The Diocese of Massa Carrara-Pontremoli (Latin: Dioecesis Massensis-Apuana) is a Latindiocese of the Catholic Church situated in north-western Tuscany, in the valley of the Frigido River. The city of Massa is on the south side of the river, 5 km (3 mi) from the Tyrrhenian Sea. The city of Carrara is 6 km (4 mi) north of Massa, on the Carrione River. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Pisa.
The historical Diocese of Massa Carrara had its name changed in 1939 to Diocese of Apuania; and again in 1986 to Diocese of Massa. In 1988 it was united with the Diocese of Pontremoli.[1][2]
History
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The see of Massa Carrara was created on 18 February 1822 by Pope Pius VII, at the instance of Maria Beatrice d'Este, Duchess of Massa, in the bull "Singularis Romanorum".[3] The collegiate church of S. Pietro e Francesco was suppressed, and the church was elevated to the status of cathedral of the new diocese and a parish church.[4] The cathedral was to be staffed and administered by a corporation called the Chapter, consisting of an archpriest and twelve canons. The archpriest was to act as the pastor of the cathedral parish.[5]
An episcopal palace, which had been his "Pallazina", was donated to the diocese by Duke Francesco IV.[6]
The diocese was then suffragan of the Archdiocese of Pisa; but for a period from 22 August 1855 to 1926 it was a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Modena.[7]
Its first bishop was Francesco Maria Zoppi.[8] The second bishop, Francesco Strani, held the first diocesan synod in the cathedral in Massa in September 1839.[9]
On 18 November 1900, Bishop Emilio Miniati of Massa and Bishop Angelo Fiorini of Pontremoli reached an agreement to transfer sixteen parishes from the diocese of Pontremoli to Massa. The agreement was ratified by Pope Leo XIII on 9 January 1901.[10]
On 16 December 1938, the Fascist government of Italy ordered the amalgamation of three cities, Massa, Carrara, and Montignoso, into one comune, called Apuania, in a province also called Apuania. The Vatican had no option but to change the name of the diocese of Massa to conform with civil requirments; this took place on 20 July 1939. On 10 January 1946, a legal decree of the Italian government restored the former names.[11] The Vatican, however, continued to use "Apuania".
On 18 November 1964, the cathedral of Ss. Peter the Apostle and Francis of Assisi in Massa (still called Apuania) was granted the title and privileges of a minor basilica by Pope Paul VI.[12]
By a decree of the Sacred Congregation of Bishops on 30 September 1986, with the approval of Pope John Paul II, the name of the diocese was changed from "Dioecesis Apuanus" to "Diocese Massanensis". This, in effect, cancelled the papal degree of 20 July 1939, so that the name of the diocese and the name of the city in which the bishop's seat was located should be the same.[13]
On 5 September 1992, the Congregation of Bishops removed a number of parishes from the diocese of Massa-Apuana (including the Garfagnana) and attached them to the diocese of Lucca.[14]
Bishops
Diocese of Massa
Erected: 18 February 1822 Latin Name: Massensis Metropolitan: Archdiocese of Pisa
Francesco Maria Zoppi (17 Nov 1823 – 1 Oct 1832 Resigned)[15]
↑ Cappelletti XV, p. 421. Umberto Benigni, "Massa Carrara", in: The Catholic Encyclopedia (New York 1913); retrieved 14 June 2023.
↑ [Giulio Arrigoni], Cenni biografici intorno a monsignor Francesco Maria Zoppe, primo vescovo di Massa e Carrara, poi vescovo in partibus di Gerra,(in Italian), Milano: Boniardi-Pogliani 1847.
↑ Francesco Strani, Prima Synodus Dioecesana Massensis ab Ill. mo ac Rev. mo D.D. Episcopo Francisco Strani habita in ecclesia cathedrali Diebus 10 11 12 Septembris MDCCCXXXIX.(in Latin) Modena: Fratres Frediani Ducales typographi 1840.
