The Diocese of Montefiascone (Latin Name: Faliscodunensis o Montis Falisci) was a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Italy. It was created from the diocese of Bagnorea in 1369. In 1986 was incorporated into the diocese of Viterbo, Acquapendente, Bagnoregio, Montefiascone, Tuscania e San Martino al Monte Cimino."Diocese of Montefiascone" Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved February 29, 2016."Titular Episcopal See of Montefiascone" GCatholic.org. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved February 29, 2016. The diocese was immediately subject to the Holy See.
History
The town of Montefiascone, or, more specifically, the Rocca di Montefiascone, had long beenM. Antonelli, Una relazione del vicario del Patrimonio a Giovanni XXII in Avignone," in: The Pope wrote, "...rectores Patrimonii beati Petri in Tuscia..... a longis retro temporibus, quorum memoria non existit, consueverunt cum sua curia residere." the official residence of the Rector of the Patrimony of Saint Peter, and, whenever a pope visited, of the pope as well.M. Antonelli, "Vicende della dominizione pontificia nel Patrimonio d S. Pietro in Tuscia," in:
Pope Urban V had stayed at Montefiascone during his journey from Avignon to Rome, and was greatly impressed by the loyalty and affection of the inhabitants toward himself and his predecessors. The Pope held a consistory for the creation of new cardinals at Montefiascone on 22 September 1368. He named six Frenchmen, a Roman, and an Englishman (Simon Langham).Eubel Hierarchia catholica I, p. 21.
The diocese of Montefiascone was erected by Pope Urban V by the papal bull, Cum Illius of 31 August 1369. He appointed the church of S. Margarita to serve as its cathedral, and he installed in it a Chapter composed of two dignities (the Dean and the Sacristan) and eight Canons with prebends. The Dean was to be elected by the Chapter and installed by the bishop, but the other offices were to be filled by appointment by the bishop. The territory for the diocese was taken from the diocese of Bagnoregio, and any properties or rights within that territory which belonged to the bishops of Bagnoregio, Castro, Orvieto, Viterbo or Tuscano were assigned to the bishop of Montefiascone.Cappelletti, Le chiese d'Italia V, pp. 632-638.
Pope Urban held another consistory for the creation of new cardinals at Montefiascone on 7 June 1370. Two cardinals were named, one a Florentine and the other from Rodez in France.Eubel I, p. 21. He departed from Montefiascone for Avignon on 26 August 1370, where he died on 19 December 1370.De Angelis, pp. 27-32, provides data for the Pope's movements between 1368 and 1370. See, more generally, Johann Peter Kirsch, Die Ruckkehr der Papste Urban V. und Gregor XI. von Avignon nach Rom (Paderborn 1898) [Quellen und Forschungen, 6].
New diocese
Its first bishop was the French Augustinian Pierre d'Anguiscen, appointed in 1376.Cappelletti, p. 646. Gams, p. 706 column 1. In 1378, when the Western Schism began, Bishop Pierre became a partisan of Clement VII (Avignon Obedience), and he was therefore deposed by Urban VI (Roman Obedience).
On 5 December 1435, the diocese of Montefiascone was united with the diocese of Corneto in the person of the bishop; that is the bishop of Montefiascone was also at the same time the bishop of Corneto, with each diocese retaining its own institutional integrity.Eugenius IV, bull In Supremae Dignitatis, in: "Ecclesiarum, quam Montisflasconis Ecclesiam hodie etiam eidem Ecclesiae Corneianensi univimus, annexuimus el incorporavimus, cum de Corneto ad Montemflascon., vel e converso de Monteflascone Cornetum recto itinere se transferro contigerit, extra tamen civitates, terras et castra atque loca alia, etiam in alien. dioecesibus consistentia, in via tantummodo obviantibus benedictionem impendere valeat, absque aiiorum iniuria seu contradictione quacumque." The union continued until, in 1854, Corneto became a part of the diocese of Civitavecchia.
In 1483, Bishop Domenico della Rovere laid the cornerstone for the new cathedral of S. Margarita in Montefiascone, and in his Last Will and Testament in 1501 he left money to continue the work, which had barely reached the level of the main floor of the church at the time of his death.Hans Ost, "Santa Margherita in Montefiascone: A Centralized Building Plan of the Roman Quattrocento," The Art Bulletin, Vol. 52, No. 4 (December 1970), pp. 373-389, especially pp. 374-375, 378, 387-388.
