Roman Catholic Diocese of Sulmona-Valva

Diocese of Sulmona-Valva

Dioecesis Sulmonensis-Valvensis
Sulmona Cathedral
Location
CountryItaly
Ecclesiastical provinceL'Aquila
Statistics
Area1,814 km2 (700 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics
(as of 2020)
85,000 (est.)
83,000 (guess)
Parishes76
Information
DenominationCatholic Church
RiteRoman Rite
Established6th Century
CathedralBasilica Cattedrale di S. Panfilo Vescovo (Sulmona)
Co-cathedralConcattedrale di S. Pelino (Corfinio)
Patron saintSaint Pamphilus
Secular priests45 (diocesan)
22 (Religious Orders)
8 Permanent Deacons
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
BishopMichele Fusco
Bishops emeritusGiuseppe Di Falco
Map
Website
www.diocesisulmona-valva.it

The Diocese of Sulmona-Valva (Latin: Dioecesis Sulmonensis-Valvensis) is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in central Italy, in the Abruzzi region, approximately 120 km (75 mi) directly east of Rome. Corfinio (Valva) is 14 km north-northwest of Sulmona.

The current configuration was created in 1986, through the union of the two dioceses into one. The combined single diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of L'Aquila. In 1818, the status of the Diocese of Sulmona and the Diocese of Valva was acknowledged, as two separate dioceses united in having one and the same person as bishop of both dioceses, aeque personaliter, an arrangement which stretched all the way back to the 13th century, and earlier.

History

[edit]

In the Lombard period Sulmona was subject to the Duchy of Spoleto; later it belonged to the counts of Marsi. When the Normans conquered the Abruzzi, Sulmona increased in importance. In 1233, Emperor Frederick II made it the capital of the "Gran Giustizierato" of the Abruzzi.[1]

Fictional origins

[edit]

Legend associates the evangelization of the district with the name of Saint Britius, Bishop of Spoleto, in the second century.[2] Local legend in Sulmona credits the evangelization with Saint Feliciano, Bishop of Foligno, in the middle of the third century. He is said to have reconsecrated the temple of Apollo and Vesta as the cathedral of S. Maria Regina de Caelo (Santa Maria in Bussi), which, at the beginning of the 9th century, had its name changed to S. Panfilo.[3] The claim, however, has no evidence to support it.[4]

Early bishops

[edit]

The first known Bishop of Sulmona is Palladius (499); in 503. Pamphilus of Sulmona, Bishop of Valva, died about 706; he was buried in Sulmona Cathedral.

Four or five other bishops of Valva are known, but none of Sulmona until 1054, when Pope Leo IX named as Bishop of Valva, the Benedictine Domenico, and determined the limits of the Dioceses of San Pelino (Saint Pelinus) (i.e., Valva) and San Panfilo (Saint Pamphilus) (i.e., Sulmona), which were to have only one bishop, elected by the two chapters.[5] On 25 March 1138, Pope Innocent II wrote to Bishop Dodo, reconfirming his possessions and privileges, and mentioning in passing that the bishop had his throne at S. Pelini, in Corfinio (Valva): "Ecclesiam santi Pelini, ubi Episcopalis habetur sedes."[6] The body of S. Pelinus had been transferred to the church of S. Pelino in Corfinio (Valva) in 1124.[7]

Normans

[edit]

In 1143 King Roger II of Sicily invaded Campania and seized the monastery of Montecassino, all of whose treasures he confiscated. The territory of the Marsi surrendered to him.[8] His sons occupied the territory of Marsi, which included not only the County of Marsi, but the County of Valva. Bishop Dodo was already dead, having died (according to Di Pietro) in 1142.[9] King Roger appointed[10] new bishops at Chieti and Valva.[11]

On 7 April 1168, the cathedral chapter of S, Pelino and the cathedral chapter of S. Panfilo entered into an agreement that both had the right to participate in the naming a bishop.[12]

On 16 October 1256, Bishop Giacomo di Penne, a former monk of Casa Nova, presided over a meeting of the canons of the two cathedrals, at which it was agreed that the two chapters should unite in electing a bishop, as frequent disputes had arisen when they acted separately.[13]

In the winter of 1336/1337, a group of armed men stationed themselves in the cathedral of S. Pamfilo in Sulmona, in order (they said) to prevent others from attacking or occupying it. In the especially cold winter weather, they tore up the flooring of the episcopal palace next door, took out the wooden beams, and made fires to keep warm. The palace was severely damaged.[14]

Other bishops were: Pompeo Zambeccari (1547–1571), nuncio in Portugal from March 1550 to July 1560;[15] Francesco Boccapaduli (1638); and Pietro Antonio Corsignani (1738), the historian of the Abruzzi.[16]

Earthquakes

[edit]

In the earthquake of 5 December 1456, Sulmona was "for the most part destroyed".[17] On 3 November 1706, a major earthquake devastated Sulmona and Valva. The cathedral of S. Pamfilo in Sulmona was completely destroyed, along with its chapels, and the entire episcopal palace was levelled.[18] Approximately 1,000 people died.[19] Major earthquakes also occurred in 1915, 1933, 1984, and 2009.[20]

French occupation

[edit]

