Wikipedia

Archdiocese of Agrigento

Archdiocese of Agrigento

Archidioecesis Agrigentina
Agrigento Cathedral
Location
CountryItaly
Ecclesiastical provinceAgrigento
Statistics
Area3,041 km2 (1,174 sq mi)
Population
  • Total
  • Catholics
  • (as of 2023)
  • 411,800 (est.) Decrease
  • 386,000 (est.) Decrease
Parishes194
Information
DenominationCatholic Church
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
CathedralCattedrale di S. Gerlando
Secular priests195 (diocesan) Decrease
40 (Religious Orders)
36 Permanent Deacons Decrease
Current leadership
PopeLeo XIV
ArchbishopAlessandro Damiano
Vicar GeneralGiuseppe Cumbo
Bishops emeritus
Map
Website
www.diocesiag.it

The Archdiocese of Agrigento (Latin: Archidioecesis Agrigentina) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Sicily, Italy.[1][2][3] The historic diocese of Agrigento, was sometimes known colloquially as the Diocese of Girgenti, and Diocese of Agrigentum. From 1183, it was a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Monreale. A metropolitan see since 2000, the Archdiocese of Agrigento has two suffragan dioceses in its ecclesiastical province.

History

[edit]

Agrigento (the Greek Acragas, Roman Agrigentum) was founded in the early 6th century B.C. by Greeks from Gela. Legend considers Saint Libertinus its earliest proselytizer; he is said to have been sent by Saint Peter, in 44 A.D.[4] Local enthusiasm for an Apostolic connection even led someone to forge a bull of investiture, an instrument which was not created until centuries later.[5]

Gregory of Agrigento, said to have been martyred in 262, never existed. His name occurs in the hagiographical work, "The Life of St. Agrippina", but the author of that work, a person of the eighth or ninth century, placed the sixth century Bishop Gregory of Agrigento in the wrong context.[6]

The earliest bishop is said to have been Potamius, who was believed by some to be a contemporary of Pope Agapetus I (535–536).[7] Other scholars, however, place him in the seventh century.[6] Through the 7th century, there was no metropolitan in Sicily, and each of the dioceses depended directly upon the pope. Bishop Felix of Agrigento attended the Lateran council of Pope Martin I in October 649,[8] and Bishop Georgius attended the Lateran synod of Pope Agapetus II in October 679.[9] The Emperor Leo III the Isaurian (717–741) removed the dioceses of Sicily, including Agrigento, from Roman control and made them suffragans of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. In the mid-9th (or 10th) century, Basil of Ialimbana[10] revised the geography of George of Cyprus with the addition of a Notitia episcopuum, in which the diocese of Agrigento appears as a suffragan of Syracuse.[11]

The succession of bishops was interrupted by the Saracen occupation of all of Sicily (879–1038).[12]

In the spring of 1087, after several earlier raids, Count Roger d'Hauteville began the siege of Agrigento. The town surrendered in July.[13] Pope Urban II (1088–1099) made Count Roger and his successors papal legate in Sicily.[14]

The Normans

[edit]

A bishop was again appointed for Agrigento in 1093, the Burgundian Garlando, a blood-relative of Count Roger d'Hauteville. He was consecrated a bishop by Pope Urban II. Since there was no metropolitan in Sicily, each new Latin rite bishop depended directly on Rome. In a decree of 1093, Count Roger fixed the boundaries of the diocese, which extended across central Sicily, from the Mediterranean in the south, as far east as Butera, to the Tyrrhenian Sea in the north, including territory from Terme (Termini Imerese) to a point east of Cefalù.[15]

When the new diocese of Cefalù was established on 4 September 1131, the diocese of Agrigento lost the Tyrrhenian seacoast, and nearly all of its territory north of the Sicanian Mountains.[16]

On 10 July 1154, Pope Adrian IV established the first Latin metropolitanate on the island of Sicily, at Palermo. Agrigento was appointed to be one of its suffragans. This was confirmed by Pope Alexander III on 25 April 1160.[17] The bishop of Agrigento was required to swear an oath of obedience to the archbishop of Palermo annually on 15 August.[18]

On the death of the Emperor Frederick II in 1250, his son Manfred was appointed regent in Sicily for his brother, the Emperor Conrad. when Conrad died of malaria in 1254, Manfred became regent for his nephew Conradin. On the report, untrue as it was discovered, of the death of Conradin in 1258, Manfred assumed the kingship of Sicily. He was crowned in Palermo on 10 August 1258 by Bishop Rinaldo di Acquaviva of Agrigento. For this act of defiance against Pope Alexander IV, he was excommunicated.[19]

Chapter and cathedral

[edit]

The cathedral of S. Gerlando was consecrated on 9 November 1305. The annual festival of S. Gerlando takes place on 25 February.[20]

The cathedral is administered and served by a corporation called the Chapter, which is led by four dignities: the Dean, the Cantor, the Archdeacon, and the Treasurer, and in addition fourteen canons, up to 1567; to which six others were added later.[21] In 1672, there were nineteen canons; in 1755, there were twenty..[22] The Chapter had the right to elect the bishop, subject to royal and papal approval.

Aragonese Sicily (1282–1516)

[edit]
Main articles: War of the Sicilian Vespers and Western Schism

As a consequence of the uprising of Easter 1282, the Angevins were driven out of Sicily, and eventually Peter III of Aragon, the husband of Constance II of Sicily, made himself king of Sicily. He was proclaimed in Palermo on 4 September 1282, over the objections of Pope Martin IV (Simon de Brie), a Freenchman, who excommunicated him.

