The Diocese of Recanati was a Roman Catholic diocese in Italy. It was founded in 1240 by Pope Gregory IX.Leopardi, p. 26. Eubel, Hierarchia catholica I, p. 410, note 1 (stating that the bull was dated 4 July 1240).
Its principal church, S. Flaviano, was raised to the dignity of a cathedral on 21 December 1239, and separated from the jurisdiction of the diocese of Osimo. The diocese of Osimo was suppressed, having chosen to support the Emperor Frederick II against the pope.Cappelletti, Le chiese d' Italia VII, pp. 197-198, quoting the bull in full. On 22 May 1240, the Castello di Recanati was raised to the dignity of a city by Gregory IX.Leopardi, p. 26.
During its early history it often lost and regained its episcopal status due to papal politics.Umberto Benigni (1911). "Recanati and Loreto." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 12. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911; retrieved: 6 February 2019. On 27 July 1263 the diocese was completely suppressed by Pope Urban IV in the Bull Cives Recanatensis, due to its support of Manfred, who claimed the Kingdom of Sicily.Pope Urban IV, "Cives Recanatenses", in Bullarum diplomatum et privilegiorum sanctorum Romanorum pontificum Taurinensis editio, Tomus III (Turin 1858), pp. 697–698 (in Latin).
It survives as a titular see.
History
Pope Sixtus V was greatly devoted to the cult of the Virgin Mary and the Holy House of Loreto, purported to be the house in Nazareth in which the Virgin Mary was born or lived, and which was transported by angels to Tersatto, Croatia, in 1291.Pope Sixtus himself states in Pro excellenti § 1: in cuius medio inest illud sacrum cubiculum divìnis mysteriis consecratum, in quo dicta Virgo Maria naia fuit, et ibidem ipsa, ab angelo salutata, Salvatorem Mundi de Spiritu Sancto concepti, ministerio angelorum illuc translatum; et ad dictam ecclesiam, ob miracula, quae in dies omnipotens Dominus , intercessione et meritis eiusdem B. Mariae Virginis, in eodem cubiculo operari dignatur.... These legends can only be traced back to the 14th century. Loreto was an ecclesiastical territory belonging to no diocese and directly subject to the Holy See. Pope Sixtus conceived of a plan to honor the Virgin by exalting the town where her shrine was located. On 17 March 1586, he decreed, in the Bull Pro excellenti, that the town (oppidum) of Loreto should be raised to the status of a city (civitas), and that the city should become the center of a diocese, with its seat at the Basilica of the Virgin Mary. To provide territory to support the apparatus of a diocese, the already existing diocese of Recanati was suppressed, and its territory was transferred to the new diocese of Loreto. The cathedral of Recanati was demoted to the status of collegiate church. Bishop Galeazzo Moroni, the Bishop of Macerata who was also Bishop of Recanati, was released from his connection to the diocese of Recanati.
