History
According to an ancient lectionary, Christianity was first preached in Vercelli in the second half of the third century by Saints Sabinianus (Savinian) and Martialis, bishops from Gaul, when they were returning to their dioceses. [3] The episcopal see, however, was not established until after the Peace of Constantine.
The first bishop of Vercelli was Eusebius, [4] a native of Sardinia, who had been a "lector" in the Roman church. [5] Ambrose of Milan says that he became familiar to the Christians of Vercelli, who unanimously petitioned that he be made their bishop. [6] He was the recipient of letters from Pope Liberius in 353, 354, and 355; [7] and took part in the synod of Milan of 355, where he refused to sign the Arian condemnation of Bishop Athanasius of Alexandria. For his obstinacy, he was exiled by the Emperor Constantius to Palestine. On Constantius' death in 361, he was recalled and visited Alexandria, where he attended a synod with Athanasius in 362. He died in 369 (according to Jerome), in 370, or in 371. [8]
From the beginning to 1805, the diocese of Vercelli was a suffragan (subordinate) of the metropolitan archbishopric of Milan.
From Eusebius to Nottingo (830) there were forty bishops, whose images were preserved in the Eusebian basilica, predecessor of the present cathedral, so called because Saint Eusebius, who dedicated it to the martyr Saint Theonestus, was interred in it. [9] Bishop Nottingo introduced the common and monastic life among his clergy.
In 886, Berengar, Margrave of Friuli, in an act of revenge against Bishop Liutvard, sacked the city of Vercelli, and in particular the episcopal palace and the cathedral. [10]
In September 1050, Pope Leo IX held a synod in Vercelli, directed against simony, against John Scotus' book on the eucharist, and against the heresies of Berengar of Tours. [11]
In 1149, Bishop Gisulfus Avogadro was granted the title of count. [12]
On 18 April 1474, with the bull "Pro Excellenti", Pope Sixtus IV, on the urging of Marquis Guglielmo of Monferrat, established the new Diocese of Casale Monferrato, transferring to it territories removed from the diocese of Vercelli. [13]
The seminary of the diocese of Vercelli was established in 1566, by Cardinal Guido Luca Ferrero (1562–1566), after his return from the Council of Trent. The first residence of the seminary was in a house attached to the church of S. Pietro la Ferla. A new building was opened in 1600, and was greatly extended in 1730, and again from 1842 to 1845. [14]
At Easter, 3 April 1575, the Church of Vercelli adopted the use of the Roman liturgy in place of the local Eusebian liturgy. [15]
Cardinal Guido Luca Ferrero (1562–1572), Bishop of Vercelli, attended the First Provincial Council of Milan on 14 October 1565, under the presidency of Cardinal Carlo Borromeo, Archbishop of Milan. [16] Bishop Giovanni Francesco Bonomigni (1572–1587) attended the Fourth Provincial Synod of Milan in 1576, and signed the decrees. [17] He also attended and subscribed the decrees of the Fifth Provincial Synod of Milan in March 1579. [18] Bishop Giovanni Francesco Bonomigni (1572–1587) was unable to attend the Sixth Provincial Synod of Milan in May 1582, since he was serving as papal nuncio to the Emperor Rudolph in Vienna; he sent his Vicar General, Paulus Granutius, as his procurator. [19] Bishop Giovanni Stefano Ferrero (1599–1610) was present at the Seventh Provincial Synod of Milan in May 1609 and subscribed the decrees. [20]
Chapter and cathedral
Local tradition has it that the site of the later cathedral of S. Eusebio was the location of a temple of Vesta. Eusebius himself built a church dedicated to S. Theoneste on the site, which was destroyed by the barbarians, and rebuilt by Bishop Albinus in the mid-5th century. [21] An alternate version, preserved by Benzo of Alba Pompeia, [22] indicates that the church was founded by the Emperor Theodosius the Great (379–395). [23] A third report indicates that the Basilica of S. Maria Major was founded by Constantine the Great (306–337), and that it was the original cathedral. [24] The canons of the two institutions fought for hundreds of years over the right to elect a new bishop, precedence, privileges, and income.
