Roman Catholic Diocese of Bagnoregio


The diocese of Bagnoregio is a former Roman Catholic territory, located in the modern Province of Viterbo in the Italian region of Lazio, located about northwest of Rome. Prior to the creation of the Kingdom of Italy, it belonged to the Papal States, and was located in the region of Umbria. It had been given to the Papal States by the Emperor Louis I in 822. In terms of religious administration, it was directly dependent upon the Holy See. The pope appointed an Apostolic Administrator for the diocese of Bagnoregio on 8 June 1970, and the bishop was not replaced when he died in 1971. The diocese was suppressed on 30 September 1986 by Pope John Paul II.

History

According to tradition, St. Ansanus preached the Gospel here in the third century and the church of Santa Maria delle Carceri outside the Alban Gate was said to have been built above the prison in which he was confined. He was not, however, a bishop.
There are no records as to the date of the erection of the diocese. Pope Gregory I, about the year 600, was informed of the election of the deacon John in Bagnoregio, and a letter of the Pope to the Bishop of Chiusi instructs the bishop to investigate the election, since the deacon John was not known by the Pope. The result of the investigation is unknown, and it cannot be said that deacon John became bishop.
The diocese grew over the centuries, gaining territories from the dioceses of Perugia and Orvieto, and incorporating what had been the diocese of Bomarzo. The latest known bishop of Bomarzo is recorded in the Roman synod of Pope Benedict VIII in 1015.
Up to the time of pope Urban V, Montefiascone was part of the Diocese of Castrum Balneorensis, but on 31 August 1369 it was separated out by Pope Urban and made the seat of a new diocese. Ferdinando Ughelli, without any documentary proof, claims the Diocese of Bagnorea was joined to the Diocese of Viterbo on 4 February 1449, but neglects to mention when they were reestablished as separate dioceses.
At the end of the 17th century, the diocese was composed of 12 towns and 6 villages. In 1680, the city of Bagnoregio had approximately 1800 inhabitants. In 1764, there were some 2500 inhabitants. In 1913, the Diocese of Bagnorea contained 24 parishes; 106 churches, chapels, and oratories; 54 secular priests, 45 seminarians, 63 members of female religious orders, 2 schools for girls, and a population of 26,380.
On the morning of 11 June 1695, a very severe earthquake struck Bagnoregia. There had been three foreshocks earlier in the month, which drove people from their homes, but the earthquake of 11 June destroyed everything, leaving not a single building intact. It was described as having been as long as it takes to recite a "Pater noster". The cathedral, episcopal palace, and seminary were in ruins, as were several churches and monasteries. There were 31 dead, and 61 injured. After the earthquake and aftershocks subsided, the cathedral that had been in Civita di Bagnoregio was replaced by one at Bagnoregio itself. The transfer of the episcopal seat was ordered by Pope Innocent XII in the bull Super Universas Ecclesias of 19 February 1699.
The French army of King Napoleon I of Italy occupied Bagnoregio in 1810, and abolished the diocese of Bagnoregio on 12 August 1810, handing it over to the diocese of Montefiascone. This uncanonical act was never approved by Pope Pius VII, who was a prisoner of Napoleon at Fontainebleau until 1814.

Chapter and cathedral

The cathedral in civitas Bagnoregio was dedicated to Saint Donatus.
In 1621, the cathedral was administered by a Chapter composed of one dignity, the Archdeacon, and seven Canons. In 1764, there were two dignities and fourteen Canons.

Diocesan synods

A diocesan synod was an irregularly held, but important, meeting of the bishop of a diocese and his clergy. Its purpose was to proclaim generally the various decrees already issued by the bishop; to discuss and ratify measures on which the bishop chose to consult with his clergy; to publish statutes and decrees of the diocesan synod, of the provincial synod, and of the Holy See. As of 1862, the bishops of Bagnoregio had presided over eighteen synods.
Bishop Umberto Locati held a diocesan synod in 1573. Bishop Carlo Trotti held a synod in 1599. Bishop Lelio Ruini held two diocesan synods, one in 1615, and another in 1621. Bishop Carlo Bovi held four diocesan synods, in 1629, 1632, 1633, and 1634. In 1639, Bishop Pietro Paolo Febei presided over a diocesan synod in the cathedral; he held another in 1646. Bishop Vincenzo Candiotti held five synods, one of them in 1679.
Bishop Uldericus Nardi had a synod in 1703. He was the first to hold a synod in the Cathedral of S. Nicholas and S. Donatus. Onofrio Elisei held two synods, in 1710 and in 1718. Bishop Onofrio Pini presided over a diocesan synod in 1745.
Bishop Gaetano Brinciotti held a diocesan synod in the cathedral on 27–29 May 1860.

End of the diocese

By the middle of 1986, papal policy in the selection of bishops had concentrated in the person of Bishop Luigi Boccadoro: the Diocese of Viterbo e Tuscania, the diocese of Acquapendente, the diocese of Montefiascone, and the Administratorship of the diocese of Bagnoregio ; he was also the Abbot Commendatory of Monte Cimino. On September 30, 1986, Pope John Paul II moved to consolidate these several small dioceses by suppressing them and uniting their territories into the diocese of Viterbo e Tuscania, whose name was changed to the Diocese of Viterbo. The diocese of Balnoregio ceased to exist.
In 1991, the name only was revived, to serve as a titular see for the benefit of the Holy See.

Bishops

to 1400

No longer a residential bishopric, Bagnoregio is today used by the Catholic Church as a titular see; holders of the title have been: