Roman Catholic Diocese of Melfi-Rapolla-Venosa

The Italian Catholic Diocese of Melfi-Rapolla-Venosa (Latin: Dioecesis Melphiensis-Rapollensis-Venusina, Italian: Diocesi di Melfi-Rapolla-Venosa) is in Basilicata, southern Italy. In 1986 the historic Diocese of Melfi-Rapolla was united with the Diocese of Venosa. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Potenza-Muro Lucano-Marsico Nuovo.[1][2] The Abbey of the Santissima Trinità at Venosa comes under the Diocese.

Diocese of Melfi-Rapolla-Venosa Dioecesis Melphiensis-Rapollensis-Venusina Diocesi di Melfi-Rapolla-Venosa
Melfi Cathedral
Location
Country	Italy
Ecclesiastical province	Potenza-Muro Lucano-Marsico Nuovo
Statistics
Area	1,316 km^2 (508 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics (including non-members)	(as of 2004) 90,000 89,000 (98.9%)
Parishes	32
Information
Denomination	Catholic Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	11th century
Cathedral	Basilica Cattedrale di S. Maria Assunta (Melfi)
Co-cathedral	Concattedrale di S. Andrea (Venosa) Concattedrale di S. Michele Arcangelo (Rapolla)
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Gianfranco Todisco, P.O.C.R.
Bishops emeritus	Vincenzo Cozzi
Website
www.webdiocesi.chiesacattolica.it

Co-cathedral in Venosa

History

Pope Nicholas II made the diocese of Melfi immediately dependent on the Holy See; its first bishop was Baldwin. Its cathedral, a work of Roger Borsa,[3] son of Robert Guiscard (1155), was destroyed by the earthquake of 1851.

Among its bishops was the theologian Alessandro de San Elpidio, a former general of the Augustinians (1328). In 1528, Clement VII, in view of the scarcity of its revenues, united the Diocese of Rapolla to that of Melfi, "aeque principaliter".[4]

Ordinaries

Diocese of Melfi

Latin Name: Melphiensis
Erected: 11th Century

• Alexander of San Elpidio (1269–1326)

...

• Giovanni Dominici, O.P. (2 Mar 1412 – 21 Apr 1412 Appointed, Administrator of Bova)
• Francesco Carosio (4 Jul 1412 – 26 Jan 1418 Appointed, Archbishop of Trani)
• Giacomo Isolani (1420 – 24 Jan 1425 Resigned)
• Francesco Palombo, O.S.B. (12 Dec 1431 – 1437 Died)
• Onofrio di Francesco di Sanseverino (11 Jan 1437 – 1450 Died)
• Alfonso Costa (4 Sep 1450 Appointed – )
• Gaspare Loffredi (17 Apr 1472 – 1480 Died)
• Ottaviano Bentivoglio (15 Dec 1480 – 10 May 1486 Appointed, Archbishop of Salerno)
• Francesco Caracciolo (bishop) (Carazoli) (24 Jun 1486 – 1494 Died)
• Juan de Borja Lanzol de Romaní, el menor (September 19, 1494/December 3, 1498 – August 1, 1503)
• Jean Ferrier I (3 Dec 1498 – 26 Jul 1499 Appointed, Archbishop of Arles)
• Raffaele di Ceva, O.F.M. (26 Jul 1499 – 1513 Resigned)
• Lorenzo Pucci (12 Aug 1513 – 16 Mar 1528 Resigned)

Diocese of Melfi e Rapolla

Latin Name: Melphiensis et Rapollensis
United: 16 May 1528 with Diocese of Rapolla

