Diocese of Civita Castellana

The Diocese of Civita Castellana () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Latium, central Italy. It has existed in the current form since 1986, when the Diocese of Nepi e Sutri was united into the Diocese of Civita Castellana, Orte e Gallese. The Diocese of Gallese had been added to the Dioceses of Civita Castellana and Orte in 1805. The name of the diocese was shortened in 1991, in accordance with Vatican policies. The diocese of Civita Castellana is immediately exempt to the Holy See.

History

The earliest known bishop with his seat at Civita Castellana is Crescentius (or Crescentianus). In 998, he discovered and transported to CivitÃÂ Castellana the remains of Martianus and Johannes and other deceased people. The story of these marvellous deeds was published at Rome in 1584.

The Antipope Clement III (Archbishop Wibert of Ravenna) died in Civita Castellana on 8 September 1100.

In 1252 the diocese of Gallese was incorporated with that of Civita Castellana. Reestablished in 1562, Gallese was again suppressed in 1573. During that brief period, it had two bishops, Girolamo Garimberti of Parma (1563Ã¢ÂÂ1565), and Gabriel degli Alessandri of Bergamo (1566Ã¢ÂÂ1569). The diocese of Gallese was restored on 20 December 1805, by Pope Pius VII, in the bull "Romanorum Pontificum", and the old cathedral, which had been reduced to the status of the collegiate church of S. Maria Assunta, again became a cathedral, served by twelve Canons, and headed by two dignities, the Archpriest and the Archdeacon. The diocese, however, was united to the diocese of CivitÃÂ Castellana e Orte, all three dioceses having one and the same bishop, aeque personaliter.

On 5 October 1437, in the bull "Sacrosancta Romana", Pope Eugenius IV united the diocese of Orte with the diocese of CivitÃÂ Castellana in the person of a single bishop. Orte (Orta, the ancient Horta) is some fifty miles north of Rome. In accordance with Pope Eugenius' decree, the bishop was required to hold his Chrism Mass (usually on Holy Thursday) and his ordinations of priests in alternate years in Orte and in Civita Castellana.

In 1748, the Chapter of the cathedral of the Annunciation in Civita Castellana was composed of one dignity and fourteen Canons. The Chapter of the cathedral of the Assumption in Orte was composed of one dignity and eighteen Canons. In the mid-19th century, the cathedral of Civita Castellana was administered and serviced by a Chapter consisting of one dignity, the Archpriest, and eighteen Canons.

Bishop Giovanni Tenderini (1718Ã¢ÂÂ1739) took the major steps to found a seminary, but it was not until 1746 that it opened. The diocesan seminary, like many ecclesiastical institutions, suffered under French invasion and occupation. After the French removal, the seminary was located in the former Franciscan convent next to S. Pietro in Civita Castellana. The convent had been emptied by the French occupation forces under Napoleon, and when they were driven out, permission to convert it to diocesan use was given by Pope Pius VII, and it opened in 1825.

Bishops