During the great Western Schism, the Kings of Aragon, Castile, France, and Naples supported the papal authority of Avignon, rather than that of Rome. The king of Sicily followed his own wishes of the time.[23]

In 1392, on the death of Bishop Agatho, the cathedral Chapter elected Gilford Riccobono, Archdeacon of Palermo and chamberlain of the Roman pope Boniface IX, to be bishop of Agrigento; they submitted his election certificate to Boniface IX for confirmation, which the pope was happy to do, while fulminating against the many schismatics and heretics in Sicily who were favorers of the Catalonians. Pope Clement VII (Avignon Obedience) appointed Pietro Curto (de Curtibus) bishop of Agrigento on 2 June 1393.[24] In 1394, the Regent Martin of Aragon, nephew of King John I of Aragon arrived in Sicily, and sent messengers to Boniface IX demanding that Ricobono be sent to him. When the archbishop of Palermo Nicolaus de Agrigento died in 1395, Riccobono was named Apostolic Administrator of Palermo on 10 June 1396,[25] and came to Palermo with the additional title of Papal Legate to Sicily, a title which the kings of Sicily had always enjoyed. Boniface also named him apostolic administrator of the diocese of Agrigento. He died in 1398.[26]

In 1408, King Martin I of Sicily issued a decree stating that, after an election by the Chapter meeting with the queen's consent, and within the statutory time limit of six months, no bishop was to be accepted to fill a vacancy without the king's express command.[27]

Pope Julius II, in a bull issued in Rome on 25 June 1507, granted his blood-relative and chamberlain, Giuliano Cibò, Bishop of Agrigento (1506–1537), exemption from the jurisdiction of the archbishop of Palermo.[28]

In 1546, Ignatius of Loyola sent the first Jesuit, Jacob Lhoost, to the Island of Sicily, to Agrigento, at the request of Cardinal Rodolfo Pio da Carpi, the Administrator of the diocese of Agrigento.[29] They were given the church of S. Margaret in Sciacca (Sacca), where they established a house in 1558, with the assistance of the duke and duchess of Bivona. Bishop Juan Orozco y Covarrubias (1594–1606) invited the Jesuits to found a college in Agrigento.[30] He also founded a printing house in the city.[31]

In accordance with the decrees of the Council of Trent,[32] Bishop Cesare Marullo (1574–1577) established the priestly seminary of Agrigento. Bishop Vincenzo Bonincontro, O.P. (1607–1622) procured the Palazzo Chiaramonti and attached buildings to house the seminary.[33] Bishop Saverio Granata (1795–1817) added physics, mathematics, and the Italian language to the curriculum of the seminary.[34]

Synods

[edit]

Bishop Didacus (Diego) Haedo (1585–1599) held a diocesan synod in 1589, and published its decrees and the diocesan statutes.[35] Another diocesan synod was held by Bishop Vincenzo Bonincontro, O.P. (1607–1622) in 1610.[36] Bishop Francesco Traina (1627–1651) held a diocesan synod on 3 October 1630. Bishop Ferdinando Sanchez de Cuellar, O.S.A. (1653–1657) presided at a diocesan synod held on 6–7 June 1655.[37]

Bishop Francesco Ramírez, O.P. (1697–1715) established the Collegio of S. Agostino e Tommaso next to the seminary.[38] He held a diocesan synod in 1703.[39]

In 1672, the city of Agrigento had a population of about 14,000 inhabitants.[40]

Bourbon Sicily (1735–1860)

[edit]

In 1755, the city of Agrigento had about 25,000 inhabitants, in six parishes.[41]

On 20 May 1844, Pope Gregory XVI, in the bull "In Suprema", in which he created the new ecclesiastical province of Siracusa, ordered that the diocese of Cefalù be a suffragan of Palermo, and the diocese of Agrigento a suffragan of Monreale instead of Palermo, as it had previously been.[42] The town of Castronuovo and six others were removed from the diocese of Agrigento and assigned to the diocese of Palermo.[43]

On 25 May 1844, the new diocese of Caltanissetta was established by Pope Gregory XVI, in the bull "Ecclesiae Universalis," and, to form its diocesan territory, fourteen towns (oppida) were taken from the diocese of Agrigento.[44]

Main article: Sicilian revolution of 1848

In the aftermath of the revolutions in 1848 in Rome and in Palermo, with the pope driven into exile and with the republicanism and anticlericalism of Giuseppe Garibaldi and Francesco Crispi spread throughout Sicily,[45] the bishops of Sicily felt an urgent need to formulate a response. Cardinal Ferdinando Pignatelli, Archbishop of Palermo summoned a meeting of all the bishops and other prominent prelates of Sicily, including Bishop Domenico Lo Jacono of Agrigento, which met in Palermo in June and July of 1850.[46] A set of Statutes was agreed upon, the first three sections of which dealt in minute detail with the selection, training, and activities of priests and monks, none of the provisions being new or unfamiliar. The fourth dealt with the laity, emphasizing prohibitions against forbidden books, nude images, concubinage, usury, and drunkenness. Obedience to the clergy was mandated.[47] Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Immaculate Conception was advised. Rather than being a genuine reform, the Statutes sought to reiterate proper behavior.

Main article: Expedition of the Thousand

In 1860, the Bourbon monarchy was overthrown, and replaced by the king of Sardinia (Savoy). His kingdom's aggression against the Papal States brought the refusal of the Papacy to recognize his right to nominate or approve bishops (exequatur). Bishops were subsequently named and approved by the pope.[48] In Sicily, Garibaldi made himself a virtual dictator, and expelled all the Jesuits and redemptorists on the island. Fifteen Jesuit houses were closed and repurposed.[49]

Basilication

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On 2 July 1941, Pope Pius XII granted the church of S. Francis of Assisi in the city of Agrigento, with its sanctuary of the wooden statue of Mary Immaculate, the status of "minor basilica."[50] The cathedral of S. Gerlando was granted the honorary title of "minor basilica" by Pope Pius XII on 14 December 1951.[51] Pope John Paul II granted the status of "minor basilica" to the church of San Calogero al Monte di Sciacca in the diocese of Agrigento on 24 September 1979.[52]

