The Roman Catholic Diocese of Crete ( la, Dioecesis Candiensis) is a

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 ...

located on the island of

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

in the

Ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of seve ...

of Naxos, Andros, Tinos and Mykonos in Greece.

History

Roman Catholic presence on the island of Crete dates to its conquest by the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

in the years after the Fourth Crusade (1204), and its establishment as a Venetian colony in 1212. Immediately after that, the first

Latin Rite Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, are Catholic rites of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church '' sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church, that originated in Europe where the Latin language once ...

Archbishop of Crete was appointed, with a succession of holders until the Ottoman conquest of the island in the

Cretan War (1645–69) Cretan War may refer to multiple wars involving the island of Crete, including: * Cretan War (205–200 BC), a war between King Philip V of Macedon and Rhodes * Cretan War (1645–69), a war between the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire Se ...

. Thereafter the see remained vacant, until re-established as a simple bishopric on 28 August 1874, initially a suffragan of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Izmir The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Izmir ( la, Archidioecesis Smyrnensis) is a Latin archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Asian Turkey (Anatolia). The archdiocese's cathedral motherchurch and thus see of its archbishop is St ...

, but today a suffragan of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Naxos, Andros, Tinos and Mykonos The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Naxos, Tinos, Andros, and Mykonos ( la, Archidioecesis Naxiensis, Andrensis, Tinensis, et Myconensis) is an archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic church in insular Greece.Wikipedia:Verifiability#S ...

. Present day Catholic Churches in Heraklion (Saint John The Baptist), Chania, Rethymnon (St. Antony on Padua)

Leadership

Venetian period

* anonymous (1213 – ?), took part in the

Fifth Crusade The Fifth Crusade (1217–1221) was a campaign in a series of Crusades by Western Europeans to reacquire Jerusalem and the rest of the Holy Land by first conquering Egypt, ruled by the powerful Ayyubid sultanate, led by Al-Adil I, al-Adil, brothe ...

in 1220Louise Buenger Robbert, "Venetian Participation in the Crusade of Damietta", ''Studi veneziani'', Ser. NS, vol. 30 (1995), pp. 15–34, at 25. The archbishop arrived after the siege of Damietta along with Archbishop Henry of Milan and probably brought with him a small Venetian contingent. * Giovanni Querini (? – 17 July 1252, named bishop of Ferrara with the personal rank of archbishop) * Angelo Maltraverso, OP (1252 – 28 May 1255, named

patriarch of Grado This is a list of the Patriarchs of Grado (north-eastern Italy).
''

Latin Patriarchate of Constantinople The Latin Patriarchate of Constantinople was an office established as a result of the Fourth Crusade and its conquest of Constantinople in 1204. It was a Roman Catholic replacement for the Eastern Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinopl ...

(1302–1314)'' * Alessandro di Sant'Elpidio, OESA (2 March 1314 – 1334, dismissed) * Egidio di Gallutiis, OP (11 May 1334 – 6 December 1340, deceased) * Francesco Michiel (before 25 September 1342 – ?, named

bishop of Patara A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or offic ...

with the personal rank of archbishop) * Orso Dolfin (30 March 1349 – 5 November 1361, named patriarch of Grado) ** Orso Dolfin (5 November 1361 – 1363), apostolic administrator * Pietro Tommaso, OCarm (6 March 1363 – 5 July 1364, named patriarch of Constantinople) * Francesco Querini (5 July 1364 – 22 December 1367, named patriarch of Grado) * Antonio Negri (15 January 1369 – ?) * Pietro (April 1375 – ?) * Matteo (19 March 1378 – ?) * Cristoforo Gallina ? * Antonio Contarini (6 April 1386 – 16 March 1387, deceased) * Leonardo Dolfin (7 May 1387 – 29 April 1392, named

bishop of Castello The Diocese of Castello, originally the Diocese of Olivolo, is a former Roman Catholic diocese that was based on the city of Venice in Italy. It was established in 774, covering the islands that are now occupied by Venice. Throughout its existen ...

