The Diocese of Ariano Irpino-Lacedonia () is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Benevento.
In 1986 the Diocese of Ariano and the Diocese of Lacedonia merged to form the current diocese of Ariano Irpino-Lacedonia,"Diocese of Ariano Irpino-Lacedonia" Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved February 29, 2016"Diocese of Ariano Irpino–Lacedonia" GCatholic.org. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved February 29, 2016 which comprises twenty towns in the province of Avellino, three in that of Benevento, and one in the province of Foggia. There are 43 parishes in the diocese.See the .
History Ariano (currently Ariano Irpino), a medieval town built on three hills along the Apennines, occupies an ancient site of the Samnite tribe of the Hirpini.Ughelli VIII, p. 212. Parzanese, in: D'Avino, p. 31.
Beneventum, at the beginning of the fourth century, had a bishop, and the Gospel may have reached Ariano from that city. The Bishop of Beneventum was one of the nineteen prelates who were present at the Synod of Rome, held in the year 313.See Routt, Reliquiae Sacrae III, 312, and Harnack, Die Mission, etc., 501.
Ariano was an episcopal city from the tenth century and perhaps before that time. It is first mentioned in the Bull "Cum Certum Sit" of Pope John XIII of 26 May 979, which promoted the diocese of Beneventum to metropolitan rank, and named Ariano as a suffragan see.Aloysius Tomassetti (ed.), Bullarum diplomatum et privilegiorum sanctorum romanorum pontificum, Volume 1 (Turin: Seb. Franco, H. Fori et Henrico Dalmazzo editoribus, 1857, p. 422: "...tribuentes tibi insuper cum eo potestatem et honorem arcbiepiscopatus, ita ut fraternitas tua, et successores tui infra suam dioecesim, in locis, quibus olim fuerant, semper in perpetuum episcopos consecret, qui vestrae subiaceant ditioni, scilicet sanctae Agathae, Abellini, Quintodecimi, Ariani, Asculi, Bibini, Vnlturariae, Larini, Thelesiae, Aliphae."
It is clear that the diocese existed at the beginning of the 11th century. In a document of October 1016, the Archpriest Petrus acts in the capacity of "rector episcopii sancte sedis Arianensis, in a suit "una cum Cicinus clericus atvocatorem predicto episcopio." It is not clear whether Petrus is acting on behalf of an unnamed bishop, or is acting during a vacancy in the episcopacy.Paola Massa, "Vivere «secundum Langnobardorum legem»," pp. 13-14.
The first known bishop was Bonifacius (attested 1039).A. Pratesi "«Chartae rescriptae» del sec. XI provenienti da Ariano Irpino." in: Bulletino dell' istituto Italiano per il medio evo LXVIII (1956), p. 193, no. 2. The Catholic Encyclopedia article on "Ariano" is obsolete on this point.
In 1070, Bishop Meinardus erected in his cathedral a marble baptistery on the walls of which verses were inscribed, recording the date and the bishop's name.Ughelli VIII, p. 213. Bishop Meinardus of Ariano attended the provincial synod summoned by Archbishop Milo of Benevento in March 1075.J.D. Mansi (ed.), Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio, editio novissima, Tomus XX (Venice; A. Zatta 1775), pp. 445-448.
The bishops of Ariano also held the fief and the title of Barons of S. Eleuterio, certainly by 1307, and perhaps as a gift of the emperor Frederick II (d. 1250).Vitale, pp. 358-360.
The city of Ariano was completely ruined by the great earthquakes of December 1456. The dead numbered between 600 and 2200, depending on reports. Bishop Orso Leone (1449–1456) had a metrical inscription placed in the episcopal palace, numbering the dead at a thousand. The town was rebuilt by 1470.Ughelli VIII, pp. 212-213. Vitale, p. 11. Cappelletti XIX, p. 126.
The diocese was severely affected by a plague in 1528, bringing about the deaths of around 5,000 persons.Vitale, p. 216. The loss of life was so heavy that, taking into account also the losses from earthquakes, it was necessary to close five parishes.Vitale, p. 266.
The diocesan seminary was founded in 1564, by Bishop Donato Laurenti (1563–1584).Vitale, p. 249. Bishop Giacinto della Calce, O.Theat. (1697–1715) rebuilt the diocesan seminary, which had been ruined in the earthquakes of 1688 and 1694.Vitale, pp. 214-242. It was again destroyed by the earthquake of 1732, and rebuilt by Bishop Filippo Tipaldi (1717–1748) in 1735.Cappelletti XIX, p. 135.
In November 1732, another great earthquake struck Ariano, which was again totally destroyed. The number of dead, however, was only c. 160, since it was harvest time and the largest part of the population was in the fields. With the churches ruined, the bishop had a temporary church constructed of wood and plaster in the main square, so that religious services could be held.Vitale, pp. 244-245: "A 29. novembre 1732. un orribile terremoto desola quasi tutta la città, ed in conseguenza il Palazzo Vescovile, i Conventi, le Chiese e specialmente la Cattedrale; dimodochè esso Vescovo andò ad abitare nel Convento de Cappuccini, in cui una parte era rimasta intatta...." Four nuns were killed, and nearly all the survivors were dispersed to other convents elsewhere. Baratta, pp. 794-795.
