The Diocese of Noli (Latin : Dioecesis Naulensis) was a Roman Catholic diocese located in the town of Noli of Liguria, Italy, in the Province of Savona. It was established in 1237, on territory which had been taken from the diocese of Savona. In 1820, it was united with the Diocese of Savona to form the Diocese of Savona e Noli. [1] [2]
The diocese was suppressed in 1986.
In 1239, Cardinal Giacomo da Pecorara, suburbicarian Bishop of Palestrina, was sent by Pope Gregory IX to France as papal legate, to deal with the Albigensian heresy. [3] When he stopped in Savona, he removed the parish of Noli from the diocese of Savona with papal authorization, and established a new diocese of Noli. [4] He assigned it as a suffragan of the archdiocese of Genoa, even though Savona remained a suffragan of the diocese of Milan. [5] On 25 April 1249, Pope Innocent IV confirmed the city status of Noli, and the cathedral status of S. Paragorius. [6]
The cathedral was served and administered by a corporation called the Chapter, which, at Noli, was composed of one dignity (the Archpriest) and five canons. This arrangement continued through the end of the 18th century. [7] When Noli was joined with Savona in 1820, the Chapter of Nola consisted of the Archpriest, the Dean, the Theologus, the Penitentiary, and four other canons. [8]
The first bishop of Noli was Guglielmo Contardi, who had already been Bishop-elect of Brugnato, a suffragan of the archdiocese of Genoa, since 1230. [9] In fact, Guglielmo was bishop-elect of both dioceses, aeque personaliter, from 1239 to 1245, when the two dioceses were separated by order of Pope Innocent IV. [10] On 11 August 1247, Pope Innocent IV wrote to the archbishop of Genoa, informing him that the people of Noli were demanding a bishop of their own. Bishop-elect Guglielmo had already ceased to govern Noli, but had been appointed administrator in spiritual and temporal matters. The pope ordered the archbishop to install Frater Philippus, O.P., as their procurator. [11] On 20 April 1249, Pope Innocent signed a bull directed to the bishop of Noli, "in sacra Petri", taking the Church of Saint Paragorius of Noli under the protection of S. Peter and himself, and confirming that Noli was a suffragan of the archdiocese of Genoa. [12] On 6 February 1253, Pope Innocent wrote to the bishop of Noli, recalling that the monastery of S. Eugenius on the island of Bergaggi, which should have been handed over to the diocese of Noli, and which the archbishop of Genoa had ordered to be placed in the possession of the provost of Genoa, who was then bishop-elect of Noli (Philippus, O.P.), was being held by the podestà, council, and commune of Genoa, who were excluding all occupiers. The pope had ordered the monastery and island be restored to the bishop of Noli. In passing, the pope noted that Philippus' successor was deceased. [13]
After his installation as bishop, Bishop Leonardo Trucco (1572–1587) realized that, after serving as Noli's cathedral for 330 years, San Paragorio was no longer adequate for the needs of the bishop and the diocese. It was outside the walls of the town and inconvenient of access. Bishop Trucco therefore wrote to Pope Gregory XIII, proposing that the episcopal seat be moved inside the city, to the church of S. Pietro. In an apostolic letter dated 22 October 1572, the pope granted the bishop's petition and authorized the transfer. [14]
In 1710, the city of Noli had a population of c. 1100. [15] In 1737, the population of the city had risen to c. 1300 persons. [16]
On 8 December 1820, with the bull "Dominici Gregis", Pope Pius VII joined the diocese of Savona and the diocese of Noli in one bishop, aeque personaliter under the title "Savonensis et Naulensis." [17] He cited as justification the small number of faithful and the diocese of Noli's inadequate income. [18]
On 30 September 1986, Pope John Paul II ordered that the dioceses of Savona and Noli be merged into one diocese with one bishop, with the Latin title "Dioecesis Savonensis-Naulensis". The seat of the diocese was to be in Savona, whose cathedral was to serve as the cathedral of the merged diocese. The cathedral in Noli was to have the honorary title of "co-cathedral"; the Chapter of Noli was to be a Capitulum Concathedralis. There was to be only one diocesan Tribunal, in Savona, 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 suppressed diocese. The new diocese was a suffragan of the archdiocese of Genoa. [19]
Erected: 1239
Latin Name: Naulensis
The Archdiocese of Genoa is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Italy. Erected in the 3rd century, it was elevated to an archdiocese on 20 March 1133. The archdiocese of Genoa was, in 1986, united with the Diocese of Bobbio-San Colombano, forming the Archdiocese of Genoa-Bobbio; however a split in 1989 renamed it the "Archdiocese of Genoa."
The Diocese of Nola is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in Italy, suffragan of the Archdiocese of Naples. Its seat is the Campanian city of Nola, now a suburb of Naples. Its cathedral is dedicated to the Assumption. The dedication was originally to S. Stephen, the Protomartyr, but after the second reconstruction the dedication was changed to the Assumption. It is traditionally credited with the introduction of the use of bells into Christian worship.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Ferentino existed until 1986, when it was united into the new diocese of Frosinone-Veroli-Ferentino.
