The Italian Catholic Diocese of Melfi-Rapolla-Venosa ( la, Dioecesis Melphiensis-Rapollensis-Venusina, it, Diocesi di Melfi-Rapolla-Venosa) is in

Basilicata it, Lucano (man) it, Lucana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = ...

, southern Italy. In 1986 the historic Diocese of Melfi-Rapolla was united with the Diocese of Venosa. The diocese 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 Potenza-Muro Lucano-Marsico Nuovo The Archdiocese of Potenza-Muro Lucano-Marsico Nuovo ( la, Archidioecesis Potentina-Murana-Marsicensis) is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Basilicata, southern Italy, created in 1986. In that year the Diocese of Muro Lucano was unit ...

."Diocese of Melfi-Rapolla-Venosa"
'' Catholic-Hierarchy.org''. David M. Cheney. Retrieved March 29, 2016"Diocese of Melfi-Rapolla-Venosa"
''GCatholic.org''. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved March 29, 2016 The Abbey of the Santissima Trinità at Venosa comes under the Diocese.

History

On 23 August 1059,

Pope Nicholas II Pope Nicholas II ( la, Nicholaus II; c. 990/995 – 27 July 1061), otherwise known as Gerard of Burgundy, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 January 1059 until his death in 27 July 1061. At the time of his ...

(1059–1061) held a council in Melphi, with more than one hundred bishops in attendance. In the council, he deposed the bishop of Montepeloso for simony and adultery; the bishop of Tricarico for being underage; Bishop Johannes of Trani; and the Bishop of Ascoli Puglia. He also invested

Robert Guiscard Robert Guiscard (; Modern ; – 17 July 1085) was a Norman adventurer remembered for the conquest of southern Italy and Sicily. Robert was born into the Hauteville family in Normandy, went on to become count and then duke of Apulia and Calabri ...

as duke of Apulia, Calabria, and Sicily. The pope made the diocese of Melfi immediately dependent on the Holy See; its first bishop was Baldwin. Its cathedral, a work of Roger Borsa, son of

(1155), was destroyed by the earthquake of 1851. The second council to be held at Melfi was presided over by

Pope Alexander II 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 ...

(1067–1073) in 1067, during the episcopacy of Bishop Balduinus. Guillaume, the son of Tancred, was excommunicated, along with his soldiers, for having conquered Salerno. Bishop Balduinus was later suspended from his episcopal office by Pope Alexander, but was restored in March 1076, after due penance for his excesses, by

Pope Gregory VII Pope Gregory VII ( la, Gregorius VII; 1015 – 25 May 1085), born Hildebrand of Sovana ( it, Ildebrando di Soana), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 April 1073 to his death in 1085. He is venerated as a saint ...

. In September 1089,

Pope Urban II Pope Urban II ( la, Urbanus II; – 29 July 1099), otherwise known as Odo of Châtillon or Otho de Lagery, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 March 1088 to his death. He is best known for convening th ...

(1088-1099) held his first council at Melfi. It legislated against simony and against clerical marriage. The Norman Roger Borsa took an oath of fealty to Pope Urban, who invested him with the duchy of Apulia and Salerno. Pope Paschal II confirmed, in a bull of 29 September 1101 (''Per Apostoli Petri''), the privilege granted to the bishops of Melfi of being consecrated by the Roman pontiff. In 1528, Clement VII, in view of the scarcity of its revenues, united the

Diocese of Rapolla The Catholic diocese of Rapolla, in Basilicata, existed from the eleventh century until 1528. In that year it was united with the diocese of Melfi, to form the diocese of Melfi e Rapolla.aeque principaliter". Bishop Lazzaro Carafino (1622–1626) held a diocesan synod in Melfi in 1624. Bishop Deodato Scaglia (1626–1644) presided over a diocesan synod of Melfi and Rapolla in 1635. A diocesan synod was held in Melfi on 11–13 October 1725 by Bishop Mondilio Orsini (1724 –1728).