The see remained vacant from 1800 till 1818. From 1809 to 1815, Pope Pius VII was a prisoner of Napoleon in France, and his policy was not to cooperate with the French in filling bishoprics.[21] When Napoleon did so on his own authority as King of Italy, it created havoc in one diocese after another.[22] The vacancy also saw the occupation of Sulmona by the French, beginning on 6 January 1799, and the suppression of all the religious orders in 1807.[23] When the Congress of Vienna restored the Papal States and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1815, disputes arose between the Holy See and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, involving matters of restoration of church property, and the issue of feudal submission of King Ferdinand to Pope Pius VII. Three years of negotiations were necessary. A concordat was finally signed on 16 February 1818, and ratified by Pius VII on 25 February 1818. Ferdinand issued the concordat as a law on 21 March 1818.[24] The re-erection of the dioceses of the kingdom and the ecclesiastical provinces took more than three years. The right of the king to nominate the candidate for a vacant bishopric was recognized, as in the Concordat of 1741, subject to papal confirmation (preconisation).[25]

On 27 June 1818, Pius VII issued the bull De Ulteriore, in which, in the cases of several dioceses, Sulmona and Valva among them, no change was made from the status quo ante.[26] On 25 September 1818, Pope Pius granted the cathedral of S. Pamfilo in Sulmona the honorary title of "minor basilica".[27]

Reorganization

[edit]

Following the Second Vatican Council, and in accordance with the norms laid out in the council's decree, Christus Dominus chapter 40,[28] Pope Paul VI ordered a reorganization of the ecclesiastical provinces in southern Italy. On 15 August 1972, a new ecclesiastical province was created, with L'Aquila, which had previously been directly subject to the Holy See, as the new metropolitan archbishopric. The diocese of the Marsi (later renamed Avezzano) and the diocese of Valva e Sulmona were appointed suffragans.[29]

Diocesan unification

[edit]

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. The Vatican continued consultations which had begun under Pope John XXIII 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 ordered that the diocese of Sulmona and the diocese of Valva be merged into one diocese with one bishop, with the Latin title Dioecesis Sulmonensis-Valvensis. The seat of the diocese was to be in Sulmona, where the cathedral was to serve as the cathedral of the merged dioceses. The cathedral in Valva was to have the honorary title of "co-cathedral"; the Chapter of Valva was to be a Capitulum Concathedralis. There was to be only one diocesan Tribunal, in Sulmona, 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 suppressed dioceses of Sulmona and Valva. The new diocese was made a suffragan of the archdiocese of L'Aquila.[30]

Diocesan synods were held in 1572, 1590, 1603, 1620, 1629, and 1715. In 1572, the meeting was held at S. Pamfilo in Sulmona, but the canons of S. Pelino in Valva, though they attended, presented a memorial claiming precedence over the canons of S. Pamfilo.[31] A diocesan synod was held by Bishop Nicola Jezzoni (1906–1936) in 1929.[32]

A new diocesan seminary was opened Sulmona in 1953.[33]

List of bishops

[edit]

Postnominal initials: Benedictine = OSB, Dominican = OP, Cistercian = OCist, Franciscan = OFM, Minorite = OFMC, Augustinian = OESA, Oratorian = CO, Olivetan = OSBOliv

to 1300

[edit]
  • Geruntius (mentioned in 494/495), bishop of Valva[34]
  • Palladius (mentioned in 499), bishop of Sulmona[35]
  • [Fortunatus (502)][36]
  • Pamphilus (682–700), bishop of Sulmona[37]
  • Gradescus (mentioned in 701), bishop of Sulmona
  • Vadpert (mentioned in 775)
  • Ravennus (mentioned in 840)
  • Arnulfus (mentioned in 843)[38]
  • Opitarmo (mentioned in 880)
  • Grimoald (attested 968, 983)[39]
  • ? Tidelfus[40]
  • ? Transeric[40]
  • ? Suavilius[40]
  • Dominicus OSB (1053–1073)[41]
  • Transmundus (1073–1080)[42]
...
  • Joannes (1092–1104)[43]
  • Gualterius (1104–1124)[44]
...
  • Dodo (1130–1140)[45]
  • Gerardus (Giraldus) (1143–1145?)[46]
  • Sciginulfus (attested c. 1146–1167)[47]
  • Oderisius of Raino (1172–1193)[48]
  • Guilelmus (1194–1205)[49]
  • Odo (1207 – before 6 May 1226)[50]
Sede vacante (1226–1227)
Berardus (1226–1227)[51]
  • Nicholas (1227–1247??)
Sede vacante (1235)[52]
Walter of Ocra (1247)[53]
  • ? Jacobus (I) OCist (1249–1251?)[54]
  • Jacobus (II) O.Cist. (10 April 1252 – 1263)[55]
  • Jacobus (III) of Orvieto OP (6 March 1263 – after 1273)[56]
  • Egidius de Leodio OFM (25 February 1279 – 1290)[57]
Guilelmus, OSB (28 August 1291 – 1294?) Administrator[58]
  • Pietro d'Aquila OSB (1294) Bishop-elect[59]

