The Diocese of Alba Pompeia or Alba Pompea () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Italy. Its territory comprises eighty towns in the civil Province of Cuneo and two in the Province of Asti.Diocese of Alba Pompeia - Catholic Encyclopedia articleOfficial web site (in Italian)
The Diocese of Alba Pompeia is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Turin."Diocese of Alba (Pompea)" Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved February 29, 2016"Diocese of Alba" GCatholic.org. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved February 29, 2016
History
The earliest figure in the traditional list of the bishops of Alba is a St. Dionysius, of whom the story is told that after serving in Alba for some years he became Archbishop of Milan.Lanzoni, p. 830, rejects the attribution to the diocese of Alba: "lo chiamano per errore, abbastanza strano anche in due orientali, vescovo di Alba metropoli d'Italia...." He was the Dionysius who so energetically opposed Arianism and was exiled in the year 355 by the Emperor Constans. Daniel PapebrochDaniel Papebroch, in: disputes the reliability of this tradition, since a bishop of that period was forbidden to leave his diocese for another.Savio, p. 49.
A list of nine early bishops of Alba, from another St. Dionysius (380) down to a Bishop Julius (553), was compiled from sepulchral inscriptions found in the cathedral of Alba towards the end of the fifteenth century by Dalmazzo Berendenco, an antiquarian. Giovanni Battista De Rossi, however, on examination of the inscriptions proved them to be a forgery. Paul Fridolin Kehr remarks (p. 185), Seriem episcoporum Albensium inde ab a. 380, incipientem a. s. Dionysio, ad annum usque 553, quam ex epitaphiis Dalmatius Berardencus congessisse perhiberetur, a Meyranesio abbate confictam esse constat. (...they were forged by Abbot Meyranesius.)
The first bishop of Alba whose existence is certain is Lampradius who was present at the synod held in Rome in 499 under Pope Symmachus.Mansi, Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio, editio novissima, Vol. VIII (Firenze: A. Zatta 1772), p. 235; Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Auctores Antiquissimi Vol. XII (Berlin: Weidmann 1894), p. 400.
On 26 May 969, Pope John XIII notified Archbishop Wilpertus of Milan that he had suppressed the diocese of Alba Pompeia, due to the devastation of the Saracens and the death of its bishop, and united it with the diocese of Asti.Kehr VI. 2, p. 185, no. 1: "Albensis dioecesis, a. 969 propter Saracenorum incursus suppressa, postea vero in integrum restituta, comprehendebat olim Cevae celebre oppidum cum toto marchionatu, dein Montis regalis episcopatui addicto, et Olarascum (Cherasco), ubi ecclesia collegiata s. Petri, quae saepius sub titulo s. Petri de Manzano occurrit." The decision was confirmed by Pope Benedict VII on 19 October 982.Kehr VI. 2, p. 185, no. 2: "...Astensi supponatur ecclesiae, sitque utraque unum ovile." It was restored by 997, when Bishop Constantinus is found in office.
Benzo of Alba was an adversary of Pope Gregory VII and a partisan of thue Empire in the Investiture controversy.Pietro Orsi, "Un libellista del sec. XI", in: Rivista storica Italiana, Vol. 1 (Torino: De Bocca 1884), pp. 423-444, at p. 427.
The Emperor Frederick Barbarossa spent Christmas of 1159 in Alba.
The diocese of Saluzzo was established by Pope Julius II on 29 October 1511, in his bull Pro excellenti, on territory taken in part from the diocese of Alba Pompeia.F. Ughelli, Italia sacra Vol. I (Venice: Coleti 1717), pp. 1226-1228, prints the entire bull.
The prominence of natives of Mantua among the bishops of Alba in the 16th and 17th centuries is accounted for by the grant of the Marquisate of Montferrat to the Dukes of Mantua by the Emperor Charles V in 1536. With the marquisate came the patronage previously enjoyed by the Dukes of Savoy. This arrangement persisted until 1708, when the House of Savoy acquired Montferrat and the patronage over the bishopric of Alba.Cappelletti, p. 170.
Bishop Lodovico Gonzaga held a diocesan synod in 1636.