Archdiocese

[edit]

An administrative reorganization of the dioceses of Sicily was approved by Pope John Paul II on 2 December 2000. The diocese of Agrigento was elevated to the status of an archdiocese, while the diocese of Piazza Armerina was removed from the ecclesiastical province of Siracusa and the diocese of Catalanissetta was removed from the province of Monreale. They become suffragan (subordinate) to the newly elevated Archdiocese of Agrigento in the new ecclesiasstical province of Agrigento.[53]

Bishops

[edit]

to 1300

[edit]
...
  • Potamius ( ? )
  • Theodosius ( ? )
  • Gregorius ( ? )
  • Eusanius (attested 578 – 590)[54]
  • Gregorius (attested 591 – 603)[55]
  • Liberius (616)[56]
  • Felix (649)[57]
  • Georgius (679)[58]
  • Hermogenes (c. 800)[59]
...
  • Gerlandus (1093 – 1104)[60]
  • Drago, O.S.B. (1104)[61]
  • Guarinus, O.S.B. (1105 – after 1113)[62]
  • Albertus (1118 – )[63]
  • Gualterius (attested in 1127 – 17 April 1141)[64]
  • Rogerius (elected in 1142)
  • Gentile (1154–1171)[65]
  • Bartolomeo (1171 – 1191)[66]
  • Urso (1191 – 1239)[67]
  • Rinaldo di Acquaviva (1240 – c. 1264)[68]
  • Godefredus Roncioni (1265? – 28 January 1271)[69]
  • [Guillelmus Morini] (1271)[70]
  • Guido (2 June 1273 – 1276)[71]
  • Gobertus (1276 – 23 August 1286)[72]
Sede Vacante (1286 – 1304)[73]

1300 to 1500

[edit]
  • Bertaldus de Labro (10 January 1304 – 27 March 1326)[74]

  ○ [ Jacobus Muscus (1326) Bishop-elect ][75]

  • Matteo Orsini, O.P. (1326 – 1327)[76]
  • Philippus Hombaldi, O.P. (1328 – 1350?)[77]
  • Octavianus de Labro (12 May 1350 – 1362)[78]
  • Matteo de Fugardo (16 March 1362 – 1390)[79]
  • Agatho (1390? – 1392) (Avignon Obedience)[80]
  • Gilifortis Riccobono (6 March 1392 – 23 October 1395) (Roman Obedience) [81]
  • Petrus de Curtibus, O.E.S.A. (2 June 1393 – 1414?) (Avignon Obedience)[82]
  • Nicolaus, O.S.B. (1395 – 1398) (Roman Obedience)[83]
  • Nicolaus de Burelli (1398 – 1400) (Roman Obedience)[84]
  • Giovanni Cardella (19 October 1400 – 1401) (Roman Obedience)[85]
  • Giovanni de Pino, O.F.M. (1401 – 1414?) (Roman Obedience ?)[86]
  • Philippus de Ferrario (4 July 1414 – ?)[87]
  • Laurentius de Messasal, O.Cist. (16 March 1422 – 1442?)[88]

  ○ [ Bernardo Bosco (1442) ] Bishop-elect[89]

1500 to 1818

[edit]

since 1818

[edit]
  • Baldassare Leone (2 Oct 1818 – 22 Jul 1820 Died)
  • Pietro Maria d'Agostino (17 Nov 1823 – 18 Jul 1835)
Sede vacante (1835–1837)
Sede vacante (1839–1844)
  • Domenico-Maria-Giuseppe Lo Jacono, C.R. (17 Jun 1844 – 1860)[124]
Sede vacante (1860–1872)
  • Domenico Turano (23 Feb 1872 – 2 Feb 1885 Died)[125]
  • Gaetano Blandini (2 Feb 1885 – 19 May 1898)
  • Bartolomeo Maria Lagumina (28 Nov 1898 – 5 May 1931)
  • Giovanni Battista Peruzzo, C.P. (15 Jan 1932 – 20 Jul 1963)
  • Giuseppe Petralia (14 Oct 1963 – 2 May 1980 Resigned)
  • Luigi Bommarito (2 May 1980 – 1 Jun 1988) Appointed, Archbishop of Catania
  • Carmelo Ferraro (3 Nov 1988 – 1 Dec 2000)

Archbishops

[edit]