1300 to 1600

[edit]
  • Federico Raimondo de Letto (1295 – 1307)[60]
  • Landulfus (4 June 1307 – 1319)
  • Andrea Capograssi (25 May 1319 – 1330)
  • Pietro di Anversa OFM (4 May 1330 – 1333)
  • Nicolò di Pietro Rainaldi (30 October 1333 – 1343)
  • Francesco di Sangro (12 February 1343 – 1348)
  • Landulf II (2 July 1348 – 1349)
  • Francesco de Silanis OFM (17 January 1350 – ????)
  • Martino de Martinis (14 April 1368 – 1379)
  • Roberto de Illice (18 April 1379 – 2 July 1382) Avignon Obedience[61]
  • Paolo da Letto (around 1379 – ????) Roman Obedience
  • Nicola de Cervario OFM (2 July 1382 – 4 June 1397) Avignon Obedience[62]
  • Bartolomeo Gaspare (1384–????) Roman Obedience[63]
  • Bartolomeo Petrini (1402–1419) Roman Obedience[64]
  • Lotto Sardi (6 March 1420 – 21 May 1427), became Archbishop of Spoleto
  • Benedetto Guidalotti (21 May 1427 – 29 October 1427), became Bishop of Teramo
  • Bartolomeo Vinci (29 October 1427 – December 1442)
  • Francesco de Oliveto OSB (12 August 1443 – 14 June 1447), became Bishop of Rapolla
  • Pietro d'Aristotile (14 June 1447 – 1448)
  • Donato Bottino OESA (4 September 1448 – 1463)
  • Bartolomeo Scala OP (3 October 1463 – 1491)
  • Giovanni Melini Gagliardi (7 November 1491 – 1499)
[Giovanni Acuti][65]
  • Prospero de Rusticis (1499 – 1514)[66]
  • Giovanni Battista Cavicchio (28 July 1514 – 1519)
Andrea della Valle (26 October 1519 – 1521) Administrator[67]
  • Cristóbal de los Ríos (18 June 1521 – 1523)[68]
  • Orazio della Valle (17 July 1523 – 1528)
  • Francisco de Lerma (14 August 1528 – ????)
  • Bernardo Cavalieri delle Milizie (3 September 1529 – 1532)
  • Bernardino Fumarelli (13 November 1532 – 5 June 1547)
  • Pompeo Zambeccari (1 July 1547 – 8 August 1571)[69]
  • Vincenzo de Doncelli OP (24 September 1571 – 1585)[70]
  • Francesco Carusi OFMC (13 March or 13 May 15 85 – 4 September 1593)

