The Territorial Prelature of Loreto ( la, Praelatura Territorialis ab Alma Domo Lauretana) is a

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 people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

territorial prelature A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or an ...

which was elevated to this status on 24 June 1965. The Holy House of Loreto is located in it. The metropolitan see is the

Archdiocese of Ancona-Osimo 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 associate ...

and the rite is Latin (or Roman). It covers with an address at: Piazza della Madonna 1, 60025 Loreto ncona Italia. The total population is 11,537 of which 96.2% are Catholic. Serving Loreto are two secular priests, 48 religious priests for a total 50. There is approximately one priest for every 222 persons.

History

Since the fifteenth century, and possibly even earlier, the "Holy House" of Loreto has been numbered among the most famous shrines of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. Loreto is a small town a few miles south of

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic ...

and near the sea. Its most conspicuous building is the basilica. This dome-crowned edifice, which with its various annexes took more than a century to build and adorn under the direction of many famous artists, serves merely as the setting of a tiny cottage standing within the basilica itself. Though the rough walls of the little building have been raised in height and are cased externally in richly sculptured marble, the interior measures only 31 feet by 13. An altar stands at one end beneath a statue, blackened with age, of the Virgin Mother and her Divine Infant. As the inscription, ''Hic Verbum caro factum est'', reminds us, this building is honoured by Christians as the veritable cottage at Nazareth in which the Holy Family lived, and the Word became incarnate.

Ordinaries

*Gaetano Malchiodi (25 January 1935 – 26 January 1960 Retired) *Angelo Prinetto (18 October 1961 – 25 April 1965 Resigned) *

Aurelio Sabattani Aurelio Sabattani JUD (18 October 1912 – 19 April 2003) was an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura from 1967 until his death and was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 1983. Educa ...

(24 June 1965 – 30 September 1971 Appointed Secretary of the Apostolic Signatura) *

Loris Francesco Capovilla Loris Francesco Capovilla (14 October 1915 – 26 May 2016) was an Italian Roman Catholic prelate and a cardinal. At his death, he was the oldest living Roman Catholic bishop from Italy and the fourth oldest in the world. At the time of his ele ...

(25 Sep 1971 – 10 December 1988 Resigned) * Pasquale Macchi (10 December 1988 – 7 October 1996 Retired) * Angelo Comastri (9 November 1996 – 5 February 2005 Appointed Coadjutor Archpriest of Saint Peter's Basilica) * Gianni Danzi (22 February 2005 – 2 October 2007 Died) * Giovanni Tonucci (18 October 2007 – 20 May 2017) * Fabio Dal Cin (20 May 2017 – present)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loreto Roman Catholic dioceses in Italy Christian organizations established in 1965 1965 establishments in Italy Loreto Territorial prelatures Loreto, Marche

History

Ordinaries

See also

References