Sixtus went even further. He wanted Loreto to enjoy the prestige of being a festival city. He had already, on 7 July 1590, ordered the Auditor of the Rota for Macerata to police and restrict the festivals associated with the grain harvest and the wine harvest.Bullarum diplomatum et privilegiorum sanctorum Romanorum pontificum Taurensis editio Tomus IX, p. 358: committimus et mandamus ut feriarum dies, tam messium et vindemiarum quam aliis anni temporibus in rubrica introductos, praeterquam in honorem Dei ac Sanctorum ex praecepto S. R. E. indictos, cum mercantilium et aliarum quarumcumque causarum expeditioni opus fore aut expedire iudicaveris, moderari, restringere iisque ad tui libitum derogare debeas.... He also he intended to transfer the annual fair of Recanati to Loreto. The bull was ordered, but Sixtus died before it could be finished or executed.Leopardi, p. 201. Recanati sent ambassadors to his successor, Pope Urban VII, to congratulate him and to complain about Sixtus' injustices, but the new pope died after only thirty days in office.Leopardi, p. 201-202: debeant nomine publico reddi et restitui Ecclesiam Cathedralem jam translatam in Ecclesiam Lauretanam, cum omnibus suis introitibus, et cum Gabellis in Civitate Laureti, et Territorium, indebite et injuste, et absque aliqua culpa, defectu, sive demeritis nostrae Civitatis ablatas per Sixtum Papam V. The next pope, Gregory XIV was favorable to the idea of the restoration of the diocese of Recanati, but reversing the actions of a previous pope required subtlety and preparation. He therefore appointed a commission of cardinals, which agreed to reverse the acts of Sixtus V almost completely. The Administrator of Loreto, however, intrigued and eventually got Gregory XIV to appoint a second commission, which was agreed to restore the bishopric of Recanate, but not its territory. In the meantime, Pope Gregory died on 15 October 1591.Leopardi, p. 202, with note 1. The next pope, Innocent IX, immediately proposed in Consistory the restoration of the diocese of Recanati, and on 19 December 1591 issued the decree. But Innocent died on 29 December 1591, and the bull remained unsigned. Pope Innocent VIII was elected on 30 January 1592, and on 9 February he issued the bull which restored the diocese of Recanati and united to it the diocese of Loreto, to form the Diocese of Recanati-Loreto.Leopardi, p. 203.
In implementing the Lateran Pact of 1929, it was necessary that the Holy See (Papacy) make extensive changes in the status of the diocese and sanctuary of Loreto. The Holy Shrine was to be placed under the direction of the Holy See, but that presented a problem, since the Basilica was the seat of the bishop of Recanati e Loreto; the seat had to be removed.Lateran Pact, Article 27: The basilicas of the Holy House in Loreto, of San Francesco in Assisi and of Sant'Antonio in Padua with the buildings and annexed works, except those of a merely secular nature, will be sold to the Holy See and their administration will be freely assigned to the Holy See. The other bodies of any kind managed by the Holy See in Italy as well as the colleges of missions will also be free from any interference by the State and by conversion. However, Italian laws concerning the purchases of moral bodies remain applicable. Pope Pius XI, therefore, in the Bull Laurentanae Basilicae of 15 September 1934, suppressed the diocese of Loreto and removed the seat of a bishop from the basilica.Pius XI, "Lauretanae Basilicae", Acta Apostolicae Sedis 26 (Citta del Vaticano 1934), pp. 578-579: Quapropter, suppleto, quatenus opus sit, consensu interesse habentium vel habere praesumentium, Apostolicae potestatis plenitudine, episcopalem cathedram in Basilica Lauretana exsistentem supprimimus; atque eamdem Basilicam aedesque continentes, ab Ordinarii Recinetensis et Lauretani iurisdictione in omnibus exemptas, Nostrae Ipsius iurisdictioni directo subiicimus.... The relationship of the bishop between his dioceses of Recanati and Loreto aeque personaliter was dissolved, and the diocese of Loreto was incorporated into the diocese of Recanati. The current bishop of Recanati, Aluigi Cossio, was to be called the bishop of Recanati-Loreto, for the time being."Lauretanae Basilicae": Suppressa autem cathedra Lauretana, et ipsam Lauretanam dioecesim, quae hucusque cathedrali Ecclesiae Recinetensi aeque principaliter unita'exstitit, eidem dioecesi pleno iure in perpetuum incorporamus, eius titulo tantum servato; propterea Episcopus Recinetensis pro tempore exsistens Episcopi Recinetensis-Lauretani titulo fruetur.