Since 1600

[edit]
  • Cesare del Pezzo (1593 – 1621)[71]
  • Francesco Cavalieri (21 July 1621 – 4 September 1637)[72]
  • Francesco Boccapaduli (1638 – 1647)[73]
  • Alessandro Masi (27 May 1647 – 12 September 1648)[74]
  • Francesco Carducci (22 March 1649 – 5 November 1654).[75]
  • Gregorio Carducci (14 June 1655 – 15 January 1701)
  • Bonaventura Martinelli (21 November 1701–August 1715)[76]
  • Francesco Onofrio Odierna (1717 – 1727)[77]
  • Matteo Odierna, OSBOliv (1727 – 1738)[78]
  • Pietro Antonio Corsignani (1738 – 1751)[79]
  • Carlo De Ciocchis (24 January 1752 – 10 September 1762)[80]
  • Filippo Paini (22 November 1762 – 1799)[81]
    • Sede vacante (1799–1818)
  • Francesco Felice Tiberi, CO (1818 – 1829)[82]
  • Giuseppe Maria De Letto (1829 – 1839)[83]
  • Mario Mirone (1840 – 1853)[84]
  • Giovanni Sabatini (27 June 1853 – 10 March 1861)
    • Sede vacante (1861–1871)
  • Tobia Patroni (22 December 1871 – 20 August 1906)
  • Nicola Jezzoni (6 December 1906 – 18 July 1936), retired
  • Luciano Marcante (14 March 1937 – 29 January 1972), retired
  • Francesco Amadio (29 January 1972 – 14 May 1980), became Bishop of Rieti
  • Salvatore Delogu (8 January 1981 – 25 May 1985), resigned
  • Giuseppe Di Falco (25 May 1985 – 3 April 2007), retired
  • Angelo Spina (3 April 2007 – 2017)[85]
  • Michele Fusco (30 November 2017 - )[86]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Stuart Rossiter, Litellus Russell Muirhead (1964), Rome and Central Italy (E. Benn, 1964), pp. 443, 446. Roy Palmer Domenico, The Regions of Italy: A Reference Guide to History and Culture (London: Greenwood Press 2002), p. 6.
  2. ^ Umberto Benigni (1912). "Dioceses of Valva and Sulmona." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. Retrieved: 5 January 2023. Lanzoni, pp. 427-429; 442-443: "Se il titolare del monastero spoletino di S. Brizio è il vescovo di Tours, come si è detto, Britius resta automaticamente espunto dai cataloghi episcopali di Bettona e di Foligno, e da quello di Spoleto ove venne collocato e duplicato."
  3. ^ Ignazio di Pietro (1804), pp. 56-57.
  4. ^ Piccirilli (1901), p. 337, quotes the unpublished treatise of Canon Donato Strozzi, "Ma se questo è facile ad asserisi, è impossibibile a dimostrarsi con appoggio istorico di quei tempi. Di fatto nessuno scrittore dell'età vicina a S. Feliciano ne ha giammai fatto parola veruna.... Gli autori sulmonesi citati dal Di Pietro non possono meritare la credenza di una saggia cricita...." Christianity was still an illegal cult in the 3rd century, and did not have the right to own property. Its meetings, if they began before dawn, were considered illegal assembly. It was not until after the Edict of Milan that public worship became possible.
  5. ^ Ughelli I, p. 1361. Kehr IV, p. 253, no. 3.
  6. ^ Kehr IV, p. 255, no. 8. Orsini, p. 9. Kehr IV, p. 252: "Ecclesia cathedralis s. Pelini in comitatu Yalvensi in loco, ubi olim Corfinium surgebat, adhuc exstat penes oppidum Pentima."
  7. ^ Schwartz, p. 297.
  8. ^ Anonymous "Annales Casinenses," (ed. G.H. Pertz), under 1143, in: Monumenta Germaniae Historica. Scriptorum Tomus XIX (Hannover: Hahn 1866), p. 310: "Rex iterum ad hunc locum venit, Terra Marsorum se ei tradidit. Thesaurum huius loci omnem cum tabula ante altare tollit, praeter crucem maiorem cum cyburio et tribus tabulis altaris."
  9. ^ Di Pietro (1804), pp. 125-126.
  10. ^ King Roger claimed that he, and his predecessors back to Robert Guiscard, had enjoyed the right to appoint bishops in their realms. Hubert Houben, Roger II of Sicily: A Ruler between East and West, (Cambridge University Press 2002), pp. 90-91.
  11. ^ Donald Matthew, The Norman Kingdom of Sicily (Cambridge University Press 1992), pp. 54-55. Pope Innocent II had died on 24 September 1143, and Pope Celestine II reigned only from 26 September 1143 to 8 March 1144. The next pope, Lucius II, reigned only from 12 March 1144 to 15 February 1145.
  12. ^ Orsini, p. 9.
  13. ^ Ughelli I, pp. 1377-1378: "Considerantes bonum statum Ecclesiae S. Pelini et S. Pamphili, ut pax inter praedictas Ecclesias praeserveturm unionem factam inter Capitula praedictarum Ecclesiarum super electione et nominatione et postulatione Valvensis epsicopi, et distinctione parochiarum praedictarum Ecclesiarum, confirmamus et ratificamus...."
  14. ^ Orsini, pp. 10-11.
  15. ^ Henry Biaudet, Les nonciatures apostoliques permanentes, jusqu' en 1648 (Helsinki: Suomalainen Tiedakatemie 1910), pp. 118, 203.
  16. ^ M. Buonocore & G. Morelli (1987), Pietro Antonio Corsignani nel terzo centenario della nascita (1686-1986) . Atti del Convegno di studio (Celano, 8-9 novembre 1986), (in Italian), L'Aquila: L.U. Japadre 1987). Pietro Antonio Corsignani, De viris illustribus Marsorum liber singularis, (in Latin), Rome, 1712. Pietro Antonio Corsignani, Reggia Marsicana, ovvero memorie topographico-storiche di varie Colonie, e Città antiche e moderne, Napoli 1738.
  17. ^ M. Baratta, I terremoti d'Italia (Torino: Bocca 1901), p. 72: "nella massima parte ruinata."
