History
Local Salernitan tradition venerates five saints, who are named as the earliest bishops of Salerno: Bonosus (each 14 May), Gramatius (11 October), Verus (23 October), Eusterius (19 October), and Valentinianus (3 November). Their existence, however, is undocumented, and their dates are unknown. [3]
Bishop Gaudentius attended Pope Symmachus' Roman synod of March 499. [4] Bishop Asterius went to Constantinople with Pope Agapitus in 534. Bishop Petrus (834), formerly Bishop of Canosa, who took refuge at Salerno when the Saracens destroyed his capital, and built the Church of San Giovanni Battista.
In the eighth century the city of Salerno was in the power of the Lombard dukes of Benevento. In 984 Salerno became an archiepiscopal see, the first archbishop being Amato.
The archbishopric
The first archbishop of Salerno was Amatus. This is explicitly stated in a bull of Pope John XV, written for Archbishop Grimoald on 25 March 994, who was named archbishop just as Amatus had been by his predecessors. [5] Pope John's predecessors were John XIV (December 983–August 984), and Benedict VII, who died on 10 July 983. Since Amatus is attested as still being a bishop in April 983, this places the date of the first grant, as Felice Savio argued, to the year 983, between April and July. [6]
On 22 July 1051, Pope Leo IX issued the bull "Officium Sacerdotale", in which he confirmed the metropolitan status of the archbishops of Salerno, and the privilege of ordering and consecrating the bishops of Paestum, Nola, Conza, Cosenza, and Bisignano. [7] On 24 March 1058, Pope Stephen IX issued the bull also called "Officium Sacerdotale", in which he confirmed for the archbishops of Salerno the right of consecrating bishops for (in addition to those named by Pope Leo) Malvito, Policastro, Marsico, Martirano, and Caciano. [8]
On 8 September 1694, the provinces of Salerno, Avellino, and Potenza were struck by a major earthquake. At Capitignano, the parish church was damaged. At Cava de'Tirreni the cathedral was damaged, and the church of S. Francesco lost half of its bell tower. In Salerno itself, the cathedral was damaged, along with the episcopal palace, the church of S. Matteo, and the convent of the Augustinians. [9]
Diocesan synods
A diocesan synod was an irregularly held, but important, meeting of the bishop of a diocese and his clergy, to which other interested parties might be invited. Its purpose was (1) to proclaim generally the various decrees already issued by the bishop; (2) to discuss and ratify measures on which the bishop chose to consult with his clergy; (3) to publish statutes and decrees of the diocesan synod, of the provincial synod, and of the Holy See. [10]
A diocesan synod was held under the auspices of Archbishop Federico Fregoso (1507–1529) in 1525. [11] In 1564, Archbishop Gaspar Cervantes de Gaeta (1564–1568) held a diocesan synod. [12] Archbishop Marco Antonio Marsilio Colonna (1574–1589) presided over a diocesan synod in Salerno in 1574, and another in 1579. [13] On 16 May 1630, Cardinal Giulio Savelli, Archbishop of Salerno (1630–1642) held a diocesan synod in the cathedral of S. Maria degli Angeli e S. Matteo Evangelista in Salerno. [14] Cardinal Fabrizio Savelli, Archbishop of Salerno (1642–1658) presided over a diocesan synod in 1653. [15] A diocesan synod was held by Archbishop Giovanni de Torres (1658–1662) in 1661. [16] On 1 March 1803, Archbishop Salvatore Spinelli (1797–1805) held a diocesan synod in the cathedral of Salerno. [17]
A provincial synod was held in Salerno by Archbishop Lucio Sanseverino (1612–1623) from 10 to 13 May 1615. In attendance were the bishops of Sarno, Cava, Campagna, Capaccio, Nusco, Acerna, and the Marsi. [18]
Right of King of Naples to nominate archbishop
Pope Clement VII sent a motu proprio to the Emperor Charles V on 6 July 1524, remarking that Archbishop Fregoso had not resided in the diocese of Salerno for many years, [19] in consequence that the diocese was suffering in its spiritual and temporal condition; the pope proposed to place the diocese in the hands of a special nuncio, with the Emperor's consent, until the return of the archbishop to his seat. In the Treaty of Barcelona (29 June 1529), Pope Clement VII confirmed to the Emperor Charles V the fief of the Kingdom of Naples, and in addition the right to name twenty-four of the bishops in that domain, including the seven archbishops, among them the Archbishop of Salerno. [20] Shortly thereafter Fregoso resigned. [21]
After Napoleon
Following the extinction of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy, the Congress of Vienna authorized the restoration of the Papal States and the Kingdom of Naples. Since the French occupation had seen the abolition of many Church institutions in the Kingdom, as well as the confiscation of most Church property and resources, it was imperative that Pope Pius VII and King Ferdinand IV reach agreement on restoration and restitution.
A concordat was finally signed on 16 February 1818, and ratified by Pius VII on 25 February 1818. Ferdinand issued the concordat as a law on 21 March 1818. [22] The re-erection of the dioceses of the kingdom and the ecclesiastical provinces took more than three years. The right of the king to nominate the candidate for a vacant bishopric was recognized, as in the Concordat of 1741, subject to papal confirmation (preconisation). [23] On 27 June 1818, Pius VII issued the bull De Ulteriore, in which he reestablished the metropolitan archbishopric of Salerno, with five suffragan dioceses, the diocese of Capaccio e Vallo, diocese of Policastro, diocese of Potenza e Marsico Nuovo, and diocese of Nusco. [24]
The See of Acerno, which is on record as an independent diocese since 1136, was granted to the archbishop of Salerno as its perpetual administrator. [25] Among its bishops was the Franciscan Antonio Bonito (1493). [26] In 1920, the diocese of Acerno had seven parishes, seven churches, and sixteen secular priests. [27]
On 4 August 1973, the Archbishop of Salerno, Gaetano Pollio (1969-1984) was also named bishop of Campagna. [28] The three dioceses were held aeque principaliter.
Diocesan reorganization
The Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), in order to ensure that all Catholics received proper spiritual attention, decreed the reorganization of the diocesan structure of Italy and the consolidation of small and struggling dioceses. It also recommended the abolition of anomalous units such as exempt territorial prelatures. [29]
On 18 February 1984, the Vatican and the Italian State signed a new and revised concordat. Based on the revisions, a set of Normae was issued on 15 November 1984, which was accompanied in the next year, on 3 June 1985, by enabling legislation. According to the agreement, the practice of having one bishop govern two separate dioceses at the same time, aeque personaliter, as was the case with Salerno and Acerno, was to be abolished. Instead, the Vatican continued consultations which had begun under Pope John XXIII for the merging of small dioceses, especially those with personnel and financial problems, into one combined diocese. On 30 September 1986, Pope John Paul II ordered that the dioceses of Salerno and Aceno, as well as the diocese of Campagna [30] (which had not been incorporated into the reorganized metropolitanate of Conza), be merged into one diocese with one bishop, with the Latin title Archidioecesis Salernitana-Campaniensis-Acernensis. The seat of the diocese was to be in Salerno, and the cathedral of S. Maria e S. Matteo in Salerno was to serve as the cathedral of the merged dioceses. The cathedral in Acerno and the cathedral in Campagna were to become co-cathedrals, and the cathedral Chapters of Acerno and of Campagna were each to be a Capitulum Concathedralis. There was to be only one diocesan Tribunal, in Salerno, and likewise one seminary, one College of Consultors, and one Priests' Council. The territory of the new diocese was to include the territory of the previous dioceses of Salerno, Acerna, and Campagna. [31]
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