The Diocese of Iași (or , , , ) is a

Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...

ecclesiastical territory or

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

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

Western Moldavia Western Moldavia (, ''Moldova de Apus'', or , also known as Moldavia, is the core historic and geographical part of the former Principality of Moldavia situated in eastern and north-eastern Romania. Until its union with Wallachia in 1878, the P ...

. It is a

suffragan diocese A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandr ...

in the

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consist ...

of the metropolitan

Archdiocese of Bucharest 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 associated ...

. Its

episcopal see An episcopal see is the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, making it synonymous with ''diocese'' ...

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

. Its bishop has been Iosif Păuleț since 2019. Between 1990 and 2019 its bishop was Petru Gherghel, previously Apostolic Administrator since 1978.

Auxiliary Bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

since 1999 has been

Aurel Percă Aurel Percă (born August 15, 1951) is a Romanian prelate of the Catholic Church who was named Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bucharest, Archbishop of Bucharest on 21 November 2019. He served as auxiliary bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Iași, ...

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Mauriana, appointed Archbishop of Bucharest in 2019.

History

It was established in 1818 as the ''

Apostolic Vicariate An apostolic vicariate is a territorial jurisdiction of the Catholic Church under a titular bishop centered in missionary regions and countries where dioceses or parishes have not yet been established. The status of apostolic vicariate is often ...

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

'' (a pre-diocesan missionary jurisdiction; exempt, i.e. directly subject to the Holy See, not part of an ecclesiastical province, but entitled to a

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

), on territory split off from the suppressed Diocese of Bacău, which had originally been set up at

Siret Siret (; ; ; ; ) is a town, municipality and former Latin bishopric in Suceava County, northeastern Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Bukovina. Siret is the 11th largest urban settlement in the county, with a population of 6,708 ...

Pope Urban V Pope Urban V (; 1310 – 19 December 1370), born Guillaume de Grimoard, was head of the Catholic Church from 28 September 1362 until his death, in December 1370 and was also a member of the Order of Saint Benedict. He was the only Avignon pope ...

in 1370, due to work done by

Franciscans The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest conte ...

and

Dominicans Dominicans () also known as Quisqueyans () are an ethnic group, ethno-nationality, national people, a people of shared ancestry and culture, who have ancestral roots in the Dominican Republic. The Dominican ethnic group was born out of a fusio ...

; its seat was transferred to

Bacău Bacău ( ; , ; ; ) is the main city in Bacău County, Romania. With a population of 136,087 (as of 2021 census), Bacău is the 14th largest city in Romania. The city is situated in the historical region of Moldavia, at the foothills of the ...

at the beginning of the 15th century. Abandoned in 1497 due to

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

persecutions, the See of Bacău was re-established in 1611, and had a succession of twenty prelates until 1789, when it was suppressed. The Catholics of

were then placed under the

spiritual direction Spiritual direction is the practice of being with people as they attempt to deepen their relationship with the divine, or to learn and grow in their personal spirituality. The person seeking direction shares stories of their encounters of the div ...

of Apostolic prefects, generally chosen from the Conventuals in charge of the mission. The Apostolic Vicariate of Moldavia was promoted on 27 June 1884 by

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

to Diocese of Iaşi (Jászvásár in Hungarian) covering Romanian Moldavia, with Iaşi as residence. In 1921 it gained territory from the Diocese of Tiraspol. On 5 June 1930 it gained the territory of the former

Duchy of Bukovina The Duchy of Bukovina (; ; ) was a constituent land of the Austrian Empire from 1849 and a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary from 1867 until 1918. Name The name ''Bukovina'' came into official use in 1775 with the region's annexation ...

from the Ukrainian Latin Metropolitan Archdiocese of Lviv. On 28 October 1993, it lost territory to establish the Apostolic Administration of Moldova (now the diocese of Chișinău).

