The Diocese of Cremona () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in northern Italy. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Milan. The bishop of Cremona's cathedra is in the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.
, the Diocese of Cremona had 223 parishes, all located within the region of Lombardy, and the majority (174) within the Province of Cremona, besides 28 in the Province of Mantua, 17 in the Province of Bergamo, and 4 in the Province of Milan.Source for parishes: .
History
Cremona is in Lombardy, Italy, on the left (north) bank of the River Po. It was built by the Cenomani Gauls, but later became a Roman colony and a frontier fortress.
The tradition of Cremona considers St. Sabinus to be its first missionary and first bishop; he is said to have lived in the 1st century, though there is no documentary or monumental proof of his existence.Cf. Sanclemente, p. 1, no. 1: "Sabinus circa An. D. LV., a quo traditur nominata Ecclesia S. Savini." Lanzoni observes that the episcopal lists are not all names of historical bishops, but actually only of persons who had a public cult (such as a church named after them) in the diocese: "molti e forti indizi dimostrano che i santi enumerati nel Communicantes non furono antichi vescovi di Cremona, ricordati nell'ordine di successione dai primordi in poi, ma nella immensa maggioranza semplicemente santi, vescovi o no, che ebbero ed hanno culto pubblico in Cremona." His putative successor, Felix () is known only from the name of a church.Sanclemente, p. 1: FELIX circa An. Salutis LXXXVI., a quo fertur dicta Ecclesia S. Felicis." Among the early bishopsCf. Cappelletti XII, p. 126. are S. Syrinus (), a mere name but said to be a vigorous opponent of Arianism because of his alleged date, and S. Silvinus (733). Liudprand of Cremona was sent (946) as ambassador to Constantinople by the Emperor Otto II, and is a noted historical writer of the 10th century.Cappelletti XII, pp. 156-160.
On 21 September 603, Cremona, until then a part of the Byzantine Empire, was captured by the Lombard king, Agilulf and completely destroyed.Cappelletti XII, p. 128, citing Paul the Deacon, Historia Langobardorum. Under the Emperor Otto I (962–973) and his successors, its bishops acquired temporal sovereignty,Sanclemente, pp. 225-226. but the people expelled Bishop Oldericus (973–1004) and adopted a republican form of government.Ughelli IV, pp. 592–597 (quoting the documents). Cappelletti XII, pp. 160-161. On 26 February 1004, Bishop Oldericus obtained from Adelmus (a.k.a. Azo), the royal Missus of King Arduin (1002–1014), the royal ban against anyone who attempted to seize properties belonging to the bishop.Sanclemente, pp. 227-228.
In 987, Bishop Oldericus founded a Benedictine monastery in honor of S. Lawrence in Cremona. In 1546 the Benedictines were succeeded by Olivetan monks. The monastery was suppressed by the French occupation administration in 1797.Kehr VI. 1, p. 283.
In 1104, the diocese received a new bishop, Landulfus, a German and a Councillor and Chaplain of the Emperor Henry II, whose ascent was patronized by Henry's queen, Cunegonda.Robolotti, p. 17. Landulfus was insensitive, arrogant, and overbearing. He was particularly hostile to his predecessor's foundation, the monastery of S. Lorenzo.Sigard, in: MGH SS XXXI, p. 120. His ill-treatment of the monks roused the anger of the citizens of Cremona, who had already twice suffered under the invasion of German imperial armies. They expelled Bishop Landulfus from the city, confiscated all his goods, and razed the bishop's castle to its foundations.Robolotti, pp. xxvi-xxvii, xxxi. The bishop's servants who were inside the castle were able to make an arrangement with the canons of the cathedral to ransom themselves with all of their goods, but their houses were destroyed.Novati, pp. 254–256, with note 9, quoting a diploma of the Emperor Conrad: "...comperimus quod Cremonenses Cives contra S. Cremonensem Ecclesiam ... ac contra Landulfum bone memorie ejusdem sedis Episcopum eorum spiritualem patrem et dominum ita conspiravissent et coniurassent ut eum cum gravi ignominia ac dedecore de civitate ejecissent et de bonis suis expoliassent et terram unam castro cum duplici muro et turribus circumdatam funditus eruissent et famulos qui intererant ut mortem evadere possent cum quibusdam fidelibus canonicis venales fecissent et omnia bona que habebant eis tulissent, eorum domos optimas destruxissent et civitatem veterem a fundamentis obruissent et aliam majorem contra nostri honoris statum edificassent, ut nobis resisterent...." Sanclemente, pp. 59-60. Cappelletti XII, pp. 160-163. Bishop Landulfus was not able to reoccupy his episcopal seat until around 1010.Robolotti, p. xxvi.
The Emperor Henry IV (1056–1106), however, confirmed Bishop Landulf in all imperial grants made to his predecessors. On the other hand Emperor Henry V (1106–25) restored to the people their communal rights. Thenceforth Cremona became a citadel of Ghibellinism and was greatly favoured by Frederic Barbarossa and Emperor Frederick II, though for the same reason frequently at war with the neighbouring cities.Cappelletti XII, p. 125.