Diocesan reorganization

The Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), in order to ensure that all Catholics received proper spiritual attention, decreed the reorganization of the diocesan structure of Italy and the consolidation of small and struggling dioceses. It also recommended the abolition of anomalous units such as exempt territorial prelatures. These considerations applied to Melfi and to Rapolla, as the population migrated in the post-war period away from agriculture to jobs on the coast. On 18 February 1984, the Vatican and the Italian State signed a new and revised concordat. Based on the revisions, a set of ''Normae'' was issued on 15 November 1984, which was accompanied in the next year, on 3 June 1985, by enabling legislation. According to the agreement, the practice of having one bishop govern two separate dioceses at the same time, ''aeque personaliter'', was abolished. Instead, the Vatican continued consultations which had begun under Pope John XXIII for the merging of small dioceses, especially those with personnel and financial problems, into one combined diocese. On 30 September 1986, Pope John Paul II ordered that the dioceses of Melfi, Rapallo, and Venosa be merged into one diocese with one bishop, with the Latin title ''Dioecesis Melphiensis-Rapollensis-Venusina''. The seat of the diocese was to be in Melphi, and the cathedral of Melfi was to serve as the cathedral of the merged dioceses. The cathedrals in Rapolla and Venosa were to become co-cathedrals, and the cathedral Chapters were each to be a ''Capitulum Concathedralis''. There was to be only one diocesan Tribunal, in Melfi, and likewise one seminary, one College of Consultors, and one Priests' Council. The territory of the new diocese was to include the territory of the former dioceses of Melphi, Rapolla, and Venosa. On 11 February 1973, Pope Paul VI had promoted the diocese of Potenza e Marsico Nuovo to the status of an archdiocese, and made it immediately subject to the papacy, rather than to some other archdiocese in the regions of Basilicata or Lucania. It had been suffragan to the archdiocese of Acerenza. The bishop was given the rank of archbishop, and granted the right to use the processional cross and the '' pallium''. The diocese of Melphi-Rapolla-Venosa was made a suffragan of Potenza-Muro Lucano-Marsico Nuovo.

Chapter and cathedral

The cathedral of Melfi, dedicated to the Taking Up of the Body of the Virgin Mary into Heaven (Assumption), was administered by a Chapter, composed of four dignities (the Cantor, the Primicerius, the Treasurer, and the Vice-Cantor) and sixteen canons. In 1748, there were four dignities and twenty-two canons. The cathedral Chapter of Rapolla had three dignities and five canons. In 1764, Venosa had a population of about 4,000 persons. Its cathedral, dedicated to S. Andrew, had a Chapter composed of four dignities and twenty canons. When Venosa became united to the diocese of Melfi in 1986, it had a population of less than 34,000, with only twenty priests to serve them.

Bishops

Diocese of Melfi

*Balduin (1059–1093) :... *Radulfus (attested 1177–1179) :... *Jacobus (attested 1183–1185) *Guillelmus (attested 1193–1199) :... *Jacobus *R(---) (attested 1204?–1213) *Richerius (attested 1218–1232) :... :''Sede vacante'' (1239–1240) :... *Rogerius de Lentino (1252) :... *Garnerus de Villari-Bello (1266) ''Bishop-elect) *Francesco de Monaldeschis (attested 1278–1280) *Sinibaldo, O.Min. (1280–1295) *Saracenus (1295–1316) *Constantinus of Reggio (1317-1324) *Guillelmus (1324–1326) *

Alexander of San Elpidio Alexander of San Elpidio (1269–1326) was an Italian Augustinian. Biography He was born in S. Elpidio nella Marca (Ascoli Piceno). In 1300, he was summoned by the Prior General of the Augustinians to be ''primus lector'' in the Augustinian ''stud ...

(1326) *Monaldus Monaldi, O.Min. (1326–1331) *Jacobus (1331–1347) *Petrus (1347–1348) *Joannes *Nicolaus (1349) *Nicolaus Caracciolo (1349–1362) *Antonius *Pandulfus *Franciscus (1369– ) *Elias (1384– ) ''Avignon Obedience'' *Nicolaus ''Avignon Obedience'' *Jacobus (1382– ) ''Roman Obedience'' *Antonius de Samudia (1384– ) ''Roman Obedience'' * Giovanni Dominici, O.P. (2 Mar 1412 –1412) * Francesco Carosio (4 Jul 1412 –1418) *

Giacomo Isolani Giacomo is an Italian name. It is the Italian version of the Hebrew name Jacob. People * Giacomo (name), including a list of people with the name Other uses * Giacomo (horse), a race horse, winner of the 2005 Kentucky Derby * ''Giácomo'' (film) ...