The Diocese of Viterbo is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in central Italy. From the 12th century, the official name of the diocese was the Diocese of Viterbo e Tuscania. In 1986, several dioceses were combined, and the title was changed to "Diocese of Viterbo, Acquapendente, Bagnoregio, Montefiascone, Tuscania and San Martino al Monte Cimino"; in 1991 the name was shortened to "Diocese of Viterbo".
The Diocese of Savona-Noli is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in northern Italy. It was historically the Diocese of Savona, from the tenth century. In 1820 the Diocese of Noli was united to the Diocese of Savona. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Genoa.
The Archdiocese of Chieti-Vasto is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church which received that name in 1986, when the two separate dioceses, which had been governed by one and the same bishop, were united in one diocese. The diocese of Chieti had become the Archdiocese of Chieti in 1526, when promoted by Pope Clement VII. Chieti is about 8 miles (14 km) south-west of the Adriatic port city of Pescara.
The Diocese of Senigallia is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in the Marche, Italy. It has existed since the sixth century. It is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Ancona-Osimo.
The Catholic diocese of Sarsina was a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, seated in Sarsina, in the province of Forlì, some 32 km south-southwest of Cesena. The diocese was founded in the 5th century, and was suffragan (subordinate) to the archbishop of Ravenna. The diocese existed until 1986, when it was united with the diocese of Cesena.
The Diocese of Ventimiglia-Sanremo is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in Liguria, northern Italy. The name of the historic Diocese of Ventimiglia was changed in 1975. It was originally a suffragan diocese of the Metropolitanate of Milan up to 1806, when it was transferred to the Metropolitanate of Aix; but it has been a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Genoa since 1818.
The Diocese of Albenga–Imperia is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in Liguria, northern Italy; the traditional name of the Diocese of Albenga was changed by decree of the Congregation of Bishops in the Roman Curia, with the approval of Pope Paul VI, on 1 December 1973. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Genoa.
The Diocese of Termoli-Larino is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church situated in the province of Campobasso, region of Molise. The commune of Termoli is an important regional seaport. The diocese has existed in its current configuration since 1986, when the diocese of Larino was suppressed and added to its territory. It is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Campobasso-Boiano.
The Diocese of Latina-Terracina-Sezze-Priverno is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Lazio, Italy. It was established under this name in 1986. It is the continuation of the Diocese of Terracina, Priverno e Sezze, whose existence was confirmed by Pope Honorius III in 1217, as a joining of the Diocese of Terracina with the Diocese of Priverno and the Diocese of Sezze under a single bishop. It is immediately exempt to the Holy See.
The Diocese of La Spezia-Sarzana-Brugnato is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in Liguria, northern Italy, created in 1929. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Genoa.
The Diocese of Acerra is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in Campania, southern Italy, eight miles east of Naples, in the area once called Terra Laboris (Liburia). It has existed since the 11th century. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Naples.
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.
The Italian Catholic diocese of Lacedonia, a suffragan of the archdiocese of Benevento in Campania, existed until 1986 when incorporated into the reorganized Roman Catholic Diocese of Ariano Irpino-Lacedonia.
The former Italian Catholic Diocese of Chiusi-Pienza, in Tuscany, existed until 1986. In that year it was united into the Diocese of Montepulciano-Chiusi-Pienza. The Diocese of Chiusi (Clusinus) was at first immediately subject to the Holy See, but was made a suffragan of archdiocese of Siena by Pope Pius II. From 1459 to 1986, it was a suffragan of the archdiocese of Siena.
The Diocese of Bisceglie was a Roman Catholic diocese located in the town of Bisceglie on the Adriatic Sea in the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, Apulia in southern Italy. It is five miles south of Trani.
The Diocese of Nebbio was a Roman Catholic diocese located in the town of Saint-Florent in Corsica. The Cathedral is on a low hill one mile from the port of Saint-Florent. In the Medieval period the Bishop of Nebbio was also the temporal lord of nearly all the lands in his diocese. In 1667, Nebbio was completely abandoned and the bishop lived in Saint-Florent, a town of about 200 inhabitants, under the dominion of the Republic of Genoa. The diocese had some 22 places. The Cathedral Chapter had two dignities, the Archdeacon and the Provost, and three Canons. In 1770 the diocese was under the dominion of the King of France, and Saint-Fleur had about 600 inhabitants. The Chapter of the Cathedral still existed, with two dignities and six Canons.
The Diocese of Satriano e Campagna was a Roman Catholic diocese located in the town of Satriano in the Province of Catanzaro in the Calabria region of southern Italy. In 1818, the diocese of Campagna was united with the Archdiocese of Conza to form the Archdiocese of Conza e Campagna. The diocese of Satriano was completely suppressed, and its territory incorporated into the diocese of Campagna.