  18. ^ Orsini, p. 14: "... per gl’infrangenti del terremoto, succeduto à 3 novembre del passato anno 1706, ... cadde tutta la nostra cattedrale nella sua lamia, e Cappelle nuovamente erette, assieme con tutto il palazzo vescovile...."
  19. ^ M. Baratta, I terremoti d'Italia (Torino: Bocca 1901), p. 201.
  20. ^ F. Galadini & R. Carrozzo (2014), "I terremoti a Sulmona: sismologia storica per la microzonazione sismica," in: Quaderni di Geofisica, No. 118, Marzo 2014, ISSN no.1590-2595 pp. 4-30, at p. 13.
  21. ^ J.N.D. Kelly & M. Walsh, Oxford Dictionary of Popes, second edition (Oxford University Press 2010), pp. 307-308,
  22. ^ Umberto Benigni (1912). "Dioceses of Valva and Sulmona." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. Retrieved: 5 January 2023.
  23. ^ Orsini, p. 22.
  24. ^ F. Torelli (1848), La chiave del concordato dell'anno 1818 I, second edition (Naples: Fibreno 1848), pp. 1-19.
  25. ^ Torelli I, p. 9.
  26. ^ Bulliarii Romani Continuatio Tomus 25 (Rome 1853), p. 57, § 30: "Episcopales autem ecclesiae Aversasa, Militensis, Valvensis, et Sulmonensis, Pennensis et Atriensis, Melphiensis et Rappollensis invicem respecti ve unitae, Trojana, Neritonensis, Triventina, ac Marsorum seu Marsicana in eo quo ad praesens reperiuntur statu etiam in posterum permanebunt....." The bull of 1818 does not say that Sulmona and Vulva were united as a single diocese.
  27. ^ Bulliarii Romani Continuatio Tomus 25 (Rome 1853), pp. 118-119, no. DCCCXV.
  28. ^ Christus Dominus 40. Therefore, in order to accomplish these aims this sacred synod decrees as follows: 1) The boundaries of ecclesiastical provinces are to be submitted to an early review and the rights and privileges of metropolitans are to be defined by new and suitable norms. 2) As a general rule all dioceses and other territorial divisions that are by law equivalent to dioceses should be attached to an ecclesiastical province. Therefore dioceses which are now directly subject to the Apostolic See and which are not united to any other are either to be brought together to form a new ecclesiastical province, if that be possible, or else attached to that province which is nearer or more convenient. They are to be made subject to the metropolitan jurisdiction of the bishop, in keeping with the norms of the common law. 3) Wherever advantageous, ecclesiastical provinces should be grouped into ecclesiastical regions for the structure of which juridical provision is to be made.
  29. ^ Acta Apostolicae Sedis (in Latin) 64 (Città del Vaticano 1972), pp. 665-666: "novam condimus provinciam ecclesiasticam, quae coalescet Ecclesia ipsa Aquilana, dioecesibus Marsorum, Valvensi et Sulmonensi, prae oculis videlicet habita norma decreti Concilii Vaticani II « Christus Dominus », n. 40. Item Sacrum Aquilanum Antistitem dignitate Metropolitae perpetuo insignimus."
  30. ^ Acta Apostolicae Sedis 79 (Città del Vaticano 1987), pp. 820-822.
  31. ^ Alberto Tanturri, "I primi sinodi postridentini nella diocesi di Valva e Sulmona," in: Campania Sacra 33 (2002), p. 111-112.
  32. ^ Sinodo diocesano di Valva e Sulmona..., (in Italian), Sulmona, Stabilimento tipografico Angeletti 1929. Orsini, p. 117.
  33. ^ Per l’inaugurazione della nuova ala del Seminario Diocesano in Sulmona, (in Italian), Pescara, Tip. Istituto Artigianelli Abruzzesi 1953. Orsini, p. 165.
  34. ^ Gerontius: Lanzoni, p. 373. Kehr IV, p. 253, no. 1, note, questions whether Geruntius was actually bishop of Valva. There is a contemporaneous bishop: "Ad eundeni Geruntium Gelasius I aliam epistolam circa Aufidianae eccl. episcopum inisit JK. 649. Praeterea Geruntius ep. quidam in Gelasii epistolis JK. 663. 705. 707.723. 739 occurrit, sed est Ficuclensis sive Cerviensis ep. certe intelligendus, qui Symmachi synodo Romanae a. 501 subscripsit (Mon. Germ. Auct. antiq. XII 433). Itaque, Ewaldii argumeiitis minime convictus, quaestionem, an Geruntius ep. Valvensis fuerit, in medio relinquo."
  35. ^ Palladius: Lanzoni, p. 373.
  36. ^ According to Francesco Lanzoni, p. 373, none of the three bishops named Fortunatus who took part in the council of Rome in 502 was a bishop of Valva: "i tre vescovi di nome Fortunatus, convenuti a Roma nel 502, appartennero rispettivamente a Sessa, a Foligno e ad Anagni, non a Corfìnium."
  37. ^ Gams, Pius Bonifatius (1931). Series episcoporum ecclesiae catholicae: quotquot innotuerunt a beato Petro apostolo (in Latin). Vol. 2. K.W. Hiersemann. p. 928.
  38. ^ Gams. p. 928, col. 2. Kehr IV, p. 253, no. 2. In September 876, Pope John VIII (872–882) ordered the people of Valva to obey their bishop, Arnulfus.
  39. ^ Grimoaldus: Schwartz, p. 295. Cf. Kehr IV, p. 253, no. 3: "...sed iuxta quod Otto imp. Grimualdo ep. per praeceptum edixit..."
  40. ^ a b c Ughelli I, p. 1364. The names Tidelfus, Transaricus, and Suavilius are found only in a marginal notation in a Vatican manuscript of the "Vita S. Pelini". Their source and authority are unknown. Their dates are completely conjectural. Schwartz, p. 296, lists them as bishops. Lanzoni, p. 372, states concerning the "Vita S. Pelini" that it is a falsification and without historical value: "Una Passio Pelini o Peligni (BHL,6620-1), composta nell'xi secolo da un falsario... è destituita di ogni storico fondamento, e zeppa di anacronismi."