Special churches

Its

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

is the Our Lady Queen of Iași Cathedral, in Iaşi. The former cathedral, Assumption of Mary Church, is also located in the city. Other former cathedrals are the Biserica de vizitarea Maicii Domnului, in

, and the ruined Biserica de Maicii Domnului, in

Baia Baia (; ; ) is a commune in Suceava County, in the historical region of Western Moldavia, northeastern Romania with a population of 7,261 as of 2021. It is composed of two villages, namely Baia and Bogata. Located on the Moldova (river), Moldova ...

. A

minor basilica Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectura ...

is the Bazilica Minora Sanctuarul de la Cacica, in Cacica.

Extent and statistics

, its pastorally served 232,132 Catholics (5.3% of 4,359,762 total) on 46,378 km² in 149 parishes, 420 priests (297 diocesan, 123 religious) with 704 lay religious (282 brothers, 422 sisters) and 125 seminarians. The diocese covers the Romanian region of

—the counties of

Suceava Suceava () is a Municipiu, city in northeastern Romania. The seat of Suceava County, it is situated in the Historical regions of Romania, historical regions of Bukovina and Western Moldavia, Moldavia, northeastern Romania. It is the largest urban ...

Botoșani Botoșani () is the capital city of Botoșani County, in the northern part of Moldavia, Romania. Today, it is best known as the birthplace of many celebrated Romanians, including Mihai Eminescu, Nicolae Iorga and Grigore Antipa. Origin of the ...

, Neamț,

Vaslui Vaslui (), a city in eastern Romania, is the seat of Vaslui County, in the historical region of Western Moldavia. The city administers five villages: Bahnari, Brodoc, Moara Grecilor, Rediu, and Viișoara. History Archaeological surveys indicate t ...

, Vrancea and

Galați Galați ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names) is the capital city of Galați County in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in eastern Romania. Galați is a port town on the river Danube. and the sixth-larges ...

. 5.2% of the inhabitants are Catholic, with concentrations around

and

Roman 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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

. Its adherents are predominantly ethnic

Romanians Romanians (, ; dated Endonym and exonym, exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Sharing a Culture of Romania, ...

, with small

Csángós The Csángós (; ) are Hungarians, ethnic Hungarians of Catholic Church in Romania, Roman Catholic faith living mostly in the Romanian region of Western Moldavia, Moldavia, especially in Bacău County. The region where the Csángós live in Mold ...

(old Hungarian dialect) and Polish communities.

Episcopal ordinaries

; Apostolic Vicars of Moldavia all missionary members of the Latin congregation of

Conventual Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor Conventual (O.F.M. Conv.) is a male religious fraternity in the Catholic Church and a branch of the Franciscan Order. Conventual Franciscan Friars are identified by the affix O.F.M. Conv. after their names. They are ...

, O.F.M. Conv. * Giovanni Filippo Paroni (1818.06.26 – 1825) * Bonaventura Zabberoni (1825.07.19 – 1826.07.30),

of Helenopolis (1825.07.19 – death 1826.07.30) * Aloisio Landi (? – death 1829.01.22) **''

Apostolic Administrator An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

Jose Carlos Magni (1832–1838)'' * Paolo Sardi (1843.04.07 – death 1848.11.09), Titular Bishop of

Vera Vera may refer to: Names *Vera (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Vera (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name) **Vera (), archbishop of the archdiocese of Tarr ...

(1843.04.07 – 1848.11.09) * Antonio de Stefano (1849.08.28 – death 1859.11.27), Titular Bishop of Benda (1849.08.28 – 1893.11.01) * Giuseppe Salandari (1864.04.22 – death 1873.12.29) * Antonio Maria Grasselli (1874.04.14 – 1874.12.22), Titular Bishop of Trapezopolis (1874.04.14 – 1875.01.08); later

Apostolic Vicar Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Churc ...