Synods Cardinal Marcantonio Barbarigo (1687–1706) held a diocesan synod in the cathedral of Montefiascone on 1–3 June 1692. Bishop Lodivio Zacchia held a diocesan synod in 1622. Cardinal Jean-Siffrein Maury (1794–1816) held a diocesan synod.The date is apparently unknown. Maury was in Montefiascone from 1794 to 1798, and again from 1800 to 1806. Bishop Sebastiano Pompilio Bonaventura (1706–1734) presided over a diocesan synod on 16–18 June 1710.
The erection of the diocesan seminary for Corneto and Montefiascone was the work of Cardinal Marcantonio Barbarigo.
End of the diocese By the middle of 1986, papal policy in the selection of bishops had concentrated in the person of Bishop Luigi Boccadoro: the Diocese of Viterbo e Tuscania, the diocese of Acquapendente (since 1951), the diocese of Montefiascone (since 1951), and the Administratorship of the diocese of Bagnoregio (since 1971); he was also the Abbot Commendatory of Monte Cimino. On 30 September 1986 Pope John Paul II moved to consolidate these several small dioceses by suppressing them and uniting their territories"in unam dioecesim iuridice redigeremus, satis enim eas coeptis, institutis, moribus, mente coaluisse....perpetuo unimus, unione, ut dicunt, exstinctiva; quae proinde adquiret atque comprehendet in suo territorio uniuscuiusque harum Ecclesiarum territorium" into the diocese of Viterbo e Tuscania, whose name was changed to the Diocese of Viterbo.Acta Apostolicae Sedis Vol. 78 (Città del Vaticano: Typis polyglottis vaticanis 1986), pp. 906-907. The diocese of Montefiascone ceased to exist as a territorial circumscription.
Bishops Diocese of Montefiascone Pierre d'Anguiscen (1369–1378)D'Anguiscen was appointed by Pope Urban V on 7 August 1369. He was deposed by Urban VI on 9 November 1378, as a follower of Clement VII in the Western schism which began in that year. Gams, p. 706. Eubel, Hierarchia catholica I, p. 348. Nicola Scarinci (1379–1398)Bishop Nicholas was also governor of the Patrimony of Saint Peter, from 1380. Cappelletti, p. 607. Gams, p. 706. Eubel I, p. 348. Antonius (Porziani) (1398–1404)A native of Alatri, Antonius had been a Canon and Subdeacon of the cathedral Chapter. He was appointed Bishop of Montefiascone on 18 August 1398. Bishop Antonius was transferred to the diocese of Sora by Pope Boniface IX on 27 February 1404. Eubel I, pp. 348, 458. Andreas de Galeatiis (1404–c.1410?)Andreas had previously been Bishop of Massa Maritima (1389–1390), and then of Assisi (1390–1404). Cappelletti, p. 607. Gams, p. 706. Eubel I, pp. 113, 329, 348. Antonius de Anagnia (c.1410–1429) Dominicus, O.P. (1429–1432)Eubel I, p. 348. Petrus Antonius (1432–1435)Eubel II, p. 195.