• Giannotto Pucci (16 Mar 1528 – 1537 Died)
• Giovanni Vincenzo Acquaviva d'Aragona (7 Feb 1537 – 16 Aug 1546 Died)
• Roberto Pucci (7 Dec 1546 – 17 Jan 1547 Died)
• Mario Ruffino (7 Feb 1547 – 1548 Died)
• Alessandro Ruffino (27 Apr 1548 – 1573 Resigned)
• Gaspare Cenci (8 Jan 1574 – 1590 Resigned)[5]
• Orazio Celsi (16 Jul 1590 – 1591 Died)
• Marco Antonio Amidano (13 Sep 1591 – Nov 1591 Resigned)
• Matteo Brumani, O.S.A. (13 Nov 1591 – 9 Aug 1594 Died)
• Placido della Marra (6 Mar 1595 – 2 Dec 1620 Died)[6]
• Desiderio Scaglia, O.P. (17 Mar 1621 – 14 Nov 1622 Appointed, Bishop of Como)
• Lazzaro Carafino (19 Dec 1622 – 7 Jan 1626 Appointed, Bishop of Como)[6]
• Deodato Scaglia, O.P. (19 Jan 1626 – 18 Apr 1644 Appointed, Bishop of Alessandria)[6]
• Giacomo Raimondi (2 May 1644 – Dec 1644 Died)[6]
• Gerolamo Pellegrini (16 Jan 1645 – 12 Apr 1648 Died)[6]
• Luigi Branciforte (28 Sep 1648 – 1665 Died)[6]
• Giulio Caracciolo, C.R. (1 Mar 1666 – 1671 Resigned)[6][7]
• Tommaso de Franchi (24 Aug 1671 – May 1696 Died)[7]
• Francesco Antonio Triveri, O.F.M. Conv. (24 Sep 1696 – May 1697 Died)[7]
• Antonio Spinelli, C.R. (2 Dec 1697 – Oct 1724 Died)[7]
• Mondilio Orsini, C.O. (20 Nov 1724 – 8 Mar 1728 Appointed, Archbishop of Capua)[7]
• Giovanni Saverio Lioni (22 Nov 1730 – 5 Mar 1735 Died)
• Domenico Rossi (Rosso e Colonna), O.S.B. (26 Sep 1735 – 8 Jul 1737 Appointed, Archbishop of Palermo)
• Luca Antonio della Gatta (8 Jul 1737 – 25 Sep 1747 Died)
• Pasquale Teodoro Basta (29 Jan 1748 – 27 Dec 1765 Died)
• Ferdinando de Vicariis, O.S.B. (14 Apr 1766 – 19 Jun 1780 Died)
• Filippo d’Aprile (27 Feb 1792 – Apr 1811 Died)
• Gioacchino de Gemmis (26 Jun 1818 – 12 Dec 1822 Died)
• Vincenzo Ferrari, O.P. (3 May 1824 – 4 May 1828 Died)
• Luigi Bovio, O.S.B. (18 May 1829 – 6 Nov 1847 Died)
• Ignazio Maria Selitti (5 Nov 1849 – 1880 Resigned)
• Giuseppe Camassa (4 Aug 1881 – 15 Apr 1912 Resigned)
• Alberto Costa (4 Jan 1912 – 7 Dec 1928 Appointed, Bishop of Lecce)
• Luigi dell’Aversana (Orabona) (29 Jul 1930 – 6 Nov 1934 Died)
• Domenico Petroni (1 Apr 1935 – 5 Oct 1966 Retired)
• Giuseppe Vairo (5 Mar 1973 – 25 Oct 1976 Appointed, Bishop of Tricarico)
• Armando Franco (25 Oct 1976 – 12 Sep 1981 Appointed, Bishop of Oria)
• Vincenzo Cozzi (12 Sep 1981 – 13 Dec 2002 Retired)

Diocese of Melfi-Rapolla-Venosa

Latin Name: Dioecesis Melphiensis-Rapollensis-Venusinus
United: 30 September 1986 with Diocese of Venosa

• Gianfranco Todisco, P.O.C.R. (13 Dec 2002 – )

Notes

1. "Diocese of Melfi-Rapolla-Venosa" Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved March 29, 2016
2. "Diocese of Melfi-Rapolla-Venosa" GCatholic.org. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved March 29, 2016
3. MELFI - Online Information article about MELFI
4. Catholic Encyclopedia article
5. "Bishop Gaspare Cenci" Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved March 21, 2016
6. Gauchat, Patritius (Patrice) (1935). Hierarchia catholica medii et recentioris aevi. Vol. IV. Münster: Libraria Regensbergiana. p. 238. (in Latin)
7. Ritzler, Remigius; Sefrin, Pirminus (1952). Hierarchia catholica medii et recentioris aevi. Vol. V. Patavii: Messagero di S. Antonio. pp. 264–265. (in Latin)

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Missing or empty |title= (help)