A diocesan synod, the first in more than thirty years, was held by Bishop Eugenio Roberto Galletti in September 1873.
Cathedral and Chapter
The office of Penitentiary in the Cathedral Chapter was created by Bishop Paolo Brizio de Braida on 15 January 1644.Bima, p. 318.
In 1856 the ChapterC.D. Fonseca, "La cattedrale e il suo Capitolo. Analisi comparata in prospettiva storica, ecclesiologica e canonistica," , in: Annali di Studi Religiosi Vol. 4 (2003), pp. 215-235. was composed of five dignities and fourteen Canons. The dignities were: the Archdeacon, the Archpriest, the Provost, the Cantor, and the Dean. The cathedral was considered a parish church, and was supervised by the Archpriest; there were two residentiary chaplains.Cappelletti, p. 173.
French conquest When the French revolution guillotined King Louis XVI, King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia declared war on the French Republic, but in three successive engagements, the Battle of Montenotte (12 April 1796), the Battle of Millesimo (13–14 April 1796) and the Battle of Mondovi (21 April 1796), General Napoleon Bonaparte defeated the Piedmontese. In suing for peace, Victor Amadeus was forced to cede Savoy and Nice to France. The territory became part of the Department of Mont-Blanc. King Victor Amadeus died on 18 October 1796, and his son and successor, Carlo Emanuele was forced to abdicate on 6 December 1798.The King retreated to the Island of Sardinia. Bonaparte crossed the Alps again in the Spring of 1800, intent on driving the Austrians out of the Po Valley. The victory at the Battle of Marengo gave the French control of most of Lombardy.
The French government, in the guise of ending the practices of feudalism, confiscated the incomes and benefices of the bishops and priests, and made them employees of the state, with a fixed income and the obligation to swear an oath of loyalty to the French constitution. As in metropolitan France, the government program also included reducing the number of bishoprics, making them conform as far as possible with the civil administration's "departments". Following the Concordat of 1801 between Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII, the Pope issued a bull, Gravissimis causis (1 June 1803), in which the number of diocese in Piedmont was reduced to eight: Turin, Vercelli, Ivrea, Acqui, Asti, Mondovi, Alessandria and Saluzzo. Alba was suppressed, and its territory was handed over to the diocese of Asti. Bishop Vitale of Alba was required to resign.
The Kingdom of Sardinia and the Papal States (which had been abolished by the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte) were restored by the Congress of Vienna. The confused situation of the dioceses in Piedmont was addressed by Pope Pius VII in his bull, Beati Petri (17 July 1817)Bullarii Romani continuatio, VII, pp. 1490-1503, § 11. as far as the redrawing of diocesan boundaries was concerned. The diocese of Alba was restored, and it temporarily took control of the territory of the suppressed diocese of Mondovi, until it too was restored on 29 October 1817.
Bishops Diocese of Alba Pompeia to 1100
[Dionisius (350–355)] Adelgisus (355) Severus (391, 397) Bruningus (419) Aldericus (443) Lampadius (c. 499)Lampadius was present and subscribed the acts of the Council of Rome of 499. J. D. Mansi (ed.), Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio, editio novissima, Tomus VIII (Florence: A. Zatta 1762), p. 235. Savio, p. 51. Kehr, p. 185. Manfredo (482, 483) [Venanzio (503)]Venanzio was Bishop of Alba Vivaria (Viviers) in France, not Alba in Piedmont. Savio, p. 51. Lanzoni, p. 830. Oldarico (532) Pietro I (563) Venanzio II (593) Guglielmo (627) Vitelmo I (661) Benedictus (c. 680)Bishop Benedictus was present at the Council of Rome of 680. J. D. Mansi (ed.), Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio, editio novissima, Tomus XI (Florenze: A. Zatta 