The Diocese of Forlì-Bertinoro () is a

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, 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 Roman province, prov ...

of the

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Romagna Romagna () is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna, in northern Italy. Etymology The name ''Romagna'' originates from the Latin name ''Romania'', which originally ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Until 1986 it was known as the Diocese of Forlì, in existence perhaps from the fourth century. In that year the Diocese of Bertinoro was united to it. The diocese is

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...

to the

Archdiocese of Ravenna-Cervia The Archdiocese of Ravenna-Cervia () is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church. It is a metropolitan see of the Latin Church, located in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy."Diocese of Forli-Bertinoro"
''

Catholic-Hierarchy.org ''Catholic-Hierarchy.org'' is an online database of bishops and dioceses of the Latin Church and the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches that are in full communion with Rome. The website, not officially sanctioned by the Church, is run as a private pro ...

''. David M. Cheney. Retrieved September 25, 2016
"Diocese of Forlì–Bertinoro"
''GCatholic.org''. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved September 25, 2016

History

St. Mercurialis is considered the first bishop of

Forlì Forlì ( ; ; ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and city in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, and is, together with Cesena, the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena.The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the east of the Montone river, ...

, and has been said to belong to the second century; he is also said to be the Mercurialis who was allegedly present at the

Council of Rimini The Council of Ariminum, also known as the Council of Rimini, was an early Christian church synod in Ariminum, modern-day Rimini, in 359. Called by Roman Emperor Constantius II to resolve the Arian controversy, the Council of Ariminum for western ...

in 359. Both assertions are based on legends of the 11th or 12th century. On 12 July 1173, a major fire destroyed nearly all of the city of Forlì, including the episcopal palace, the cathedral with its annexes, the other churches, and the monastery of S. Mercuriale, which housed the archives. In 1353, another large fire destroyed the district of S. Mercuriale in Forlì and damaged large parts of the rest of the city. On 8 July 1286, Archbishop Bonifacio Fieschi de' Conti di Lavagna of Ravenna presided over a provincial council, held in Forlì. It was attended by the bishops of Imola, Faenza, Forlimpopoli, Ceseena, Sarsina, Adria, and Bishop Rinaldus of Forlì, as well as procurators of the bishops of Bologna, Cervia, Modena, and Parma. In 1769, the Cathedral of the cathedral of the Holy Cross was staffed and administered by a Chapter, consisting of four dignities (''not'' dignitaries) and nineteen Canons. The dignities were: the Provost, the Archpriest, the Archdeacon, and the Primicerius." Bishop Giacomo Theodoli (1635–1665) held his second diocesan synod in Forlì on 5 May 1639. He had previously held a synod, at some time between 1635 and 1639. Bishop Claudio Ciccolini (1666–1688) held a diocesan synod on 22 April 1675.

Consolidation of dioceses

The

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

(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. These considerations applied to Forlì and Bertinoro. Forlì claimed a Catholic population of 178,000, with 112 priests. Bertinoro, in 1980 had only 37,650 Catholics, but 64 priests. 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. This applied to Bishop Giovanni Proni, who had been Bishop of Bertinoro since 10 March 1970, and at the same time Bishop of Forlì since 9 June 1976. Instead, the Vatican continued consultations which had begun under

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII (born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...

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 Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

ordered that the dioceses of Forlì and Bertinoro be merged into one diocese with one bishop, with the Latin title ''Dioecesis Foroliviensis-Brittinoriensis''. The seat of the diocese was to be in Forlì, and the cathedral of Forli was to serve as the cathedral of the merged dioceses. The cathedral in Bertinoro was to become a co-cathedral, and the cathedral Chapter was to be a ''Capitulum Concathedralis''. Bertinoro which was established in 1360, has its own unique history. It was created after the destruction of Forlimpopoli by Cardinal Albornoz. There was to be only one diocesan Tribunal, in Forlì, 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 diocese of Bertinoro.

Bishops

Diocese of Forli

to 1200

: Mercurialis :... :Theodorus (452) :... *Crescentius (attested 649) :... *Vincentius (attested 679) :... *Apollinaris (attested 861) :... :Bartholomaeus ? (887) :... :Rogerius (910) :... *Paulus (attested 939) :... *Ubertus (attested 962–998) :... :Rainerius :Theodoricus :... *Faustus Andolini (attested 1001) :... *Rodulfus (attested 1016) *Oddo (attested 1021) :... *Ubertus (attested 1043) *Joannes (attested 1053, 1084) :... *Petrus (attested 1117–1118) :... *Drudo (attested 1149) :... *

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

(attested 1160–1189) :...