On 11 October 1935, the Roman Curia's Consistorial Congregation published a decree, stating that Pope Pius XI had ordered that the jurisdiction of the Administrator of the Pontifical Basilica of Loreto should extend to the city of Loreto and the surrounding district, in which the jurisdiction of the bishop of Recanati-Loreto was to be suspended as long as papal administration applied. The bishop of Recanati thus lost part of his diocesan territory, and Loreto's obligation to contribute to the bishop's income was terminated. Sacra Congregatio Consistorialis, "Pontificiae Administrationis Lauretanae decretum", Acta Apostolicae Sedis 26 (Citta del Vaticano 1934), pp. 71-73: benigne statuit ut iurisdictio Administratoris Pontificii Basilicae Lauretanae ad territorium Lauretanae civitatis eiusque districtus, iuxta praesentes fines civiles, quod ad dioecesim Recinetensem-Lauretanam pertinet, exstendatur, totaliter suspensa proinde, durante Administratione Pontificia, super eodem territorio, iurisdictione Ordinarii Recinetensis-Lauretani.
On 30 September 1986 it merged with the Diocese of Macerata-Tolentino, the Diocese of Osimo e Cingoli and the Diocese of San Severino to form the Diocese of Macerata-Tolentino-Recanati-Cingoli-Treia, abolishing the status aequaliter principaliter, resulting in there being one diocese and one bishop.Congregation of Bishops, Decree Instantibus votis, Acta Apostolicae Sedis 79 (Citta del Vaticano 1987), pp. 729–732. (in Latin) The changes were made necessary by a legal agreement between the Holy See and the Italian State: Quod autem effecit ut haec studia adhuc magis urgerent atque opportuna evaderent, vis legis fuit die 3 iunii 1985 normis tributa, quae recentioribus Pactis initis inter Sanctam Sedem et Gubernium Italicum continentur ; quibus quidem normis statuitur hinc « Circumscriptionem dioecesium (...) ab auctoritate ecclesiastica libere constitui » (art. 3/1 Pactorum diei 18 februarii 1984); illinc vero dioeceses iure canonico constitutas adipisci posse, iuridicam personalitatem in iure civili italico (cf. art. 29 Normarum quae approbatae sunt per Protocollum diei 15 novembris 1984). On December 17, 2022, the Holy See reestablished Recanati as a Titular See, and Bishop Diego Giovanni Ravelli was appointed as Titular Archbishop of that see.Titular See of Recanati
Chapter and cathedral The bull which created the cathedral of S. Flaviano in Recanati did not mention the new cathedral Chapter. In a document of 10 September 1256, however, appear the signatures of Paolo di Tedelgardo, Prior of the Chapter, and ten Canons. In an act of 14 April 1290 appear the signatures of Archdeacon Corrado and sixteen Canons.Ughelli, I, p. 1217. Leopardi, p. 35-36. When the diocese was restored and made part of the Diocese of Macerata e Recanati in 1356, the Cathedral of Macerata had an Archdeacon and eight Canons, while the co-cathedral in Recanati had a Provost and eight Canons. The Provost of Recanati was also Archpriest of the cathedral. In the mid-fifteenth century the Chapter of Recanati was again headed by an Archdeacon, but in 1467 the archdeaconate was suppressed, and the principal dignity of the Chapter was again the Provost.Leopardi, pp. 36-37. The archdeaconate was restored in 1518, by Bishop Luigi Tasso (1516–1520), who also issued new regulations for Canons and Altaristi.Vogel, p. 266. When the seat of the bishop was in Macerata, the services in the Cathedral of S. Flaviano in Recanati were maintained by the College of Mansionarii (Altaristi), fourteen in numberLeopardi, p. 38, 40.
In 1682, the Chapter of Recanati had four dignities (Provost, Archdeacon, Archpriest, DeanLeopardi, p. 37, 39-40.) and twelve Canons, while the Chapter of Loreto had four dignities and seventeen Canons.Ritzler-Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica V, p. 330, note 1. In 1746, the Chapter of Recanati had four dignities and eighteen Canons, while the Chapter of Loreto had four dignities and twenty Canons.Ritzler-Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica VI, p. 354, note 1.
There had also been a College of Canons at the church of S. Vitus, but in 1461 the Canons were assimilated to the cathedral Chapter. Their Cantor, however, did not become one of the Canons.Vogel, p. 215.
Synods