with the personal rank of archbishop) * Marco Giustiniani (31 August 1392 – 1405, deceased) * Francesco Pavoni (13 February 1406 – 1407?, deceased) * Marco Marin (18 October 1407 – ?, deceased) * Leonardo Dolfin (14 September 1408 – 1415, deceased) * Pietro Donà (18 April 1415 – 1425, named bishop of Castello with the personal rank of archbishop) * Fantino Valaresso (5 December 1425 – 18 May 1443, deceased) * Fantino Dandolo (4 September 1444 – 8 January 1448, named bishop of Padua with the personal rank of archbishop) * Filippo Paruta (arcivescovo), Filippo Paruta (20 February 1448 – 1458, deceased) * Gerolamo Lando (29 March 1458 – 1493/1494, dismissed) * Andrea Lando (4 July 1494 – 1505, deceased) * Giovanni Lando (2 March 1506 – 1534 ?) ** Lorenzo Campeggi (17 June 1534 – 1535), apostolic administrator * Pietro Lando (28 January 1536 – 1575, dismissed) * Lorenzo Vitturi (6 February 1576 – 5 February 1597, deceased) * Tommaso Contarini (4 July 1597 – 7 February 1604, deceased) * Aloisio Grimani (7 January 1605 – 21 February 1620, deceased) * Pietro Valier (18 May 1620 – 2 October 1623, named

bishop of Ceneda The Diocese of Vittorio Veneto ( la, Dioecesis Victoriensis Venetorum) is a Roman Catholic diocese in northern Italy, with capital in Vittorio Veneto. It was historically known as Diocese of Ceneda, the name being changed in 1939.

with the personal rank of archbishop) * Luca Stella (4 December 1623 – 24 November 1632, named

bishop of Vicenza The Diocese of Vicenza ( la, Dioecesis Vicentina) is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Italy.

with the personal rank of archbishop) * Leonardo Mocenigo (20 June 1633 – 1644, deceased) * Giovanni Querini (19 November 1644 – ?, deceased) See vacant from 1669.

Modern period

* Bishop

Petros Stefanou Petros Stefanou ( el, Πέτρος Στεφάνου, born on 17 August 1963, Ermoupoli, Syros, Greece) is a Catholic prelate and Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syros and Milos from 13 May 2014. Biography Stefanou is a graduate of the U ...

, (Apostolic Administrator); * Bishop

Frangiskos Papamanolis Frangkiskos Papamanolis ( el, Φραγκίσκος Παπαμανώλης; 5 December 1936 – 2 October 2023) was a Greek Roman Catholic prelate who was the Bishop of Syros and Milos, Bishop of Santorini and Apostolic Administrator of Crete. ...

, O.F.M. Cap. (Apostolic Administrator 1974.06.27 – 2014.05.13) * Bishop

Georges Xenopulos Georgios Xenopoulos, SJ ( el, Γεώργιος Ξενόπουλος; 23 August 1898 – 28 January 1980) was a Greek Jesuit and prelate of the Catholic Church. From 1947 until his retirement in 1974, he was the Bishop of Santorini and the Bisho ...

, S.J. (Apostolic Administrator 1952 – 1974) * Fr.

Arsenio da Corfù Arsenio is an Italian, Portuguese and Spanish version of the male given name ''Arsenius''. It may refer to: People * Arsenio Balisacan, Filipino economist * Arsénio Bano (born 1974), East Timorese politician * Arsenio Benítez (born 1971), Par ...

, O.F.M. Cap. (Apostolic Administrator 1951 – 1952) * Fr. Amedeo Marcantonio Speciale da Gangi, O.F.M. Cap. (Apostolic Administrator 1945? – 1951) * Fr. Roberto da Gangi, O.F.M. Cap. (Apostolic Administrator 1939 – 1945?) * Bishop Lorenzo Giacomo Inglese, O.F.M. Cap. (1934.02.01 – 1935.05.05) * Fr.

Isidoro da Smirne Isidoro is a masculine given name and a surname related to Isidore. The name is borne by: People Given name * Isidoro Acevedo (communist) (1867–1952), Spanish politician, trade unionist, activist and writer * Isidoro Álvarez (1935–2014), Spani ...

, O.F.M. Cap. (Apostolic Administrator 1926 – 1933?) * Bishop Francesco Giuseppe Seminara, O.F.M. Cap. (1910.06.22 – 1926.03.15) * Bishop Luigi Canavo, O.F.M. Cap. (1874.12.22 – 1889.05.10)

References

Sources