In 1697, the city of Ariano had a population of some 5,000 individuals; in the city were ten parishes and two collegiate churches.Ritzler & Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica V, p. 98, note 1. In 1748, the city of Ariano had a population estimated at 10,000. In the city were twelve parishes, of which three were collegiate churches, each with a number of canons. There were five houses of religious men, and one of women. The diocese also had twelve "loca". The population of the entire diocese was reckoned at 54,000 souls.Ritzler & Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica VI, p. 99, note 1. According to Pietro Paolo Parzanese, a canon of the cathedral Chapter (V. D'Avino, Cenni storici...del regno delle due Sicilie (Napoli: Ranucci 1848), p. 31, column 1), the "loca" include: Ariano, Melilo, Bonito, Roseto, Monte-malo, Buonalbergo, Casalbero, Ginestra, Montefalcone, Castelfranco, Monieleone, Zungoli, and Villanova.
After Napoleon Following the extinction of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy, the Congress of Vienna authorized the restoration of the Papal States and the Kingdom of Naples. Since the French occupation had seen the abolition of many Church institutions in the Kingdom, as well as the confiscation of most Church property and resources, it was imperative that Pope Pius VII and King Ferdinand IV reach agreement on restoration and restitution.
A concordat was finally signed on 16 February 1818, and ratified by Pius VII on 25 February 1818. Ferdinand issued the concordat as a law on 21 March 1818.F. Torelli (1848), La chiave del concordato dell'anno 1818 I, second edition (Naples: Fibreno 1848), pp. 1-19. The re-erection of the dioceses of the kingdom and the ecclesiastical provinces took more than three years. The right of the king to nominate the candidate for a vacant bishopric was recognized, as in the Concordat of 1741, subject to papal confirmation (preconisation).Torelli I, p. 9. On 27 June 1818, Pius VII issued the bull De Ulteriore, in which he reestablished the metropolitan archbishopric of Benevento, with ten suffragan dioceses, including the diocese of Ariano.Bulliarii Romani Continuatio Tomus 25 (Rome 1853), p. 58, § 11: "Ecclesia archiepiscopalis Beneventana dominio Sedis apostoliche etiam in temporalibus subjecta suffraganeas habere perget episcopales in regia ditione citra Pharum existentes ecclesias Avellinam, Arianensem, Bovinensem, Lucerinam, sancti Severi, Cerretanam et Thelesinam unitas, Bojanensem, Thermularum, Larinensem, et sanctae Agathae Gothorum....."
The case of Bishop Caputo Fra Michele Maria Caputo was a Dominican friar, born at Nardo, in the heel of the boot of Italy. He served his year as a novice in Trani, where he also obtained a degree in theology. He taught humanities at Nardo, and then philosophy and theology to students in his Order. He was repeatedly elected Prior of his convent in Taranto, and in 1845 became Provincial of the Dominican province of Puglia. In 1852 he became a master of theology.[Anon.], "Caputo, Michele Maria," in: Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Volume 19 (1976), § 1-2.
On 12 June 1852, he was nominated Bishop of Oppido Maritima, and was confirmed by Pope Pius IX on 27 September 1852.Ritzler & Sefrin VIII, p. 476. He made his formal entry into the diocese on 20 February 1851, and immediately began a program of reform of the clergy. He also undertook a reform of the staff of the diocesan seminary, replacing dead wood with priests who were in touch with modern philosophy and theology.Vito Andrea di Risi (1858), Rendimento di conto morale, materiale, e finanziero del seminario di Oppido (Oppido: G. Vernieri 1858). He was a supporter of the pope's claims to universal spiritual authority, and he warmly endorsed the new doctrine of the Immaculate Conception (1854). He established in his diocese a "Monte di pieta," a sort of controlled pawn brokerage, and a "Monte frumentario," a sort of agricultural bank. When he began to look closely into the episcopal income and the finances of the diocese, he discovered many cases of misappropriation of goods and properties. He undertook a series of lawsuits, intending to recover everything which had slipped from the hands of his predectessors. His successes, especially in the civil courts brought him resentment and opposition in many quarters. Retaliation against the bishop took the form accusations lodged with higher religious and civil authorities, in particular, that he was often absent from Oppido, in the village of Piminoro, where he maintained an illicit relationship with his housekeeper. The Pope responded to the pressure by transferring Bishop Caputo, with the consent of King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies,Bishop Caputo is accused by his enemies of having poisoned the king, who died on 22 May 1859. to the diocese of Ariano, on 27 September 1858; Caputo was appointed Administrator of Oppido.[Anon.], "Caputo, Michele Maria," in: Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Volume 19 (1976), § 4.
The successes of the Piedmontese armies, and the incorporation of most of the Papal States into the Kingdom of Sardinia, as well as the successes of Giuseppe Garibaldi in Sicily, stimulated spontaneous uprisings in many cities of the Kingdom of Naples. When supporters of Garibaldi, led by General Turr, approached Ariano,Emilio Pecorini-Manzoni, Stefano Türr ed il risorgimento italiano: cenni storici-biografici (Catanzaro: Tipografia Nuova 1902), pp. 85-89. a conservative peasant uprising resulted in the murders of some thirty liberals. Bishop Caputo's brother Giuseppe was arrested by the General, causing the bishop to flee to Naples.[Anon.], "Caputo, Michele Maria," in: Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Volume 19 (1976), § 6.