Suffragan sees

[edit]
Ecclesiastical province of Agrigento

References and notes

[edit]
  1. ^ John Paul II, Constitution ad maiori consulendum, 2 December 2000; retrieved: 2017-03-28.
  2. ^ Archdiocese of Agrigento Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved April 4, 2016[self-published source]
  3. ^ "Metropolitan Archdiocese of Agrigento" GCatholic.org. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved April 4, 2016
  4. ^ Lo Presti, in: D'Avino, p. 265.
  5. ^ Lanzoni, pp. 640-641.
  6. ^ a b Lanzoni, p. 64.
  7. ^ Cappelletti, XXI, p. 599. Gams, p. 943.
  8. ^ Cappelletti, p. 599
  9. ^ J.D. Mansi (ed.), Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio, editio novissima (in Latin) Vol. 11 (Florenze: A. Zatta 1765), p. 179.
  10. ^ Andreas Kuelzer, in: Encyclopedia of Ancient Natural Scientists: The Greek Tradition and its Many Heirs, (ed. Paul T. Keyser; Georgia L. Irby-Massie) (New York: Routledge 2008), s. v. "Georgios of Cyprus (600–620)". Ernest Honigmann, "Die Notitia des Basileios von Ialimbana," (in German) Byzantion 9 (1934), 205-222.
  11. ^ H. Gelzer, Georgius Cyprius (in Latin and Greek) ; (Leipzig: B.G. Teubner 1890), p. 30: "Νῆσος Σικελίας: Συράκουσα: ...᾿Ακράγαντος...."
  12. ^ Michele Amari (1872). "Ch. II, IV". Storia dei musulmani di Sicilia (in Italian). Vol. 3, parte 2. Firenze: F. Le Monnier. pp. esp. 486–487. Cappelletti, XXI, p. 598.
  13. ^ Gordon S. Brown, The Norman Conquest of Southern Italy and Sicily (London: McFarland 2003), p. 185.
  14. ^ Gallo, Codice ecclesiastico sicolo vol. 2, p. 232, col. 1.
  15. ^ Pirro, p. 695, col. 2.
  16. ^ Pirro, Sicilia Sacra vol. II (third ed. 1733, ed. A. Mongitore), p. 799.
  17. ^ Gallo, Codice ecclesiastico sicolo vol. 2, p. 46, nos. 61, 62. Pirro I, p. 94; p. 101.
  18. ^ Gallo, Codice ecclesiastico sicolo vol. 2, p. 50, no. 71.
  19. ^ Cappelletti, p. 601. Pirro I, pp. 704-705: "idem Alexander PP. attendens, quod Agrigentinus Episcopus Raynaldus, qui eidem Manfredo suas execrabiles manus imposuit, et in Regem inunxit, eique publicè favet & abominabiliter adberet, quique in die unctionis & coronazionis Manfredi missam solemniter celebravit; pro excessu tam nefario eumdem Agrigentinum Episc. excommunicavit, & ab Episcopali dignitate deposuit." Donald Matthew, The Norman Kingdom of Sicily (Cambridge: CUP 1992), pp. 367-369.
  20. ^ Pirro I, p. 727, col. 2.
  21. ^ Pirro I, p. 727-730.
  22. ^ Ritzler & Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica V, p. 73, note 1; VI, p. 73, note 1..
  23. ^ Cf. Pirro, I, p. 711: "Schismaticos, &hareticos Catalanes appellat, quoniam Martinus Rex cum præcipuis Catalaunis primum Clementi VII, feu Roberto de Comite Gebennensi, post Benedicto XIII, Petro de Luna Pseudopontificibus adhæserat."
  24. ^ Eubel, Hierarchia catholica I, p. 78 Pietro Curno is referred to in a document as the successor of Bishop Agatho: Pirro I, p. 710: "bona, quae ejus praecessor Agath legaverat Cathedrali templo Agrig. omnino exigere studeat...."
  25. ^ Eubel, Hierarchia catholica I, p. 388 with note 13.
  26. ^ Cf. Pirro, I, p. 711, col. 1 (in Latin).
  27. ^ Gallo, Codice ecclesiastico Siculo..., p. 78, column 1.
  28. ^ Pirro, Sicilia sacra third ed. (Palermo 1733) Vol. 1, p. 717, col. 2.
  29. ^ Ignatius of Loyola, Letters to Women (New York: Herder and Herder 1960), p. 440. Ludwig von Pastor, The History of the Popes: From the Close of the Middle Ages, Volume 12 (London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner 1923), p. 89.
  30. ^ Pirro I, p. 736, col. 2.
  31. ^ James F. Melvin, "Juan de Horozco y Covarrubias's Tratado de la verdadera y falso prophecia (1588) and the Influence of Medieva Apocalyptic Traditions in Post-Tridentine Spain," in: E. Knibbs; J. Boon; E. Geiser (edd.), The End of the World in Medieval Thought and Spirituality (Cham Switzerland: Springer/Macmillan Palgrave 2019), p. 204.
  32. ^ Session 23, chapter xviii. S. Ehses (ed.), Concilium Tridentinum: Actorum, (in Latin), pt. 6 (Friburg im Breisgau: Herder 1924), pp. 628-630.
  33. ^ Lo Presti, in: D'Avino, p. 266, col. 1.
  34. ^ Lo Presti, in: D'Avino, p. 267, col. 1.
  35. ^ Constitutiones et decreta plena Synodo Agrigentina digesta per ill. et Rev. Didacum Haedo episcopum Agrigentinum, (in Latin), (Palermo: apud Jo. F. Carrara 1589).
  36. ^ Constitutiones dioecesanae synodi Agrigentinae, (in Latin), (Palermo: Jo. Ant. de Franciscis 1610).
  37. ^ Constitutiones dioecesanae synodi ill.mi et rev.mi D.mi Fratris Ferdinandi Sanchez de Cuellar episc. agrigentini, ... celebratae an. D.ni MDCLV., (in Latin), (Palermo: Nicolaus Bus, MDCLV).
  38. ^ Lo Presti, in: D'Avino, p. 266, col. 2.
  39. ^ Pirro I, p. 726, column 1.
  40. ^ Ritzler & Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica V, p. 73, note 1.
  41. ^ Ritzler & Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica VI, p. 71, note 1.
  42. ^ "In Suprema": Collezione degli atti... Vol. 10 , p. 138: "Quoad reliquas autem suffraganeas Ecclesias, de quibus actum est superius, declaramus atque decernimus, ut perpetuum in modum Ecclesia Cephaludensis metropolitanae jurisdictioni Archiepiscopi Panormitamente, et Ecclesia Agrigentina metropoliticae jurisdictioni Archiepiscopi Montis Regalis subjiciantur...."