In 1107, the city committed itself to the building of a new cathedral, and laid the first cornerstone in the absence of the bishop.Cristiano Zanetti, La Cattedrale di Cremona. Genesi, simbologia ed evoluzione di un edificio romanico. Annali della Biblioteca Statale, Volume LIX (Cremona 2008), pp. 22-26. In 1113, after his return, Bishop Landulfus held a diocesan synod, but the city was consumed by a fire on 10 August 1113.Sicard, Cronica, p. 162: "Anno Domini millesimo CXIII predicta fuit synodus celebrata, et Cremona incendio concremata." Annales Cremonenses, p. 3: "Cremona fuit incensa MCXIII, in festo sancti Laurentii. Then, on 3 January 1117, a major earthquake struck the Veneto and Lombardy, ruining the cathedral.Sicard, Cronica, p. 162: "Anno Domini millesimo CXVI (1117) terre motus magnus in Ianuario fuit, propter quem maior Cremonensis ecclesia corruit, et corpus confessoris Ymerii diu latuit sub ruina." Mario Baratta, I terramoti d'Italia (Turin: Fratelli Bocca 1901), pp. 22-24.
In 1211 and 1212, the papal legate Gerard of Sessa used Cremona as his base of operations in Lombardy, and employed Bishop Sicard of Cremona in some of his activities.Maria Cipollone (1987), "Gerardo da Sesso, Legato apostolico al tempo di Innocenzo III," Aevum 61, no. 2 (1987): 358–388, at 364-365. Accessed 26 October 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20858202.
In later medieval times Cremona had many lords or "tyrants", the Pallavicini, the Dovara,G. Hanauer, "Das Bereufspodestat im dreizehnten Jahrhundert," in: Mittheilungen des Instituts für Oesterreichische Geschichtsforschung, Volume 23 (Innsbruck: Wagner 1902), pp. 418-419. the Cavalcabo, the Visconti of Milan (1334–1402), the Sforza, until it became part of the Duchy of Milan (1328). The commune of Cremona was abolished by Azzo Visconti in 1334. In 1702 it was taken by imperial troops, and in 1796 and 1800 fell into the hands of the French.Cappelletti XII, p. 125.
Other important bishops were Gualtiero (1096), in whose time the cathedral was begun;Sanclemente, p. 78. Sicardus (1185–1215), author of a chronicle and of the Mitrale, a handbook on ecclesiastical offices; Cacciaconte da Somma (1261–1285), under whom was erected the belfry of the cathedral; Niccolo Sfondrati (1560–1590), later Pope Gregory XIV; his nephew Cardinal Paolo Sfondrati (1607–1610); also the zealous and charitable Omobono di Offredi (1791–1829).
Bartolomeo Platina, the papal scriptor, Librarian of the Vatican Library, and noted author of papal biographies, who was born in the village of Piadena (Platina), seven miles east of Cremona, styled himself Cremonensis.
Cremona lost part of its territory to the newly established Diocese of Crema in 1579 for political reasons, as Cremona was Spanish while Crema was Venetian at time.
The complicated election of 1313 Bishop Raynerius de Casulo died two or three days before Christmas 1312.Sanclemente, pp. 129–130, conjectures that it was several days before Christmas Eve, since (according to him) bishops were laid out for viewing by the people for several days before interment. This was not the case, however, for popes or for most persons, clerical or lay. The preliminary meeting to summon electors to a meeting to elect his successor met on 15 February 1313, and fixed 17 February as the day of the election.A notarized set of minutes of the proceedings survives, and has been published by Sanclemente, pp. 129–134 (partially summarized), and Cappelletti XII, pp. 194–201 (verbatim). Twelve electors met on 17 February in the choir of the cathedral, and announced their votes on oath in a scrutiny. Six of the twelve cast their votes for Canon Egidiolus de Bonseriis, four for Canon and Cantor Egidius de Madalbertis, one for Canon Joannes de Parma, and one for the archpriest. Egidiolus had half of the votes, but not a majority. Bickering began immediately. Egidiolus' party claimed that his supporters were older, were more outstanding in merit, and held more prestigious positions; they claimed that Egidius was not in Holy Orders, and therefore should not be electable. The other party pointed out that, while Egidiolus had more votes than Egidius, he had not reached a majority and his supporters were not the sanior pars of the electors; moreover, he possessed insufficient knowledge and his lifestyle was not commendable (as required by the Lateran Council).Cappelletti, p. 198.
Each party however proclaimed its candidate elected, and sang a Te Deum.
Sanclemente, relying on the authority of an unpublished manuscript by Giuseppe Maria Bonafossa, states that Egidiolus immediately demanded confirmation of his election from his metropolitan, Archbishop Gaston of Milan. The archbishop took the plea, and granted Egidiolus possession and administration rights. Egidiolus' opponents immediately registered a complaint with the archbishop, and demanded the confirmation of Egidius de Madalbertis, according to Cappelletti.Sanclemente, p. 133. If Sanclemente had had any documentary evidence, he would have, as was his practice, quoted it. Cappelletti XII, p. 200, repeats Sanclemente. In due course, the suits reached the papal Court. Unfortunately, Pope Clement V died on 20 April 1314, before the impasse was resolved. The papal Sede vacante lasted until 7 August 1316, when the Conclave elected Cardinal Jacques Duèse as Pope John XXII.