1200 to 1500

*Joannes (1192–1206) *Albertus (attested 1206, 1220) *Ricciardellus (attested 1225) *Albertus (attested 1232) *Henricus (1234–1249) *Hieronymus (or Guilelmus) *Richelmus (1253–1270) *Rudolfus (1270–1280) *Henricus (1280–1285) *Rainaldus (1285–1302) *Thaddeus (1302–1303) *Ridolfus de Piatesi (attested 1303) *Thomas (1318–1342) *Joannes (1342–1348) *Aimericus (1349–1351) * Bartolomeo da Sanzetto, O.Min. (1351–1372) *Artaud de Mélan (1372–1378) *Paolo Naroli (1378–1384) *Simon Pagani (1384–1391) *Scarpetta de Ordelaffis (1391–1401) *Giovanni Numai (1402–1411) *Matteo Fiorilli (1412–1413) *Albertus Benedicti Buoncristiani (1413–1417) * Giovanni Strada (1417–1427) * Giovanni Caffarelli (1427–1437) :: r. Guglielmo Bevilacqua, O.S.A. (1433–1436) ''Intrusus''* Luigi Pirano (1437–1446) * Mariano Farinata (1446–1449) * Daniele di Arluno (1449–1463) * Giacomo Paladini (1463–1470) * Alessandro Numai (1470–1485) * Tommaso Asti (1485–1512)

1500 to 1800

* Pietro Griffo (1512–1516) * Bernardo Michelozzi (de' Medici) (1516–1519) * Leonardo de' Medici (1519–1526 Resigned) :Cardinal

Niccolò Ridolfi Niccolò Ridolfi (1501 – 31 January 1550) was an Italian cardinal. Early life Born in Florence, son of Piero Ridolfi and Contessina de' Medici (the daughter of Lorenzo de' Medici the Magnificent). His father was a Gonfaloniere of Justice. ...

(1526–1528 Resigned) ''Administrator'' * Bernardo Antonio de' Medici (1528–1551) * Pietro Giovanni Aliotti (1551–1563 Resigned) * Antonio Giannotti (1563–1578) * Marcantonio del Giglio (1578–1580) * Giovanni Francesco Mazza de' Canobbi (1580–1586 Resigned) * Fulvio Teofili (1587–1594) * Alessandro de Franceschi, O.P. (1594–1599 Resigned) * Corrado Tartarini (1599–1602) * Cesare Bartorelli (1602–1635) * Giacomo Theodoli (Teodolo) (1635–1665 Resigned) *

Claudio Ciccolini Claudio Ciccolini (1624–1688) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Forlì (1666–1688). ''(in Latin)'' ''(in Latin)'' Biography Claudio Ciccolini was born in Oct 1624 in Macerata, Italy. Wikipedia:SPS, On 7 Jun 1666, he was a ...

(1666–1688) * Giovanni Rasponi (1689–1714) *Tommaso Torelli (1714–1760) *Francesco Piazza (1760–1769) *Nicola Bizarri (1769–1776 Resigned) *Giuseppe de Vignoli (1776–1782) *Mercuriale (Bartolomeo) Prati, O.S.B. (1784–1806)

since 1800

*Andrea Bratti (1807–1835) *Vincenzo Stanislao Tomba, B. (1836–1845) *Gaetano Carletti (1845–1849) *Antonio Magrini (1852–1852) *Mariano Falcinelli Antoniacci, O.S.B. (1853–1857) *Pietro Paolo Trucchi, C.M. (1857–1887) * Domenico Svampa (1887–1894) *Raimondo Jaffei (1895–1932) *Giuseppe Rolla (1932–1950) *Paolo Babini (1950–1976 Retired) *Giovanni Proni (1976–1988 Retired) Duomo Bertinoro 3

Diocese of Forli-Bertinoro

''United: 30 September 1986 with the Diocese of Bertinoro'' *Vincenzo Zarri (1988–2005 Retired) *Lino Pizzi (2005–2018 Retired) * Livio Corazza (23 January 2018 – present)CV of Bishop Corazza: Diocesi di Forlì-Bertinori
"Il Vescovo: Mons. Livio Corazza"
retrieved: 20 November 2020.

Notes and references

Bibliography

Reference works

* pp. 697–698. (in Latin) * (in Latin) * (in Latin) * (in Latin) * (in Latin) * * (in Latin) * * *

Studies

* *Casali, Giovanni (1863). "Serie cronologica dei Vescovi di Forlì, investigata colla scorta di diversi Autori," * Lanzoni, Francesco (1927).
Le diocesi d'Italia dalle origini al principio del secolo VII (an. 604)
'. Faenza: F. Lega, pp. 767–769. * * *Schwartz, Gerhard (1907)
''Die Besetzung der Bistümer Reichsitaliens unter den sächsischen und salischen Kaisern: mit den Listen der Bischöfe, 951-1122''
Leipzig: B.G. Teubner. pp. 175–176. *

External links

*Benigni, Umberto

''The Catholic Encyclopedia.'' Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. Retrieved: 25 November 2020.
Diocesi di Forlì
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roman Catholic Diocese of Forli-Bertinoro Forli