  43. ^ Collezione degli atti... Vol. 10 , p. 127; 128: "a Dioecesi Agrigentina: Castronuovo, Chiusa, Contessa, Giuliana, Palazzo Adriano, Prizzi, S.Carlo."
  44. ^ Caltanissetta, Mussemeli, S. Cataldo, S. Caterina, Serradifalco, Sommatino, Delia, Sutera, Campofranco, Acquaviva, Montedoro Buonpensiero, Naduri, e Villalba": Collezione degli atti emanati dopo la pubblicazione del Concordato dell'anno 1818: I brevi e le lettere apostoliche, i reali decreti e rescritti, le circolari ed istruzioni pubblicate da gennajo 1842 a tutto dicembre 1844; non che una copiosa appendice a' precedenti volumi. 10 (in Latin and Italian). Stamperia dell'Iride. 1847. pp. 170–171..
  45. ^ Mike Rapport, 1848: Year of Revolution (New York: Basic Books 2009), pp. 258-260; 348-350. Christopher Duggan, Francesco Crispi, 1818–1901: From Nation to Nationalism (Oxford: OUP, 2002), passim.
  46. ^ Acta et decreta sacrorum conciliorum recentiorum Collectio Lacensis (in Latin), Vol. 6 (Friburg im Breisgau: Herder 1882), pp. 810-826: "Quum ad reparanda Ecclesiae damna, ad religionem tuendam, ad instaurandam disciplinam moresque reformandos, postremis hisce temporibus, complurium regionum Episcopi undique convenissent...."
  47. ^ "Quum Christus in terris posuerit vicarios suos eisque dixerit: Qui vos audit, me audit, qui vos spermit, me spernit, divina lege praecipitur et obsequium et obedientiam exhibere pastoribus quidem omnibus, at praesertim Supremo Capiti Romano Pontifici, successori ejus, super quem ille suam aedificavit Ecclesiam; cujus decretis refragâri piaculum est perinde ac Deo repugnare."
  48. ^ Lucy Riall, Sicily and the Unification of Italy: Liberal Policy and Local Power, 1859-1866 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998), pp. 67-69; 96; 130; 150. M.I.M Bell, A Short History of the Papacy (New York: Dodd Mead 1921), pp. 378-383. Humphrey J.T. Johnson, The Papacy and the Kingdom of Italy (Boston: Small Maynard 1927), pp. 27-28 . Philippe Levillain, John W. O'Malley, The Papacy: An Encyclopedia, Vol. 3 (New York-London: Routledge, 2002), pp. 1540-1541. Antonino Teramo, Una periferia del moderno. Vescovi e secolarizzazione in Sicilia: le conferenze episcopali regionali (1891-1920),, (in Italian) (Messina: Il Grano Edizioni, 2021), pp. 50-52.
  49. ^ Francesco Rocco Ruggeri, Sicilian Visitors: Volume 1 - History (Lulu.com [print-on-demand], 2018), pp. 124-127.
  50. ^ Acta Apostolicae Sedis vol. 33 (Città del Vaticano 1941), pp. 482-483.
  51. ^ Acta Apostolicae Sedis vol. 44 (Città del Vaticano 1952), pp. 761-762.
  52. ^ Acta Apostolicae Sedis vol. 71 (Città del Vaticano 1979), pp. 1347-1348.
  53. ^ Acta Apostolicae Sedis Vol. 93 (Città del Vaticano 2001), pp. 128-129: "Simili modo, nova erecta ecclesiastica Provincia Agrigentina constabit ex metropolitana Ecclesia Agrigentina, exque suffraganeis Ecclesiis Calatanisiadensi, hucusque metropolitanae Ecclesiae Montis Regalis suffraganea, et Platiensi, hactenus archidioecesi Syracusanae suffraganea."
  54. ^ Pirro, p. 694. Lanzoni, p. 641, no. 1. There was a sede vacante in 590.
  55. ^ Pirro, pp. 694-695. Lanzoni, p. 641.
  56. ^ Cappelletti, p. 599.
  57. ^ Bishop Felix attended the Lateran council of Pope Martin I in October 649. Cappelletti, p. 599. J.D. Mansi (ed.), Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio, editio novissima (in Latin) Vol. 10 (Florenze: A. Zatta 1764), p. 866. Philippus Jaffé, Regesta pontificum Romanorum (in Latin) Vol. 1, second edition (Leipzig: Veit 1885), p. 230.
  58. ^ Bishop Georgius attended the Lateran synod of Pope Agapitus II in October 679. J.D. Mansi (ed.), Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio, editio novissima (in Latin) Vol. 11 (Florenze: A. Zatta 1765), p. 179. Cf. Pirro I, p. 695, col. 1.
  59. ^ Gams, p. 943.
  60. ^ Gerlandus was a relative of Count Robert and Count Roger. He was a native of Besançon, and had been Primicerius of the Cathedral of Mileto (Calabria). He was invited by Count Roger to become the first Latin Church bishop of the newly restored diocese of Agrigento, and he was consecrated by Pope Urban II. He died on 25 February 1104. Pirro, pp. 695-697. Gams, p. 943 column 1.
  61. ^ Drago, a monk of S. Maria de Balneario (Calabria), was elected bishop on 29 February 1104, four days after the death of Bishop Gerland. It appears that he was chosen by Gerland to be his successor, and was brought from Calabria with that in mind. He died in the same year. Pirro I, p. 697.
  62. ^ Guarinus: Pirro, p. 697 column 2.
  63. ^ Albertus: Pirro, pp. 697-698.
  64. ^ Gualterius: Pirro, p. 698. Gams, p. 943.
  65. ^ Gentile: Pirro, pp. 698-699.
  66. ^ Bartolomeo was transferred to the diocese of Palermo. Gams, p. 943. Kamp, III, pp. 1147-1151.
  67. ^ Urso suffered a lengthy exile, as a captive of the Saracens. Kamp, III, pp. 1152-1154.
  68. ^ Reynaldus was a member of the Neapolitan aristocratic Acquaviva famiy, and had been Dean of the cathedral Chapter of Agrigento. He was elected by the Chapter, and confirmed by the Emperor Frederick II and the archbishop of Palermo. At the end of 1244, he and Archbishop Berardus settled the boundary between their dioceses by arbitration. Acquaviva restored the cathedral, which was consecrated in 1248. He crowned King Manfred on 10 August 1058, for which action he was excommunicated by Pope Alexander IV. Pirro, pp. 704-705. Gams, p. 943. Kamp, III, pp. 1154-1157.
  69. ^ Romcioni: Kamp, III, pp. 1157-1159; IV.1, p. 1342.
  70. ^ Morini was Bishop-elect: Kamp, III, pp. 1160-1161.
  71. ^ Guido: Kamp, III, pp. 1161-1163.
  72. ^ Gobertus was transferred to the diocese of Capaccio on 23 August 1286. Pirro, p. 706. Eubel, I, pp. 78, 165.
  73. ^ It appears that Lambertus (1287) and Robertus (1298), who are named as bishops by Gams (p. 943), were only Administrators of the diocese, not bishops: Eubel, I, p. 78 note 2.
  74. ^ Bertaldus was a native of Agrigento. He was consecrated a bishop by Pope Benedict IX personally. Pirro, pp. 706–708. Gams, p. 943.
  75. ^ Jacobus Muscus: Musco was a canon and Treasurer of the cathedral Chapter of Agrigento. He was elected by the Chapter in April 1326, and his election certificate was submitted to Pope Benedict XII for confirmation, but he was refused. Pirro, p. 708, col. 1. Eubel, I, p. 78.
  76. ^ Orsini was the grandnephew of Cardinal Francesco Napoleone Orsini, and held the degree of Master of theology. He was Prior of the Roman Province of the Dominican Order, when he was named bishop of Agrigento by Pope John XXII on 20 October 1326. He never visited Agrigento. He was transferred to the diocese of Manfredonia nine months later, on 15 June 1327; he held the post for six months. He was named a cardinal by Pope John XXII on 18 December 1327. He died in Avignon on 18 August 1341; his body was transported to Rome and he was buried in the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva. Pirro, p. 708. Eubel I, p. 16, no. 23; p. 78 with note 3; p. 453 with note 4. Alphonse Picard, La faculté de théologie de Paris et ses docteurs les plus celebres: Moyen-Age Volume 3 (Paris: Picard 1896), pp. 418-419.
  77. ^ Honibaldi, appointed on 6 June 1328 by Pope John XXII, was consecrated in Avignon by Pope John XXII in 1330. In 1339 Bishop Philip was the subject of an investigation conducted on orders of Pope Benedict XII by Cardinal Gotius de Battaglia and Bishop Ratherius of Vaison. Bishop Philip appealed directly to the Pope and asked permission of Peter II, King of Sicily, to go to Avignon, but he was refused, on the grounds that all the other bishops of Sicily had already gone to Rome. Pirro believes that he died in 1348, still in office. Pirro, p. 708. G. Mollat, Jean XXII. Lettres communes (in Latin) Vol. 7 (Paris: De Boccard 1919), p. 288, no. 41510.
  78. ^ Born in Palermo, Ottaviano was the grandnephew of Bishop Bertaldus de Labro of Agrigento, and was a Canon of the Cathedral of Agrigento. He was transferred to the diocese of Palermo on 9 November 1362. Pirro, 708. Gams, p. 943. Eubel, I, pp. 78, 388.
  79. ^ Fugardo had been Archdeacon of Agrigento. Eubel, I, p. 78 with note 4, remarks that he does not appear in the evidence after 1390.
  80. ^ Agatho: Pirro I, p. 710. P.B. Gams, Series episcoporum Ecclesiae Catholicae (Ratisbon 1873), p. 943, col. 1. Cf. Eubel I, p. 78, note 4, who rejects Agatho solely on the negative evidence that he does not appear in the Schedi Garampi.
  81. ^ Bishop Gilifort was transferred to the diocese of Palermo on 23 October 1395. Pirro, pp. 710–712. Eubel, I, pp. 78, 388.
  82. ^ Gams, p. 943, only allows Petrus two years in the office; his date is probably based on the fact of the appointment of Nicolaus in 1395. Eubel, I, p. 78, and n. 5; p. 79.
  83. ^ Bishop Nicolaus was transferred to the diocese of Orvieto on 23 August 1398, never having taken possession of the diocese of Agrigento. Eubel, I, pp. 79, with note 6; 508.
  84. ^ Nicolaus was a Canon of Palermo, a Doctor of Canon Law, an Auditor causarum of the Apostolic Palace (judge in the Curia). He was appointed bishop of Agrigento on 3 June 1398. Burelli died 'at the Holy See' in 1400. Eubel, I, p. 79, with notes 7 and 8.
  85. ^ Joannes, A Franciscan according to Cappelletti, had been a canon of Palermo and was a papal penitentiary. He was appointed bishop of Agrigento on 19 October 1400, by Pope Boniface IX. Before 1 October 1401, he was transferred to the diocese of Castro in south Italy. Pirro I, p. 714, col. 2. Cappelletti, p. 602, no. XXXV. Eubel I, pp. 79, 174.
  86. ^ Pino had been confessor to King Martin I of Aragon and Sicily, Master of the royal Chapel, Almoner, and bishop-elect of Malta (Melitensis). He was confirmed by Pope Boniface IX on 1 October 1401. Pirro I, p. 712, col. 1. Eubel, I, pp. 79; 340 note 4.
  87. ^ Philippus had been Saccelanus Major of King Martin I. Bishop Philip was appointed by Benedict XIII. He had previously been Bishop of Patti (Sicily) (1402–1414). Pirro I, p. 713. Eubel, I, p. 79, 384.
  88. ^ Bishop Lorenzo was appointed by Pope Martin V. He was a monk of the Cistercian monastery of Populeto (diocese of Tarragona). Eubel, I, p. 79; II, p. 83.
  89. ^ Bernardo had been a canon of Ilerda, and was then Auditor of the Apostolic Palace (apellate judge), Protonotary Apostolic, and canon of St. Peter's in Rome. He attended the Council of Basel, and on 1 November 1439 was one of those chosen to carry out the deposition of Eugenius IV. Later, in gratitude for helping end the schism, Eugenius named him bishop of Agrigento and exempted him from the metropolitan jurisdiction of Palermo. Apparently he was rejected by King Alfonso V of Aragon. Pirro, p. 714, col. 2.