  41. ^ Dominicus had been abbot of the monastery of S. Clemente in Casauria. He was named a bishop by Pope Leo IX. On 21 December 1053, his privileges and properties were confirmed. Bishop Dominicus died on 11 March 1073. Schwartz, p. 296.
  42. ^ Trasmundus was the son of Count Oderisius of Marsi, and brother of the future Abbot Oderisius of Montecassino (1087–1105). He was consecrated by Pope Gregory VII in the first year of his pontificate (1073). In 1080, he left his diocese without permission, and was therefore forbidden by Pope Gregory to go back toote it; instead he was ordered to go to Montecassino, until some decision could be taken as to what to do with him ('donee cum ipso praefati loci abbate aliisque religiosis et prudentibus viris consilium capiat, quid de illo et illius ecclesia sit faciendum." Trasmundus paid no attention to the pope's command, but returned to Valva. Pope Gregory therefore wrote to people living in the diocese of Valva, ordering them to treat him like an invader ("sicut invasorem eum habeant et res ecclesiae, ne distrahere valeat a potestate ipsius, defendant"). Ughelli I, pp. 1363-1364. Kehr IV, p. 254, nos. 5 and 6. Schwartz, p. 296.
  43. ^ Schwartz, p. 297, posits two bishops Joannes. According to the "Chronicon of Carpineto", the first Bishop Joannes served for 2 years, 5 months, and 24 days, and was buried on 5 August (apparently in 1097). The second Bishop Joannes is attested in 1102 and 104.
  44. ^ On 26 March 1112, Pope Paschal II confirmed the boundaries and possessions of Bishop Gualterius' diocese. An inscription indicates that, as of January 1124, Bishop Gualterius had served for 20 years. Ughelli I, p. 1365. Kehr IV, p. 254, no. 7. Schwartz, p. 297.
  45. ^ The bishop is called Dodo by: Federigo Faraglia, Codice diplomatico Sulmonese (Lanciano 1888), p. 43, no. 33. Kehr IV, p. 255, no. 8. On 25 March 1138, Pope Innocent II confirmed the boundaries and possessions of the diocese of Valva. BIshop Dodo consecrated the altar of S. Benedict at the monastery of S. Clemente Casaurense, apparently in the 1140s. "Chronicon Casauriense", in: Ludovico Antonio Muratori, Rerum Italicarum Scriptores II. 2 (Milan 1726), p. 893.
  46. ^ Di Pietro (1804), p. 126, quotes "un antica pergamena" stating that Gerardus, a canon of S. Pelini, was elected by the two Chapters, but was never consecrated; after three years he resigned the election due to "aegritudinem"; this was in the time of King Roger. Ughelli I, pp. 1365-1366: "Gerardus, vir venerabilis, electus de episcopio S. Pelini et S. Pamphili."
  47. ^ Pope Eugenius III ordered Bishop Sciginulfus to appear before him to answer charges laid by monks of the abbey of Farfa. On 20 December 1156, Pope Adrian IV again confirmed the boundaries and possessions of the diocese of Valva. On 13 January of either 1166 or 1167, Pope Alexander III confirmed the judgment of Pope Adrian IV in favor of Bishop Siginulfus against the monks of the monasteries of S. Maria de Mammonaco and of S. Peregrinus. Ughelli I, pp. 1366-1367. Kehr IV, p. 255-256, nos. 9–16.
  48. ^ Oderisius: Ughelli I, pp. 1368-1369. Kehr IV, p. 256-257, no. 17-26.
  49. ^ Guilelmus: Eubel I, p. 513, note 1.
  50. ^ Oddo: Ughelli I, pp. 1370-1372. Eubel I, p. 513 with note 2.
  51. ^ Berardus was Provost of S. Pamfili in Sulmona. He was elected but rejected by Pope Honorius III as inappropriate (minus idoneus). The pope ordered the Chapter of Valva to summon the Chapter of S. Pamfili in Sulmona and others who ought to be called to an election, to assemble and choose a suitable candidate. They evidently failed to do so, for, on 26 February 1227, Pope Honorius ordered the two Chapters to assemble within a month and elect a bishop; otherwise, three of them should appear before the pope, who would appoint a bishop for them. P. Pressutti, Regesta Honorii III papa, Vol. II (Roma: Typographia Vaticana 1895), p. 419, no. 5916 (5 May 1226); p. 483, no. 6261 (26 February 1227). Eubel I, p. 513, note 2.
  52. ^ On 18 July 1235, Pope Gregory IX addressed himself to the abbot of Casa Nova (diocese of Penne), ordering him, in consideration of the legal squabble between the Chapter of S. Pelini of Valva and the Chapter of S. Pamfili of Sulmona which was delaying the election of a new bishop, to see to it that the temporal and spiritual condition of the diocese should suffer no harm; he should fix a definite day by which the two Chapters should carry out an election or request the papacy to appoint a bishop. Lucien Auvray, Les registres de Gregoire IX, Tome II (Paris: Fontemoing 1899), pp. 116-117, no. 2682. Eubel I, p. 513, note 3.
  53. ^ On 3 October 1247, Pope Innocent IV ordered Cardinal Stephanus de Normandis, to have Walterus de Ocra removed from the bishopric, since he was elected in an uncanonical election; the cardinal is ordered to appoint the archpriest of S. Lucia in Rome or some other suitable person as bishop. Élie Berger, Les registres d'Innocent IV Tome I (Paris:E. Thorin 1884), p. 493, no. 3278. Eubel I, p. 513, note 3.
