During the French occupation, religious orders were dissolved or expelled, and convents and monasteries closed and confiscated by the government. In Cuneo this included two monasteries and the convent of the Capuchins. The monastery of S. Annunziata became a hospice for the poor and an orphanage, and the monastery of the Terziarie became first a prison and then a warehouse for salt and a military barracks. Following the Concordat of 1801 between Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII, the French demanded a reduction in the number of dioceses in Piedmont and their conformity to rules established by the French government. The Pope was compelled to issue a bull, Gravissimis causis, in which the number of dioceses in Piedmont was reduced to eight: Turin, Vercelli, Ivrea, Acqui, Asti, Mondovi, Alessandria and Saluzzo. This, and the appointment of bishops by Napoleon, caused great confusion, and once Bonaparte had been compelled to abdicate, and the Kingdom of Sardina was returned to the House of Savoy, a revision of the ecclesiastical situation was essential. The revision was carried out in 1817 by Pope Pius VII in his bull, Beati Petri. The new diocese of Cuneo was created as diocesan borders were redrawn.
Cathedral
Before the creation of the diocese, the largest church inthe city was the Collegiate Church of S. Maria del Bosco, presided over by a Chapter, consisting of three dignities and fifteen Canons. The church, whose existence is attested as far back as 1446, was severely damaged in the siege of 1744, and was rebuilt through the generosity of King Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia. The Chapter was suppressed by the papal bull of 1817. The Chapter of the Cathedral of S. Maria del Bosco consisted of three dignities and fifteen Canons, one of whom was the Canon Theologus and another the Penitentiary. By 1844 there was a sixteenth Canon. In 1835 a major outbreak of "asiatic cholera" struck the Ligurian coast, and reached Cuneo in July of that year. Bishop Bruno engaged in heroic relief works. Restored or newly imported religious communities included: Suore del Cottolengo, Suore della Carità, Compagnia di S. Orsola, Figlie di S. Chiara, Petites Soeurs des Pauvres, PR Gesuiti, Suore di S. Vincenzo, Figli della Divina Provvidenza di Don Orione, Figlie di S. Giuseppe - Suore Ostiarie, PE Salesiani, Suore della Misericordia di Savona, Figlie di M. Ausiliatrice, Figlie del Cuore di Maria, Suore di S. Marta, Suore della S. Famiglia di Savigliano, Suore Francescane. Currently at work in the diocese are a large number of institutes of religion. Seminarians of the diocese of Cuneo are sent to the Seminario Interdiocesano in Fossano.