  90. ^ "Bishop Matteo da Gimara, O.F.M." Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved February 9, 2016
  91. ^ Roccho Pirro; Antonino Mongitore (1733). Sicilia sacra, disquisitionibus et notiis illustrata (in Latin) (third ed.). Palermo: Apud haeredes P. Coppulae. pp. 714–715. Eubel, II, p. 83.
  92. ^ A native of Palermo, Ponticorona had previously been Prior of the Sicilian Province of the Dominicans, and Bishop of Cefalù (1422–1445). Pirro, pp. 715–716. Eubel II, pp. 83, 182.
  93. ^ "Bishop Domenico Xarth, O. Cist." Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved February 9, 2016
  94. ^ Giovanni had been Abbot of the Benedictine monastery of Monte S. Felice (diocese of Gerona, Spain). Eubel, II, p. 83, with n. 3.
  95. ^ Juan de Castro, a native of Valencia (1431–1506), was Bishop of Agrigento (1479–1506), Cardinal Priest of Santa Prisca (1496–1506), Administrator Apostolic of the Diocese of Schleswig (1499–1502), later also Bishop of Malta (1504–1506). Eubel, II, p. 83.
  96. ^ Cibò was a native of Genoa, and a Canon of the Cathedral of Genoa. He was a relative and chamberlain of Pope Julius II. He was nominated bishop of Agrigento by King Ferdinand II, and approved by Julius II, who granted him exemption from supervision by his Metropolitan, the Archbishop of Palermo. He returned to Rome for the Lateran Council of Pope Julius II in 1512. Pirro, pp. 717–718. Cappelletti, XXI, p. 603. Eubel III, p. 98 with n. 8.
  97. ^ Tagliavia was appointed bishop of Agrigento by Emperor Charles V on 28 February 1537, and approved by Pope Paul III on 28 May. He was consecrated a bishop on 6 June 1537. He was transferred to the diocese of Palermo on 10 October 1544. He died on 5 August 1558. Pirro, p. 718. Eubel, III, pp. 99 with note 4; 269.
  98. ^ Born in 1500, the son of Leonello, Prince of Carpi, Pio di Carpi had been named a cardinal in 1537. In 1551 he was Legate in the Patrimony of S. Peter, and Legate to the King of France. He became Bishop of Albano and then of Frascati in 1553; he became Bishop of Porto in 1555. In 1558 King Philip II granted Pio an annual pension of 10,000 gold coins from his Sicilian revenue. Pio did not visit Agrigento, but governed through a Vicar, Canon Girolamo Valentino, and then through a Visitor, Giacomo Lostio, S.J. He died on 2 May 1564. Pirro, p. 718. Eubel, III, pp. 25, 98.
  99. ^ Suppa was a native of Catania, and had joined the Dominican Order at its convent in Cefalù. He was a Doctor of theology (Paris) and had taught theology. In 1515 he was appointed to preach a crusade in Sicily. He was taken to the Council of Trent by Archbishop Tagliavia d'Aragonia as a peritus (expert). He served as confessor for two Viceroys of Sicily, the Duke of Monteleone and the Duke of Medina Coeli. Suppa was presented to the office of Bishop of Agrigento by the King of Spain, on the recommendation of Medina Coeli. He died on 29 September 1569 at the age of 84. Pirro, pp. 718–719. Eubel, III, p. 99 with note 6.
  100. ^ Ojeda (Oxeda, Hogeda), a native of Seville (Spain), had previously been Archbishop of Trani (1560–1571). He governed Agrigento through a Vicar, the Dean of the Cathedral Chapter Pietro Alagona. Pirro, p. 719. Eubel, III, p. 99 with note 7; 317 with note 6.
  101. ^ Marullo was transferred to the diocese of Palermo Pirro, pp. 718–719. Eubel, III, p. 99 with note 8.
  102. ^ Rojas was a Doctor in utroque iure (Civil and Canon Law). He was an Inquisitor of heretics, first in Valencia and then in Sicily. Nominated by King Philip II of Spain, and approved by Pope Gregory XIII on 9 October 1577, he held the church of Agrigento for seven months, from 9 October 1577 until his death on 21 May 1578. Pirro I, p. 719, col. 2. Gams, p. 943, col. 2. Eubel, III, p. 99 with note 9.
  103. ^ Lombardo was transferred to the diocese of Messina. Pirro, pp. 718–719. Eubel, III, p. 99 with note 10.
  104. ^ Haedo (Avedo) was transferred to the diocese of Palermo. Eubel, III, p. 99 with note 9.
  105. ^ "Bishop Francesco del Pozzo" Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved July 18, 2016
  106. ^ Orozco was a native of Toledo. He held the degree of Doctor of theology (according to Pirro) and/or Licenciate in Canon Law (according to Gauchat). He was Prior and Canon of the Cathedral of Segovia, and then Archdeacon of Curval. He was presented to the diocese of Agrigento by King Philip III of Spain, and took possession on 20 January 1595. He had the body of Bishop Gerlandus dug up from its tomb and moved to a "more noble" site. He was transferred to the diocese of Guadix (Spain) on 16 January 1606. Pirro, p. 720. Gauchat, Hierarchia catholica IV, pp. 73 with note 2; 198 with note 3. Jack Weiner, En busca de la justicia social: estudios sobre el teatro español del Siglo de Oro (Potomac MD USA: Scripta Humanistica, 1984), "El camino de Juan de Horozco al obispado de Agrigento," (in Spanish) pp. 134-143.
  107. ^ Bonincontro: Gauchat, IV, p. 73 with note 3.
  108. ^ Ridolfi: Gauchat, IV, p. 73 with note 4.
  109. ^ Traina (Trahyna): Gauchat, IV, p. 73 with note 5.
  110. ^ Sanchez: Gauchat, IV, p. 73 with note 6.
  111. ^ Giusolfo: Gauchat, IV, p. 73 with note 7.
  112. ^ Amico: Gauchat, IV, p. 73 with note 8.