1765), p. 306. Savio, pp. 51-52. Kehr, p. 185. Lampadio II (801) Sigifredo (829) Pietro (c. 855)Ughelli, p. 285, places Bishop Pietro at a provincial council in Pavia in 855, but Savio (p. 52) points out that the subscription list of that council does not survive. Hildradus (c. 876)Bishop Hildradus, referred to in the vernacular as Olderado or Ildrado, took part in the election of Charles the Bald at Pavia in February 876. He was present at the Council of Ravenna in November 877. Savio, p. 52. Kehr, p. 185. Liutardus (c. 901)Bishop Liutardus signed a charter in April 901. Savio, pp. 52-54. Kehr, p. 185. Vitelmo II (901)Bima, p. 94, repeated by the Dizionario corografico, p. 23. Neither Ughelli nor Savio mention this alleged bishop. [Daiberto (c. 938, 945)]Daibertus witnessed the Testament of Bishop Attone of Vercelli. Savio, p. 54. Kehr, p. 185. Schwartz, p. 90 with note 1, points out that the source, the Testament of Atto of Vercelli, is a forgery. Fulcardus (969–985)During the reign of Fulcardus, the diocese of Alba was united with the diocese of Asti; . He was dead by 985. Schwartz, p. 90. Constantinus (c. 997, c. 1006)Constantinus subscribed at a council held in Pavia by Pope Gregory V in 997 (between February and June). On 2 December 1006, he was authorized by the Pope (John XVIII ?) to participate in the consecration of the church of Fruttuaria. Savio, p. 55. Schwartz, p. 90. Obertus (1027)On 6 April 1027, Bishop Obertus was present at the Roman synod of Pope John XIX. Schwartz, p. 91. Benzo (attested 1059–1090)It is conjectured that Benzo was a south Italian, and that he was named Bishop of Alba by Emperor Henry III (died 1056). It is also conjectured that he was a north Italian. Benzo was already Bishop of Alba in 1059. Bonizo of Sutri, Ad Amicum VI, says that Bishop Benzo of Alba was present at the Roman synod of April 1059 held by Pope Nicholas II. He supported the antipope of Emperor Henry IV, Cadalus, who was called Honorius II (1061–1064), and followed him to Rome in 1061 and again in 1063. He retreated with him to Germany in 1065, but was apparently back in his diocese by 1076 or 1077. He wrote his book In Hugonem schismaticum in 1089. Gams, p. 809 column 2. Schwartz, p. 91. Albertus (1061, 1074)Ughelli, IV, p. 286, says he has in his possession a manuscript of the acta of Nicholas II, in which he finds that Albert seems to have been elected in 1061 Peregrinus (attested 1098)Bishop Peregrinus was a supporter of the Emperor, and was labelled an "Invasor" by the Synod of Milan. Schwartz, p. 92.
from 1100 to 1400
Pietro de Valpergia (1124–1125)Pietro was Abbot of the monastery of S. Benedetto di Fruttuaria, according to the chronicle of the abbey, from 1118 to 1124. He was then elected Bishop of Alba, but for only a short time, since his successor was in place by December 1125. Savio, p. 59. Schwartz, p. 92. Robaldus (1125–1139)Robaldus had been Archdeacon of Milan. In December 1125 Bishop Robaldus subscribed a decree of a provincial council of Milan (Sassi, p. 488, from Ludovico Antonio Muratori, Antiquitates Italiae Tomus V (Milan 1741), column 1027). From 1133 to 1135 he served as Vicar of the Church of Milan, as Archbishop Anselmo had been expelled and deposed as a supporter of Pope Anacletus II (1130–1138). On 29 July 1139 Robaldus was elected Archbishop of Milan (1135–1145). His transfer to the diocese of Milan was approved by Pope Innocent II. Savio, p. 59. Pietro (V.) (1150–1158)Ughelli, IV, p. 286, says that Bishop Petrus was present at Frederick Barbarossa's diet of Roncalia in November 1158. Savio, p. 59. Rozone (c. 1163)A single document places Rozone in the episcopal chair of Alba in 1163. Savio, p. 59. Otto (c. 1169 – c. 1177)Bishop Otho certified an arbitration on 15 June 1169. On 1 August 1177 he participated in a peace with Venice. Savio, p. 60. ? Federico (1180) Bonifacius (1185, 1188)Bonifacius: Savio, pp. 60-61.