it, Arcidiocesi di Milano; la, Archidioecesis Mediolanensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Italy which covers the areas of Milan, Monza, Lecco and Varese. It has lon ...

, and, consequently, still uses the

Ambrosian Rite The Ambrosian Rite is a Catholic Western liturgical rite, named after Saint Ambrose, a bishop of Milan in the fourth century, which differs from the Roman Rite. It is used by some five million Catholics in the greater part of the Archdiocese ...

; the other, and much larger part of the canton, belonged to the

Diocese of Como The Diocese of Como ( la, Dioecesis Comensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in northern Italy. It was established in the Fourth Century. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of ...

. Soon after the formation of the Canton of Ticino, in 1803, efforts were made to separate it in its church relations as well as from foreign powers and to unite it in these with the rest of Switzerland. But it was several decades before the Great Council, in 1855, went thoroughly into the matter. Without consultation with the Holy See, the Federal Council in 1859 declared the jurisdiction of the Bishops of Como and Milan to be abolished in the territory of Switzerland; after this negotiations were begun with Rome. No settlement of the question was reached until the pontificate of Leo XIII. By the convention of 1 September 1884, made between the Curia and the Federal Council, Ticino was canonically separated from its former diocesan connections and was placed provisionally, under an administrator Apostolic, the pope appointing as administrator Bishop Lachat of Basle (see above). After Bishop Lachat's death (1886) the new Bishopric of Ticino was formed by the Bull of circumscription "" of Leo XIII (7 September 1888), and united with the Diocese of Basle under the title of the Diocese of Basle-Lugano. The same year the Church of San Lorenzo in Lugano was elevated to a cathedral. The union is merely a nominal one, for, although the Bishop of Basle is called the Bishop of Lugano he exercises no rights of jurisdiction in this diocese. It is, in reality, under the independent rule of an administrator Apostolic who has the rank and power of a bishop. He is appointed by the pope with the concurrence of the Bishop of Basle from among the members of the clergy of the Canton of Ticino. The first administrator Apostolic was Eugene Lachat; he was followed by Mgr. Vincent Molo (1887–1904), and Mgr. Alfred Peri-Morosini. The latter was born 12 March 1862, and was consecrated 17 April 1904. On 8 March 1971 the apostolic administration of the Canton Ticino was separated from the diocese of Basel and by virtue of the Bull of Pope Paul VI became an independent diocese. Giuseppe Martinoli became the first bishop of Lugano. From 1978 to 1986 he was bishop of Lugano

Ernesto Togni Ernesto Togni (6 October 1926 – 11 November 2022) was a Swiss Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the ...

, who was succeeded in 1986

Eugenio Corecco Eugenio Corecco (3 October 1931 – 1 March 1995) was a Swiss bishop of the diocese of Lugano. He was a notable 20th century canonist who wrote about the theology of canon law. Biography Son of Peter, born in Bodio and Margaret Beffa of Airo ...

, under whose episcopate was formed the Academic Institute of Theology of Lugano, who became a decree of the Congregation for Catholic Education of 20 November 1993 a faculty of Theology. The most noted church of the diocese is the Cathedral of San Lorenzo at Lugano, which was built in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and has a celebrated Renaissance façade; the most frequented place of pilgrimage is the shrine Madonna del Sasso not far from Locarno, which is the national shrine of the Canton of Ticino.

References

External links

*
Sito ufficiale della Diocesi Lugano
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Lugano Lugano (, , ; lmo, label=Ticinese dialect, Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Luga ...

Lugano Religion in Ticino Religious organizations established in 1888 1888 establishments in Switzerland