  113. ^ Crespos was born in Medina (diocese of Valencia, Spain). He was Doctor in utroque iure (Civil and Canon Law) from Valladolid, and taught canon law. He was then Vicar General of Valladolid; he served as Visitator General, Examinator and Synodial Judge of the diocese of Oviedo. He was a Canon of Oviedo and of Leon, Inquisitor General of Toledo, and finally Inquisitor General of Sicily. He was named Bishop of Agrigento on the nomination of King Charles II of Spain. He died in Agrigento on 17 May 1764. Pirro, p. 725. Ritzler-Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica V, p. 73 with note 2.
  114. ^ Rini was born in Palermo. He served his Order as Guardian in several places, and was Provincial of Sicily. He was named Consultor and Qualificator of the Holy Office (Inquisition). He was Minister General of his Order. Presented by King Charles II to the diocese of Syracuse, Rini was consecrated a bishop in Rome on 7 October 1674 by Cardinal Francesco Barberini. He was Bishop of Syracuse (1674–1676). He was presented to the diocese of Agrigento by Charles II of Spain on 2 March 1676. Pirro, p. 725. Ritzler-Sefrin, V, pp. 73 with note 3; 366 with note 2.
  115. ^ Ramirez belonged to a noble family of Toledo (Spain). At the age of eleven, he was sent to Salamanca, where he ultimately obtained the degree of Master of theology. He taught theology in the houses of his Order, and ultimately became a Regent Master at the Dominican school at Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome. King Philip V of Spain presented him to the diocese of Brindisi, which was approved by Pope Innocent XI on 28 February 1689. On 26 August 1697 Ramirez was transferred to the diocese of Agrigento by Pope Innocent XII, where he was received on 15 September. He held a diocesan synod in 1703. In May 1702 he took the place of the ailing Archbishop of Palermo at the head of the Royal Council of Sicily. In 1713, when the government of Sicily and the Papacy were engaged in an argument, Ramirez was ejected from his diocese; he retired to Rome. He died at the Minerva on 27 August 1715. Pirro, pp. 725–726. Ritzler-Sefrin, V, p. 73 with note 4.
  116. ^ De la Peña was born at Ribadavia (Orense, Spain) in 1655. He held the degree of Master of theology, and was a Consultor and Definitor for his Order. He served as Abbot General of his Order in Spain. He served as Abbot of S. Martin in Madrid. He was named Bishop of Cotrone (Calabria) (1719–1723), and was consecrated a bishop in Rome on 15 October 1719 by Cardinal Francesco del Iudice. He was transferred to Agrigento on 27 September 1723, on the nomination of King Charles VI of Spain. During the rise in the price of grain in 1729 he distributed supplies to the poor at low prices. He died on 4 August 1729. Pirro, p. 727. Ritzler-Sefrin, V, pp. 73 with note 5; 174 with note 5.
  117. ^ Gioeni: Gams, p. 943. Ritzler-Sefrin, VI, p. 71 with note 2.
  118. ^ Palli: Gams, p. 943. Ritzler-Sefrin, VI, p. 71 with note 3.
  119. ^ Lanza: Gams, p. 943. Ritzler-Sefrin, VI, p. 71 with note 4.
  120. ^ Colonna: Gams, p. 943. Ritzler-Sefrin, VI, p. 71 with note 5.
  121. ^ Cavalieri: Gams, p. 943. Ritzler-Sefrin, VI, p. 71 with note 6.
  122. ^ Granata was a native of Messina, born in 1741. He was presented to the diocese of Agrigento by Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies. He was consecrated a bishop in Rome on 7 June 1795 by Cardinal Hyacinthe Gerdil. He died on 29 April 1817. 12 May 1795 Gams, p. 943. Ritzler-Sefrin, VI, p. 71 with note 7.
  123. ^ Montemagno was born in Caltagirone (diocese of Caltagirone, Sicily) in 1768. He was a Master of theology, and Provincial of his Order in Sicily. He was consecrated bishop in Caltagirone by the bishop of Caltagirone, Renedetto Denti. He died on 21 August 1839. Giornale arcadico di scienze, lettere ed arti (in Italian). Vol. 135. Roma. 1854. p. 133.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) Cappelletti, XXI, p. 606.
  124. ^ Lo Jacono was born at Siculiana (diocese of Agrigento) in 1786. He had been Procurator General of the Clerics Regular, Consultor of the SC of the Index (censor of books), and Examiner of the Roman Clergy and Bishops. He also served as Postulator of the Cause in the case of Vincent Morelli in his bid for beatitude. As bishop he was a royalist and a conservative opponent of the Revolution of 1848. He died on 24 March 1860. Angelo Gambasin (1979). Religiosa magnificenza e plebi in Sicilia nel XIX secolo (in Italian). Roma: Ed. di Storia e Letteratura. pp. 19–26. GGKEY:W4XL8Q5YRYQ.
  125. ^ Born in Palermo in 1814, Turano was ordained a priest in 1839. He was a former Jesuit, and was a Canon of the Cathedral of Palermo. He had been a professor of theology at the University of Palermo. M. Naro, "Persone e luoghi esemplificativi della cultura ecclesiastica siciliana. Il palermitano Domenico Turano vescovo di Agrigento," in: Synaxis 15 (1997), 591-621. D. Di Gregorio, Mons. Domenico Turano (Palermo: "La Carita" 1967).
  126. ^ Montenegro was named a cardinal by Pope Francis on 14 February 2015. Salvador Miranda, The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, "Montenegro, Francesco;" retrieved: 19 September 2025.[self-published source]
  127. ^ "Resignations and Appointments, 22.05.2021" (Press release). Holy See Press Office. 22 May 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2021.

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