Diocese of Cassano all’Ionio Dioecesis Cassanensis | |
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| Location | |
| Country | Italy |
| Ecclesiastical province | Cosenza-Bisignano |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 1,311 km2 (506 sq mi) |
Population
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| Parishes | 52 [1] |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Catholic Church |
| Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Established | 5th Century |
| Cathedral | Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary |
| Patron saint | Biagio Vescovo e Martire |
| Secular priests | 57 (diocesan) 8 (Religious Orders) 7 Permanent Deacons |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Leo XIV |
| Bishop | Francesco Savino |
| Metropolitan Archbishop | Giovanni Checchinato |
| Map | |
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| Website | |
| www | |
The Diocese of Cassano all'Jonio (Latin : Dioecesis Cassanensis) is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in the civil province of Cosenza in the area of Calabria. It is about 14km, 3.5 hours' walking distance, to the west of Sibari, facing the Ionian Sea. [1] [2] [3]
| | This section needs expansionwith: using historical events. You can help by adding missing information. (October 2016) |
It is not known when Cassano became an episcopal See. [3] Some place the establishment in the 5th century, though without supporting evidence. [1] [4]
In 859 Cassano and Cosenza were the headquarters of the Gastaldates of the Lombards of the Duchy of Benevento. In their turn the Lombards were attacked again and again, as were the Greeks in south Italy, by the Saracens (Arabs and Moors). The Greeks were able to drive the Saracens away, and reorganized Calabria as part of the Greek Empire and the Greek Church of Constantinople. Cassano was established around this time as a suffragan diocese of the Greek Metropolitan of Reggio Calabria. [5]
In 1059 mention is made of a bishop of Cassano, whose name is not reported. He was engaged, along with the Provost of Gerace, in resisting the advance of the Normans, led by Robert Guiscard and his brothers. A battle took place against Count Roger at San Martino in Valle Salinarum, in which the Greeks, led by the bishop of Cassano, were defeated. [6]
In 1096, a bishop of Cassano known as Saxo (Sassone) was a Vicar of Pope Urban II and Pope Paschal II in the region. [7] In the 11th century, [8] the diocese became a suffragan of Reggio Calabria. [3] Pope Paschal II (1099–1118), however, granted the Church of Cassano complete immunity from the jurisdiction of the Metropolitanate of Reggio Calabria, and took it directly under the protection of the Holy See. [9] On 20 October 1144, King Roger II of Sicily confirmed the privileges of the Church of Cassano. [10]
On 13 February 1919, territory of the diocese was transferred to create the Eparchy of Lungro for the Italo-Albanian Catholic Church. [11]
In accordance with the decrees of the Council of Trent, Bishop Serbelloni (1561–1579) appointed a committee to plan the creation of a seminary for the diocese of Cassano. The seminary was formally created by a decree of Bishop Carafa on 6 March 1588, and in 1593 Bishop Audoeno (Owen Lewis) fixed the number of scholars at twelve, and for the next century the number never exceeded twenty. The seminary was perpetually short of funds. [12]
The old cathedral was consecrated by Bishop Tomacelli on 3 May 1491. The bell tower was completed by Bishop Gaetano in 1608.
The new cathedral in Cassano all'Ionio was consecrated on 22 March 1722 by Bishop Francesco Maria Loyerio of Umbriatico. The decoration of the Choir was completed in 1750. The stucco façade of the cathedral was completed by Bishop Coppola in 1795, and the marble pulpit installed. Many of the treasures of the cathedral were stolen or damaged during the revolutionary period 1798–1806. [13]
The Cathedral was governed by a Chapter, composed (in 1752) of four dignities and eighteen Canons. [14] The dignities were: the Archdeacon, the Dean, the Cantor and the Treasurer. [15]
In 1824, due to a fire in the episcopal palace, the archives of the diocese and the cathedral Chapter were destroyed. [16]
In 1920, the diocese of Cassano claimed c. 130,300 Catholics, in 51 parishes and 37 vicariates, served by 253 secular priests and 10 priests of religious Orders. There were 200 churches or chapels. There was one convent of Capuchins, one convent of Poor Clares, and one convent of the Sisters of Reparation. [17]
On 30 January 2001, the Archdiocese of Cosenza-Bisignano was elevated to a metropolitan see with Cassano all'Jonio as a suffragan diocese. [18]