(1420 – 24 Jan 1425 Resigned) * Francesco Palombo, O.S.B. (12 Dec 1431 – 1437 Died) * Onofrio di Francesco di Sanseverino (11 Jan 1437 – 1450 Died) * Alfonso Costa (4 Sep 1450 Appointed – ) * Gaspare Loffredi (17 Apr 1472 – 1480 Died) * Ottaviano Bentivoglio (15 Dec 1480 – 1486) * Francesco Caracciolo (bishop) (Carazoli) (24 Jun 1486 – 1494 Died) * Juan de Borja Lanzol de Romaní, el menor (September 19, 1494/December 3, 1498 – August 1, 1503) * Jean Ferrier I (3 Dec 1498 – 1499) *

Raffaele di Ceva Raffaele () is an Italian given name and surname, variant of the English Raphael. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Raffaele Amato, Italian mobster * Raffaele Cutolo, Italian mobster *Raffaele Ganci, Italian mobster *Raffaele Canto ...

, O.F.M. (26 Jul 1499 – 1513 Resigned) * Lorenzo Pucci (12 Aug 1513 – 16 Mar 1528 Resigned)

Diocese of Melfi e Rapolla

''Latin Name: Melphiensis et Rapollensis''
''United: 16 May 1528 with

Roberto Pucci Roberto Pucci (Florence, 1463 – Rome, 17 January 1547) was an Italian cardinal from the Florentine noble family of the Pucci. Life One of the Medici's keenest supporters, he nevertheless advised Pope Clement VII against starting the siege of Fl ...

(7 Dec 1546 – 17 Jan 1547 Died) *

Mario Ruffino is a character (arts), character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in ...

(7 Feb 1547 – 1548 Died) * Alessandro Ruffino (27 Apr 1548 – 1573 Resigned) *

Gaspare Cenci Gaspare Cenci was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Melfi e Rapolla (1574–1590). ''(in Latin)''

(8 Jan 1574 – 1590 Resigned)"Bishop Gaspare Cenci"
'' Catholic-Hierarchy.org''. David M. Cheney. Retrieved March 21, 2016 * Orazio Celsi (16 Jul 1590 – 1591 Died) * Marco Antonio Amidano (13 Sep 1591 – Nov 1591 Resigned) * Matteo Brumani, O.S.A. (13 Nov 1591 – 9 Aug 1594 Died) *

Placido della Marra Placido della Marra (1560 – 2 December 1620) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Melfi e Rapolla (1595–1620) and Apostolic Nuncio to the Emperor (1612–1616).Desiderio Scaglia, O.P. (17 Mar 1621 – 14 Nov 1622 Appointed, Bishop of Como) *

Lazzaro Carafino Lazzaro is both a masculine Italian given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Lazzaro Baldi ( – 1703), Italian Baroque painter *Lazzaro Bastiani (1429–1512), Italian Renaissance painter * Lazzaro Calamech, 16t ...

(19 Dec 1622 – 7 Jan 1626 Appointed, Bishop of Como) *

Deodato Scaglia Deodato may refer to: * Eumir Deodato (born 1942), Brazilian crossover music pianist, composer, arranger, and record producer * Cláudio Deodato (1947 - 2011), Brazilian footballer * Deodato Arellano (1844 – 1899), propagandist and first presiden ...

, O.P. (19 Jan 1626 – 18 Apr 1644 Appointed,

Bishop of Alessandria The Diocese of Alessandria ( la, Dioecesis Alexandrina Statiellorum) is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Piedmont, northern Italy. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Vercelli.Giacomo Raimondi (2 May 1644 – Dec 1644 Died) *

Gerolamo Pellegrini Gerolamo is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Gerolamo Cardano (1501–1576), Italian Renaissance mathematician, physician, astrologer and gambler * Gerolamo Emiliani (1486–1537), Italian humanitarian, founder of the Somaschi ...