At some point between 1132 and 1143, Pope Innocent II ordered Bishop Gisulf of Vercelli and Bishop Litifredus of Novara to settle the controversy between the canons of S. Eusebio and the canons of S. Maria Maggiore over the tithe and offerings. [25] In 1144, Cardinals Guido of S. Crisogono and Hubaldus of S. Prassede, the papal legates, issued a decision concerning the complaints of the two Chapters of canons; Pope Eugenius III confirmed their judgment on 17 April 1146, and awarded the canons of S. Maria Maggiore a quarter of the district of Carisiana, with a command that the canons of S. Eusebio keep permanently silent on the matter. [26] In 1175, the two sets of canons reached an agreement on various specific articles concerning the income, expenditure, possessions, rights, and holdings, which were the subject of dispute; the agreement was confirmed by Cardinal Guglielmo of S. Pietro ad vincula. [27]
OLn 8 September 1175, Cardinal Guglielmo issued an order regulating the number of canons. In S. Eusebio, there were to be no more than thirty-two canons; in S. Maria Maggiore, eight. [28] This arrangement was confirmed by a bull of Pope Innocent III, of 1 March 1208. The Chapter was headed by four dignities: the Archdeacon, the Archpriest, the Provost, and the Cantor Major. [29] In his synodal constitutions of 10 November 1288, Bishop Aimo de Challant acknowledged that the colleges of canons of S. Eusebio and of S. Maria Maggiore together constituted the "Capitulum Vercellensem". [30]
The competition and controversy was finally settled on 12 August 1644, when Bishop Giacomo Goria suppressed the Chapter of S. Maria Maggiore and combined all the canons in one body at S. Eusebio. The action was confirmed by a bull of Pope Innocent X of 26 December 1644. [31]
Synods
A diocesan synod was an irregularly held, but important, meeting of the bishop of a diocese and his clergy. 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. [32]
The earliest known synod of the diocese of Vercelli was held by Bishop Atto (924–958), who issued "Constitutions", which envisioned annual meetings in synod. [33] Bishop Ingo published a synodical constitution in 974. Bishop Ardericus held a synod in 1027. [34] Bishop Alberto Avogadro presided over a synod in 1191. [35] Bishop Aimone de Challant held a diocesan synod in November 1288. [36]
Bishop Ibleto Fieschi (1412–1437) held a synod on 27 July 1428, the first in more than fifty years. Bishop Guglielmo Didier (1437–1452) held synods in 1440 and in 1451 or 1452, after which he imposed a tax on the clergy to rebuild the episcopal palace. Bishop Amadeo Nori (1459–1469) presided over a synod in 1461. Cardinal Giovanni Stefano Ferrero (1499–1502) held a synod in 1499. [37]
Bishop Agostino Ferrero (1511 – 1536) presided over a diocesan synod in 1517, and issued constitutions. [38] Bishop Francesco Bonomo held annual synods, beginning in 1573; he held his fourth diocesan synod in 1576, his fifth in 1578, and his sixth in 1579; [39] his eleventh took place in 1584. [40]
In 1600, Bishop Giovanni Stefano Ferrero (1599–1610) presided over a diocesan synod. Another was held in 1619 by Bishop Giacomo Goria. Four synods were held by Bishop Michelangelo Broglia, in 1666, 1670, 1673, and 1677. Bishop Giuseppe Bertodano held a synod in 1700. [41]
On 15–17 July 1749, Bishop Giovanni Pietro Solaro (1743–1768) held a diocesan synod. Bishop Vittorio Costa d'Arignano presided over a diocesan synod. Bishop Alessandro d'Agennes held a synod on 7–9 June 1842. Bishop Carlo Pampirio held a diocesan synod on 22–24 September 1903. [42]
Biella
On 1 June 1772, Pope Clement XIV, at the request of King Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia, created the new Diocese of Biella, on territories which were removed from the jurisdiction of the bishop of Vercelli. [43] The territories which had been removed were returned to the diocese of Vercelli on 1 June 1803, when the Diocese of Biella was suppressed by Pope Pius VII. [44] The bishop of Biella, Giambattista Canevesi, was named Bishop of Vercelli. [45]
In a decree issued in Paris on 25 January 1805, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Caprara, the papal legate and archbishop of Milan, carried out a new circumscription of the Cisalpine dioceses. The suffragan diocese of Vercelli was detached from the metropolitan archbishopric of Milan, and transferred to the metropolitanate of Turin. [46]
Metropolitan archdiocese
After the defeat, abdication, and exile of Napoleon, the Congress of Vienna agreed to the restoration of the Kingdom of Sardinia. King Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia invited Pope Pius VII to restore the good order of the Church in his kingdom, which had been disrupted by the French occupation. On 17 July 1817, the pope issued the bull "Beati Petri", which began by establishing de novo the ten dioceses which had been suppressed under the French, and delimiting the extent of each in detail, [47] including Vercelli and the restored Biella. [48] In the same document, the pope also released the diocese of Vercelli from being a suffragan of the metropolitan of Turin, [49] and elevated the diocese to the rank of metropolitan archdiocese. The new metropolitan archdiocese had as suffragans the dioceses of Alessandria, Biella, and Casale. [50]
In a further adjustment of the ecclesiastical structure of Piedmont and Liguria, Pope Pius VII, on 26 September 1817, transferred the diocese of Novara from the metropolitanate of Milan, to the metropolitanate of Vercelli. [51]
On 1 August 1874, the archdiocese of Vercelli lost territory to the Diocese of Casale Monferrato.
Pope John Paul II made a Papal visit to Vercelli in May 1998, during which he declared the priest Secondo Pollo (d. 1941) to be "Blessed".