↑ Arnaldo Nesti, Alle radici della Toscana contemporanea: vita religiosa e società dalla fine dell'Ottocento al crollo della mezzadria(in Italian), (Milan: FrancoAngeli, 2008), p. 764. Archivio storico per le province Parmensi, (Deputazione de storia patria per le province parmensi, 1987), p. 170.
↑ Giuseppe Morandini, (1948), "Apuania,"(in Italian), in: Enciclopedia Italiana II Appendice (1948).
↑ Acta Apostolicae Sedis 57 (Città del Vaticano 1965), pp. 713-714.
↑ Acta Apostolicae Sedis Vol. 79 (Città del Vaticano 1987), pp. 643-644, "ut denominatio dioecesium complecteretur nomen urbis in qua sita est Ecclesia Cathedralis, hoc est nomen sedis dioecesis."
↑ Zoppi was born in Canobbio (diocese of Milan) in 1765. He was educated at the seminary of S. Carlo, and then in Pavia, where he became a Doctor of Theology and a Doctor of Canon Law. (De-Vit, p. 382). Archbishop Filippo Visconti made him Vicar of the valli Leventina, Blenio and Riviera, and was parish priest of S. Pietro in Camminadella. Upon resignation, Zoppi was appointed titular Bishop of Geras. He died on 7 April 1841. Vincenzo De-Vit, Il lago Maggiore, Stresa e le isole Borromee: notizie storiche,(in Italian), Volume 2, part 1 (Prato: A.F. Alberghetti, 1877), pp. 382-385. Teodoro Bayard de Volo, Vita di Francesco V., duca di Modena: 1819-1875,(in Italian), (Tip. dell'Imm. Concezione, 1885), pp. 175-178. Ritzler & Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica VII, pp. 202, 256.
↑ Strani: Ritzler & Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica VII, p. 256. Camaiani, p. 714.
↑ Bernardi was born at Sant'Anna Pelago (Modena) in 1799. He held the degrees of Doctor of Theology and Doctor in utroque iure. He was appointed bishop of Massa by Pope Pius IX on 16 June 1856. He died on 23 December 1871. Camaiani, p. 698.
↑ Tonetti was the son of a sea captain. In 1889, Bishop Tonietti became a member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. He was a vigorous supporter of Leo XIII and his encyclical "Rerum Novarum". On 12 June 1893, Bishop Tonietti was appointed Bishop of Montalcino, which he resigned in 1899. He died on 22 March 1927, as titular archbishop of Tyana (Turkey). Francesco Morano, Atti della Pontificia Accademia delle scienze nuovi Lincei, Volumes 80-81 (Roma: L'Accademia, 1927), pp. 320-321. Lenzo Lenzi, "La Rerum Novarum e la Toscana," (in Italian), in: Gabriele De Rosa (ed.), I tempi della Rerum novarum, (Rubbettino Editore, 2002), p. 523. Franco Ghersini, Un vescovo nella bufera massonica: Mons. Amilcare Tonietti, 1847-1927, (in Italian) Brescia: Istituto di cultura G. De Luca per la storia del prete, 2004.
↑ On 7 January 1917, Bishop Marenco was appointed Titular Archbishop of Edessa in Macedonia, to qualify him as papal Internuncio and Apostolic Delegate in various countries in Central America. He died in Costa Rica in 1921. Acta Apostolicae Sedis Vol. 9 (Rome 1917), p. 158.
↑ On 20 March 1991, Bishop Tommasi was appointed Archbishop of Lucca by Pope John Paul II.
Camaiani, Bruna Bocchini (1994), "I vescovi toscani nel periodo lorense," (in Italian), in: Istituzioni e societa in Toscana nell'eta moderna. Atti delle giornate di studio dedicate a Giuseppe Pansini Firenze 4-5 dicembre 1992 (Roma: Ministero per i beni culturali e ambientale 1994), pp. 681-716.
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