(16 Jan 1645 – 12 Apr 1648 Died) * Luigi Branciforte (28 Sep 1648 – 1665 Died) * Giulio Caracciolo, C.R. (1 Mar 1666 – 1671 Resigned) * Tommaso de Franchi (1671–1696)Franchi was born in Genoa in 1626, and held the degree of '' Doctor in utroque iure'' from the University of Genoa (1644). He was appointed bishop of Melfi by Pope Clement X on 24 August 1671. He died in May 1696. Ritzler and Sefrin V, p. 264 with note 3. *

Francesco Antonio Triveri Francesco Antonio Triveri, O.F.M. Conv. (1631–1697) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Melfi e Rapolla (1696–1697) and Bishop of Andria (1692–1696). ''(in Latin)'' Biography Francesco Antonio Triveri was born in Biella, ...

, O.F.M. Conv. (24 Sep 1696 – May 1697 Died) * Antonio Spinelli, C.R. (2 Dec 1697 – Oct 1724 Died) *Mondilio Orsini, C.O. (20 Nov 1724 – 8 Mar 1728 Appointed, Archbishop of Capua) *Giovanni Saverio Lioni (22 Nov 1730 – 5 Mar 1735 Died) *Domenico Rossi (Rosso e Colonna), O.S.B. (26 Sep 1735 – 8 Jul 1737 Appointed, Archbishop of Palermo) *Luca Antonio della Gatta (8 Jul 1737 – 25 Sep 1747 Died) *Pasquale Teodoro Basta (29 Jan 1748 – 27 Dec 1765 Died) *Ferdinando de Vicariis, O.S.B. (14 Apr 1766 – 19 Jun 1780 Died) *Filippo d’Aprile (27 Feb 1792 – Apr 1811 Died) *Gioacchino de Gemmis (26 Jun 1818 – 12 Dec 1822 Died) *Vincenzo Ferrari, O.P. (3 May 1824 – 4 May 1828 Died) *Luigi Bovio, O.S.B. (18 May 1829 – 6 Nov 1847 Died) *Ignazio Maria Selitti (5 Nov 1849 – 1880 Resigned) *Giuseppe Camassa (4 Aug 1881 – 15 Apr 1912 Resigned) *Alberto Costa (4 Jan 1912 – 7 Dec 1928 Appointed, Bishop of Lecce) *Luigi dell’Aversana (Orabona) (29 Jul 1930 – 6 Nov 1934 Died) *Domenico Petroni (1 Apr 1935 – 5 Oct 1966 Retired) *Giuseppe Vairo (5 Mar 1973 – 25 Oct 1976 Appointed, Bishop of Tricarico) *Armando Franco (25 Oct 1976 – 12 Sep 1981 Appointed, Bishop of Oria) * Vincenzo Cozzi (12 Sep 1981 – 13 Dec 2002 Retired)

Diocese of Melfi-Rapolla-Venosa

''Latin Name: Dioecesis Melphiensis-Rapollensis-Venusinus''
''United: 30 September 1986 with Diocese of Venosa'' * Gianfranco Todisco,

P.O.C.R. The Congregation of Pious Workers Rural Catechists or Ardorini Missionaries (in Latin ''Congregatio Piorum Operariorum Catechistarum Ruralium'') are a Roman Catholic religious order. They use the post-nominal initials P.O.C.R.''Ann. Pont. 2010'', p ...

(13 Dec 2002 – 21 Apr 2017 Resigned) *Ciro Fanelli (4 Aug 2017 –)

Notes and references

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * *

Studies

*Antonucci, Giovanni, "II vescovato di Melfi." . in: ''Archivio storico per la Calabria e la Lucania'' 6 (1936) 35 ff. * *Araneo, Gennaro (1866)
''Notizie storiche della città di Melfi nell'antico reame di Napoli.''
. Firenze: Tip. nazionale di V. Sodi, 1866 * *Kamp, Norbert (1975). ''Kirche und Monarchie im staufischen Königreich Sizilien

' München: Wilhelm Fink 1975. pp. 486-494. *Kehr, Paulus Fridolin (1962). ''Italia pontificia. Regesta pontificum Romanorum.'' ttp://sul-derivatives.stanford.edu/derivative?CSNID=00002440&mediaType=application/pdf Vol. IX: Samnia – Apulia – Lucania Berlin: Weidmann. (in Latin). Pp. 154 496-499. *Mattei-Cerasoli, Leone (1919)
"Da archivii e biblioteche: Di alcuni vescovi poco noti"
. In: ''Archivio storico per le province Neapolitane'' 44 (Napoli: Luigi Lubrano 1919). pp. 310–335, at 313. * {{authority control Melfi Melfi Diocese