Diocese of Corneto (Tarquinia) e Montefiascone 5 December 1435:Cappelletti, p. 655. one bishop was the head of two dioceses at the same time Latin Name: Cornetanus Tarquiniensis et Montisflasconsis
Pietro Dell'Orto (1435–1439)Dell'Orso had previously been Bishop of Nepi (1433–1435). He was transferred to the diocese of Montefiascone and to the diocese of Corneto by Pope Eugenius IV on 12 December 1435, only one week after the creation of the diocese of Corneto. The diocese of Nepi, which he vacated, was united with the diocese of Sutri. He was transferred to the diocese of Massa Marittima on 6 March 1439. He died in 1467. Cappelletti, p. 655. Eubel Hierarchia catholica II, pp. 137, 187, 202. [Valentinus]Valentinus, Bishop of Orte, was appointed by Eugenius IV to succeed Bishop Pietro dell'Orto in January 1437, but on 20 September 1437 Valentinus declined the transfer and resigned the two dioceses into the hands of the Pope. Eubel II, pp. 137, note 2; 166. Bishop Pietro apparently stayed on at Montefiascone e Corneto. Cappelletti, p. 655. Bartholomaeus Vitelleschi (1438–1442)Vitelleschi was a member of the leading family of Corneto, the nephew of Cardinal Bartolomeo Vitelleschi, and brother of Pietro Vitelleschi, Castellan of the Rocca di Corneto. The cardinal was imprisoned in the Castel S. Angelo in Rome in 1440 for his opposition to Pope Eugenius IV and executed on 2 April; Pietro was deposed from his office as Castellan, and evicted by bribes and military force. Bishop Bartolomeo fled to Lausanne, where the Council of Basel was meeting, and embraced the party of Felix V. Pope Eugenius deposed him from the dioceses of Corneto e Montefiascone on 23 March 1442. On 6 May 1444, Felix V named him a cardinal. After the reconciliation between Eugenius and Felix, and after the death of Eugenius, Bishop Bartolomeo was reconciled to the new pope, Nicholas V, who restored him to the dioceses of Corneto e Montefiascone on 21 July 1448. He died on 13 December 1463. Gams, p. 706. . Eubel, Hierarchia catholica II, pp. 7 no. 3; 10 no. 24; 138. Francesco Materio (1442–1449)Materio: Eubel II, p. 138. Bartholomaeus Vitelleschi (1449–1463)Vitelleschi: Eubel Hierarchia catholica II, p. 138. Angelo Vitelleschi (1464–1467)Eubel Hierarchia catholica II, p. 138. Gisberto Tolomei (1467 – 1478 Died)Tolomei: Eubel Hierarchia catholica II, p. 138. Domenico della Rovere (24 Aug 1478 – 22 Apr 1501 Died). Alessandro Farnese (1499 –1509)On 28 Mar 1509 Farnese (the future Pope Paul III) was appointed Bishop of Parma. . Lorenzo Pucci (23 Mar 1519 – 13 Apr 1519 Resigned) Guido Ascanio Sforza (12 Nov 1528 – 4 Jun 1548 Resigned). Ubaldinus Bandinelli (4 Jun 1548 – Mar 1551 Died) Achille Grassi (21 Aug 1551 – 1555 Died) Carlo Grassi (20 Dec 1555 – 25 Mar 1571 Died). Ferdinando Farnese (27 Aug 1572 – 30 Mar 1573 Appointed, Bishop of Parma) Francesco Guinigi (8 Apr 1573 – Jan 1578 Died) Vincenzo Fucheri (29 Jan 1578 – 1580 Died) Girolamo Bentivoglio (7 Oct 1580 – 12 Apr 1601 Died)"Bishop Girolamo Bentivoglio" Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved March 21, 2016 Paolo Emilio Zacchia (14 May 1601 – 31 May 1605 Died) Laudivio Zacchia (1605 – 13 May 1630 Resigned)Born in 1565 in the castle of Vezzano in Genoese territory, Laudivio was the younger brother of Cardinal Paolo Emilio Zacchia. He obtained the degree of Doctor in utroque iure from the University of Pisa. He held various offices in the Apostolic Camera, beginning in 1599, and culminating in the office of pro-Treasurer-General (1605). He was named Bishop of Montefiascone by Pope Paul V on 17 August 1605, and was consecrated by Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini on 28 August. He administered the diocese through his Vicar General, his nephew Gaspare Cecchinelli. Zacchia was appointed Vice-Legate of the Patrimony of St. Peter, and in 1621 papal Nuncio in Venice. In 1622 he presided over a diocesan synod in Montefiascone. He was serving as Prefect of the Papal Household (Majordomo) when he was appointed a cardinal by Paul V on 19 January 1626. He died in Rome on 30 August 1637, at the age of 72. De Angelis, pp. 63-64. Gauchat, Hierarchia catholica IV, p. 20. no. 9. Gasparo Cecchinelli (13 May 1630 – 1666 Died) Paluzzo Paluzzi Altieri Degli Albertoni (29 Mar 1666 –1670)Paluzzi was the founder of the seminary and restorer of the cathedral, which was damaged by a fire in 1670. He was transferred to the diocese of Ravenna on 19 May 1670.