  54. ^ Eubel I, p. 513, note 3. He recognizes a Jacobus, O.P. between 10 April 1252 and 1263
  55. ^ On 10 April 1252, Pope Innocent IV wrote to the Chapter of the cathedral of Valva, that he had provided (appointed) the Cistercian monk Jacobus of the monastery of Casa Nova as bishop of Valva. He had consecrated Jacobus with his own hands. Élie Berger, Les registres d'Innocent IV Tome III (Paris: Fontemoing 1897), p. 36, no. 5624. According to Pius Bonifacius Gams, p. 928, column 2, there were two bishops named Jacobus, a Cistercian and then a Dominican; and a total of four bishops named Jacobus.
  56. ^ The Chapters, convents, and colleges in the Kingdom of Sicily had been prohibited by the pope from proceeding to an election upon a vacancy in their church. Jacobus de ordine Praedicatorum of Orvieto was therefore provided (appointed) bishop of Valva by Pope Urban IV on 6 March 1263. Jean Guiraud, Les registres d'Urbain IV Tome I (Paris: Fontemoing 1901), p. 95, no. 218. Ughelli I, p. 1378, no. 31. Eubel I, p. 513.
  57. ^ In the election for a new bishop of Valva, a divided body of electors proposed two candidates, both abbots. Instead, Pope Nicholas III appointed Giles of Liège. On 28 August 1290, Pope Nicholas IV ratified the resignation which Bishop Egidius had submitted to Cardinal Gerard, Bishop of Sabina, the papal legate in the Kingdom of Sicily. Ughelli I, p. 1378. Jules Gay, Les registres de Nicolas III Tome 1 (Paris: Fontemoing 1898), pp. 161-162, no. 425. Eubel I, p. 513 with note 4.
  58. ^ On 28 August 1291, Pope Nicholas IV appointed Abbot Guilelmus of the monastery of Manayacensis ((diocese of Montisregalis) to be apostolic administrator of the diocese of Valva. Ughelli I, p. 1378. Ernest Langlois, Les Registres de Nicolas IV Tome II (Paris: Fontemoing 1905), pp. 791-792, no. 5862. Eubel I, p. 513.
  59. ^ Bishop-elect Pietro, a councilor of King Charles II of Sicily, was named a cardinal by Pope Celestine V on 18 September 1294. His successor was appointed on 30 March 1295. Ughelli I, pp. 1378-1379. Eubel I, pp. 12, no. 5; 513-514.
  60. ^ Federico Raimondo of Chieti was appointed bishop of Valva by Pope Boniface VIII on 30 March 1295. He died in 1307. Ughelli I, p. 1379. Di Pietro (1804), pp. 197-200 (who places the death in 1306). Eubel I, p. 514.
  61. ^ Roberto had been Provost of the collegiate church of S. Martino de Illice (diocese of Penne). He was named bishop of Sulmona by Pope Clement VII on 18 April 1379. He was appointed Archbishop of Salerno by Pope Clement on 2 July 1382. Eubel I, p. 430, says he was still bishop-elect. Eubel I, p. 514.
  62. ^ Bishop Nicola was appointed Bishop of Digne by Pope Clement VII on 4 June 1397). Eubel I, pp. 514.
  63. ^ Eubel I, pp. 514.
  64. ^ Bartolomeo of Tocco was esteemed for his learning by Pope Innocent VII, who gave him his own mitre. In 1404, he was serving as papal treasurer in Bologna and Faenza. He died in 1419. Eubel I, pp. 514 with note 12.
  65. ^ Ughelli I, p. 1382, no. 54, states that Acuti was from Sulmona and was appointed in 1499; he offers no evidence. Di Pietro (1804, p. 300, repeats Ughelli, and offers no evidence. Gams, p. 929, offering no evidence. Cf. Eubel III, p. 262, note 4.
  66. ^ According to Eubel II, p. 262, who does not list Giovanni Acuti, Prospero was confirmed in the papal consistory of 25 October 1499. He resigned in 1514, and was succeeded by Giovanni Battista Cavicchio on 28 July 1514. Eubel III, p. 326, with note 2.
  67. ^ Cardinal della Valle was appointed Apostolic Administrator by Pope Leo X on 26 October 1519. The cardinal administered the diocese through a Vicar General, Canon Ascanio de' Matteis. Cardinal Alessandro Farnese had been granted the right of succession (an expectation?), but he did not exercise it, in favor of Cristóbal de los Ríos. Di Pietro (1804), p. 308. Eubel III, p. 326.
  68. ^ Di Pietro (1804), p. 316, knows nothing of Farnese, De los Rios, Orazio della Valle or De Lerma. He makes Cardinal della Valle's administratorship last for ten years, until the appointment of Bernardo Cavalieri. This is copied by Gams, p. 929, column 1.
  69. ^ Born in Bologna in 1518, Zambeccari was the son of Count Giacomo d'Assero, senator of Bologna. Pompeo held the degree of Doctor in utroque iure. He had a natural son, Lepido, whose own son Girolamo Maria Zambeccari, was chamberlain of the grand duke of Tuscany. Pompeo was papal nuncio in Portugal from 1550 to 1560. Armando Pepe (2017), Le relazioni “ad limina” dei vescovi della diocesi di Alife (1590–1659) (Tricase: Youcanprint Self-Publishing), p. 45. Maria Celeste Cola (2012), Palazzo Valentini a Roma: La committenza Zambeccari, Boncompagni, Bonelli tra Cinquecento e Settecento, (Roma: Gangemi Editore 2012), pp. 43-46.
  70. ^ "Bishop Vincenzo de Doncelli (Donzelli), O.P." Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved March 21, 2016