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

(Turkey) (1874.12.22 – 1880.01.23),

Titular Archbishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Colossæ (1875.01.08 – 1899.06.19),

Archbishop-Bishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdioc ...

of Viterbo e Tuscanella (Italy) (1899.06.19 – 1911), Archbishop-Bishop of Viterbo e Tuscania (Lazio, central Italy) (1911–1913.12.30), Titular Archbishop of

Larissa Larissa (; , , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 148,562 in the city proper, according to the 2021 census. It is also the capital of the Larissa ...

, (1913.12.30 – 1919.02.01) * Ludovico Marangoni (1874.12.22 – 1877.09.21), Titular Bishop of

Gortyna Gortyna (; also known as Gortyn (Γορτύν)) was a town of ancient Crete which appears in the Homeric poems under the form of Γορτύν; but afterwards became usually Gortyna (Γόρτυνα). According to Stephanus of Byzantium it was or ...

(1874.12.31 – 1877.09.21); previously

Minister General Minister general is the term used for the head or superior general of the different branches of the Order of Friars Minor. It is a term exclusive to the order and comes directly from its founder, St. Francis of Assisi. Terminology Francis chose ...

(

General Superior A superior general or general superior is the leader or head of an 'order' of religious persons (nuns, priests, friars, etc) or, in other words, of a 'religious institute' in the Catholic Church, and in some other Christian denominations. The super ...

) of the

Order of Friars Minor Conventual The Order of Friars Minor Conventual (O.F.M. Conv.) is a male religious fraternity in the Catholic Church and a branch of the Franciscan Order. Conventual Franciscan Friars are identified by the affix O.F.M. Conv. after their names. They are ...

(Conventual Franciscans) (1864–1872); later Bishop of

Chioggia Chioggia (; , ; ) is a coastal town and (municipality) of the Metropolitan City of Venice in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Geography The town is located on a small island at the southern entrance to the Venetian Lagoon about sou ...

(Italy) (1877.09.21 – 1908.11.21) * Fidelis Dehm (1877.12.31 – death 1880) ;''Bishops of Iaşi (Jászvásár)'' * Nicolae Iosif Camilli (1884.06.27 – 1894.05.06 ''see below''), previously

Mosynopolis Mosynopolis (), of which only ruins now remain in Greek Thrace, was a city in the Roman province of Rhodope, which was known until the 9th century as Maximianopolis (Μαξιμιανούπολις) or, to distinguish it from other cities of the ...

(1881.09.16 – 1884.06.27); later Titular Bishop of Gadaræ (1896.02.25 – 1901.03.27), Titular Archbishop of Constantia antea Tomi (1901.03.27 – 1904.08.30) * Dominique Jacquet (1895.01.08 – 1904.02.25), also Metropolitan Archbishop of București (Bucharest, Romania) (1895–1895); later * Nicolae Iosif Camilli (''see above'' 1904.08.30 – 1916.01.17), now styled Archbishop-Bishop of Iaşi (Romania) (1904.08.30 – 1916.01.17) * Alexandru Theodor Cisar (1920.04.22 – 1924.12.12), later Metropolitan Archbishop of București (Romania) (1924.12.12 – death 1954.01.07) * Mihai Robu (1925.05.07 – death 1944.09.27) * ''

Marcu Glaser (1944.10.18 – 1947.10.30), Titular Bishop of Cæsaropolis (1943.06.10 – 1950.05.25); afterward staying in the diocese as

(1947.10.30 – 1950.05.25)'' * Blessed Bishop Anton Durcovici (1947.10.30 – 1951.12.10), also Apostolic Administrator of București (Bucharest, Romania) (1948–1949). * Petru Gherghel (1990.03.14 – present)

Sources and external links

GigaCatholic with incumbent biography links
*
Official site of the diocese

newadvent.org. Accessed 23 February 2024. {{DEFAULTSORT:Iasi, Roman Catholic Diocese Roman Catholic dioceses in Romania Roman Catholic Diocese of Iasi