The town, then called Monsvici or Monteregale, was a part of the diocese of Asti until 1198, when it established itself as a commune. The commune had a podestà. The diocese of Mondovi was established during the Great Schism by Pope Urban VI of the Roman Obedience, in the papal Bull, Salvator Noster of 8 June 1388. On 26 June 1388, he established Mondovi as a civitas. The city of Mondovì provided the bishop with an episcopal palace, next to the church of S. Antonio. The first bishop of Mondovì was the DominicanDamiano Zavaglia; among his successors were Percivallo di Palma, Amadeo Romagnano, who reconstructed the cathedral ; Michele Ghislieri, O.P., Grand Inquisitor and later Pope Pius V; Cardinal Vincenzo Lauro, founder of the seminary, during whose incumbency the cathedral and other churches were torn down to make room for the citadel; Giovanni Battista Isnardi, who restored the episcopal palace and the church of St. Dalmazaio; Carlo Felice Sanmartino, founder of the new seminary, and Giovanni Tommaso Ghilardi, O.P.. The city, at first part of the Diocese of Asti, became the seat of a bishop, suffragan of the Archbishop of Milan, but, since 1515, the Archdiocese of Turin has been its metropolitan. In 1817, the territory of Cuneo was detached from the See of Mondovì, making the diocese of Cuneo.
Cathedral and Chapter
The Cathedral of Mondovi is dedicated to S. Donato. In the bull in which he created the diocese, Pope Urban VI says that he promotes the Collegiate Church of S. Donato into a cathedral church. The cathedral was served by a Chapter, which, as Pope Urban says, is to have the same dignities with the same names as that of Asti, and ten canons with the same titles as those of the Chapter of Asti. The Chapter of Mondovì was made up of four dignities and eight Canons. There were also sixteen Chaplains. The Pope, unfortunately, makes no mention of how the dignities and Canons are to be appointed or by whom. It is known that the first two bishops installed no Canons. Statutes of the Cathedral Chapter of Mondovì were approved by the Chapter on 23 September 1480, and ratified by the Archdeacon of Turin, Guillermo Caccia, JUD and Protonotary Apostolic, the Apostolic Delegate. In 1577, Duke Emanuele Filiberto, faced with the need to fortify the city of Mondovì, announced that he needed the hilltop on which the Cathedral church of S. Donato had existed for many centuries. His plans also required the demolition of the churches of San Domenico and Sant'Antonio, the plan was submitted to Pope Gregory XIII to transfer the seat of the bishop from S. Donato to the Franciscan church of San Francesco, and to move the Franciscans to Sant'Andrea. The Dominicans would be assigned the parish church of Carassone which had the title of San Giovanni di Lupazano. The Jesuits would be moved to the palazzo of Francesco da Ponte. On 15 March 1577 the Pope gave his consent, and the church of San Francesco became the Cathedral of Mondovì, under the title of S. Donato. The Franciscans were authorized to build a new church of San Francesco. Bishop Lauro succeeded Bishop Gerolamo de'Federici as Papal Nuncio in Turin, and was made a cardinal by Gregory XIII in 1583. In 1835, the Chapter was made up of six dignities and fourteen Canons. The dignities were: Archdeacon, Archpriest, Provost, Cantor, Penitentiary and Theologus. The Canon Penitentiarius and the Canon Theologus were added by Bishop Vincenzo Lauro in 1580 and 1584. The cathedral contains paintings by Giulio Romano, Cambiaso, and others. The residence of the bishop is one of the most impressive episcopal palaces in Italy. In the church of la Missione there are frescoes by the Jesuit Pozzi. Outside the city is the sanctuary of the Madonna del Pilone, dating from the fourteenth century, but finished later. The palace of the counts of San Quintino contained the first printing-office in Piedmont, and was the seat of a university founded by Duke Emmanuel Philibert, the first institution of its kind in Piedmont.
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. Bishop Gerolamo Calagrano held a diocesan synod in 1495, the statutes of which were published. In 1573 Bishop Vincenzo Lauro presided at a diocesan synod. On 15 September 1592 Bishop Giovanni Antonio Castruccio held his second diocesan synod, and had the Statutes published. Bishop Michele Casale held a diocesan synod in Mondovi on 1—3 September 1763. Bishop Placido Pozzi held a diocesan synod on 16—18 September 1879. The diocesan Seminary was built by Bishop Vincenzo Lauro in 1573, and rebuilt by Bishop Carlo Felice Sammartino in 1742.
The Diocese of Mondovì maintains two lists of the parishes in the diocese, one arranged according to diocesan subdivisions, , the other giving pastoral assignments of clergy for the current five-year period.