  71. ^ A native of Salerno, Del Pezzo was appointed bishop of Sulmona e Valva on 24 November 1593, by Pope Clement VIII. He held a diocesan synod on 6 April 1603. He died on 23 April (ix Kal.Maii) 1621. Di Pietro (1804), p. 335-338, 341. Eubel III, p. 326. Gauchat Hierarchia catholica IV, p. 358 with note 2.
  72. ^ Cavalieri: Gauchat IV, p. 358 with note 3.
  73. ^ Boccapaduli was appointed bishop of Sulmona e Valva on 13 September 1638, by Pope Urban VIII. He was named Bishop of Città di Castello on 6 May 1647, by Pope Innocent X.. On 12 September 1652, he was named papal nuncio to Switzerland, then Venice. He died in Rome in 1580. Di Pietro (1804), p. 344. Gauchat IV, pp. 152 with note 8; 358 with note 4.
  74. ^ Masi: Gauchat IV, p. 358 with note 5.
  75. ^ Carducci: Gauchat IV, p. 358 with note 6.
  76. ^ Martinelli: Ritzler & Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica V, p. 404 with note 3.
  77. ^ Odierna was a doctor of theology (1666) and Doctor in utroque iure (University of Naples). had been a canon with prebend of the cathedral of Naples. He was bishop of Bitetto from 1684 to 1717. He was named bishop of Valva on 4 January 1717. Bishop Odierna resigned from the diocese of Valva on 6 March 1727, in favor of his nephew, and, on 17 March 1727, was appointed titular archbishop of Beirut (Lebanon, Ottoman Empire). He died in 1735. Ritzler & Sefrin V, pp. 119 with note 7; 120 with note 5; 404 with note 4. "Bishop Francesco Onofrio Hodierna" Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved August 21, 2016.[self-published source]. "Bishop Francesco Onofrio Odierna" GCatholic.org. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved February 29, 2016[self-published source]. Chiaverini, Antonino (1980). La diocesi di Valva e Sulmona. Vol. 8. Sulmona. pp. 97–129.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  78. ^ Born in Naples in 1680, Matteo Odierna was appointed bishop of Valva on 17 March 1727. He was consecrated a bishop in Rome by Cardinal Vincenzo Petra on 25 April 1727. He died in Naples in June 1738. Di Pietro (1804), pp. 362-363 (stating that Odierna died in July 1738). Ritzler & Sefrin V, p. 404 with note 5.
  79. ^ Born in Celano in 1688, Corsignani had been Provost of the collegiate church of Celano (diocese of Marsi). He held the degree of Doctor in utroque iure (Rome: Sapienza 1707). Corsignani had been Bishop of Venosa from 1727 to 1738. He was transferred to Valva e Sulmona by Pope Clement XII on 23 July 1738. He died in Celano on 17 October 1751. Ritzler & Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica V, p. 410 with note 9; VI, pp. 431 with note 2.
  80. ^ De Ciocchis resigned on 10 September 1762. Ritzler & Sefrin VI, pp. 431 with note 3.
  81. ^ Paini: Ritzler & Sefrin VI, p. 431 with note 4.
  82. ^ A priest of the Oratory of S. Philip Neri, Tiberi was appointed bishop of Sulmona e Valva by Pope Pius VII on 6 April 1818. He died on 22 April 1829. He was the author of: Manuale pontificum pro functionibus persolvendis candelarum, cinerum, majoris hebdomadae, ac vigiliae Pentecostes episcopo celebrante, vel assistente ab ill. et rev. domino d. Francisco Felice ex comitibus Tiberii episcopo Valven et Sulmonen ad usum sacrosantae cathedralis basilicae Sulmonen et omnium ecclesiarum cathedralium exaratum, (in Latin), Neapoli: ex porcelliano typographeo, 1823. Ritzler & Sefrin, Hierarchia Catholica VII, p. 388.
  83. ^ Deletto (or De Letto) was a native of Sulmona. He held the degree of Doctor in utroque iure, and was a canon of the cathedral of Valva e Sulmona, and Vicar Capitular. On 4 May 1829, Deletto was nominated bishop of Valva e Sulmona by Francis I of the Two Sicilies. He was appointed by Pope Pius VIII on 27 July 1829. He died on 10 November 1839. Diario di Roma Numero 60, Anno 1829 (Roma: Cracas 1829), p. 1. Ritzler & Sefrin, Hierarchia Catholica VII, p. 388.
  84. ^ Born in 1789 in Catania (Sicily), Mirone was a canon of the collegiate church of S. Maria detta dell ' Elemosina di Catania. He was nominated bishop of Valva e Sulmone on 10 January 1840 by Ferdinand II, and approved by Pope Gregory XVI on 27 April 1840. On 26 May 1853, Mirone was nominated bishop of Noto by Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies. On 27 June 1853, Bishop Mirone was transferred to the diocese of Noto by Pope Pius IX. Almanacco reale del Regno delle Due Sicilie: per l'anno .... 1841, Napoli: Stamperia Reale, 1841, p. 195. Ritzler & Sefrin VII, p. 388; VIII, p. 410.
  85. ^ On 14 July 2017, Spina was appointed Archbishop of Ancona-Osimo by Pope Francis. Arcidiocesi di Ancona-Osimo, "Arcivescovo. Mons. Angelo Spina;" (in Italian); retrieved: 10 January 2023.
  86. ^ Fusco was born on 6 December 1963 in Piano di Sorrento (NA). He was ordained a priest on 25 June 1988. He was appointed Bishop of Sulmona-Valva on 30 November 2017, by Pope Francis, and received episcopal ordination on 4 January 2018. He took possession of the diocese on 4 February 2018. Diocesi di Sulmona-Valva, "Vescovo. S.E. Mons. MICHELE FUSCO", (in Italian); retrieved: 10 January 2023.

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