The Archdiocese of Ferrara-Comacchio () is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church. It has existed since 1986, when the diocese of Comacchio was combined with the historical archdiocese of Ferrara. It is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Bologna.
The episcopal seat was transferred from Vicohabentia (Voghenza) to the newly founded Ferrara in 657.Ughelli, II, p. 507. The earliest known bishop of Vicohabentia is Marcellinus, who was consecrated c. 429–431.Lanzoni (1927), pp. 812-813.
Suffragan and Metropolitan Originally, it seems, the diocese (or at least the diocese of Vicohabentia) was a suffragan of the metropolitanate of Ravenna. Ferrara repeatedly contested that opinion, and claimed to be directly dependent upon the Holy See (the Pope). Pope John XIII, in April 967, confirmed that Ferrara was under papal jurisdiction, as far as election, consecration, investiture, and jurisdiction were concerned. Pope Benedict VII, in April 978, again confirmed the papal jurisdiction in much the same language.Kehr, pp. 203, 208-209 nos. 5-6. At some point between 1106 and 1123, however, the diocese of Ferrara fell under the control of the metropolitan of Ravenna, and Bishop Landolfo was suspended from office because of his refusal to submit to Archbishop Walter of Ravenna.Kehr, pp. 203, 211. This change was apparently connected with the suppression of the schism of the Antipope Clement III (Wibert of Ravenna). Pope Innocent II restored the original independence of the diocese of Ferrara on 11 March 1133; but on the death of Bishop Landolfo in 1138, the Archbishop of Ravenna asserted the right to consecrate his successor. The Ferrarese were required to produce their documentary proofs before the Pope, who issued a decree in favor of Ferrara as directly dependent upon the Holy See on 22 April 1139.Kehr, pp. 203-204; 212-213, nos. 20-22. Cf. Cappelletti, IV, pp. 52, 57-61.
Ferrara became an archdiocese, though without suffragans, by the Bull Paterna pontificii of Pope Clement XII on 27 July 1735.Cappelletti, pp. 169-176. Pope Clement goes out of his way to state that the diocese had always been directly subject to the Holy See, citing the decree Ad hoc of Pope Innocent II at the Lateran Council of 1139, and recalling subsequent similar rulings of Celestine II, Lucius II, Gregory VIII, Clement III, Celestine III, Innocent IV, Alexander VIII, Innocent XII, and Clement XI. This fortunate arrangement continued until 1976. In a decree of the Vatican Sacred Congregation of Bishops of 8 December 1976, a new arrangement of certain dioceses in ecclesiastical provinces was announced; the diocese of Ferrara was made a suffragan of the Archbishop of Bologna, though the Archbishop of Ferrara was allowed to keep the title of archbishop.Acta Apostolicae Sedis Vol. LXIX (Città del Vaticano: Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis 1977), pp. 157-158: Ferrariensem Ecclesiam, quin aliquid immutetur de archiepiscopali dignitate, Metropolitanae Ecclesiae Bononiensi adnectit.
As part of a project begun on orders from Pope John XXIII, and continued under his successors, to reduce the number of dioceses in Italy and to rationalize their borders in terms of modern population changes and shortages of clergy, the diocese of Comacchio was united to the diocese of Ferrara by a decree of the Sacred Congregation of Bishops, on 30 September 1986. There was to be one bishop, and one curia, one cathedral, one Council of Consultors and one Council of Priests, and one seminary. The former cathedral of Comacchio was granted the title of Co-cathedral, and its Chapter was retained and not united with the Chapter of the Cathedral of Ferrara.Acta Apostolicae Sedis Vol. LXXIX (Città del Vaticano: Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis 1987), pp. 707-710.
The old diocesan name of Vicohabentia (Voghenza) was revived in 1967, as a titular see. It has been held by an auxiliary bishop of Cortona and an auxiliary bishop of Rome.Santolaria de Puey y Cruells, José-Apeles. Annuario Diocesano 2017, p. 39.
History The earliest bishop of certain date is Constantinus Ferrariensis, who was present at the Roman Synod of Pope Nicholas I in 861. The synod had been summoned to deal with the case of Bishop John of Ravenna, who had excommunicated innocent persons and opposed pious works, and who, after having been admonished and summoned to a synod, refused to appear.J. D. Mansi (ed.), Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio, editio novissima, Tomus XXV (Venice: A. Zatta 1782), pp. 598-606. St. Maurelius (not M. Aurelius), Bishop of Vicohabentia and patron of the city of Ferrara, must have lived before this time. His legend is treated by Daniel Papenbroch, in the Acta SanctorumActa Sanctorum Maii Tomus II (Antwerp: Michael Cnobarus 1680), pp. 154-161. Ughelli, p. 518, assigns a date of 634. Cappelletti, p. 25, and Gams, p. 694, give the date of 686 for the beginning of his episcopate. Some think that the bishops of Ferrara are the successors to those of Voghenza (the ancient Vicus Haventia).
On 25 March 1210, the Emperor Otto IV, residing at Ferrara, issued an edict against heretics in Ferrara: ...omnes hereticos Ferrarie commorantes, Patharenos sive Gazaros, Imperiali banno subjacere...et domus destruantur.Cittadella, p. 385.
Pope Alexander III visited Ferrara during his Venetian trip, from 10 April to 9 May 1177. At the end of his visit, on 8 May, he dedicated the High Altar in the cathedral.Ughelli, p. 539. Barotti, p. 26. P. Jaffe and S. Loewenfeld, Regesta pontificum Romanorum, editio secunda, II (Leipzig: Veit 1888), pp. 304-307.
Pope Urban III died at Ferrara on 20 October 1187, only a month after having escaped from Verona, where he was being besieged by Frederick Barbarossa. He was buried in the cathedral.P. Jaffe and S. Loewenfeld, p. 528. The Conclave to elect his successor began (and ended) on the next day with the election of Cardinal Alberto di Morro, who took the name Pope Gregory VIII. He left Ferrara for Rome on November 16, and died at Pisa on 17 December 1187.F. Gregorovius, History of Rome in the Middle Ages, Volume IV.2 second edition, revised (London: George Bell, 1896) Book VIII, Chapter vi. 3, pp. 608-622. John Paul Adams, Sede vacante 1187; retrieved: 2018-07-28.
Bishop Niccolò Roberti (1393–1401) was the son of Cabrino de' Roberti da Reggio and his wife Margherita del Sale, and grandson of Filippo de' Roberti da Troia. The bishop had two brothers, Filippo and Alberto, and a sister Giovanna, who was married to Alberto d'Este, Marquis of Ferrara (died 1393). Suddenly, on 22 January 1400, Alberto's son, Niccolò III d'Este, Marquis of Ferrara, ordered the arrest of Alberto de' Roberti, the President of the Council; his brother Filippo; their mother Margherita; and Marco de' Pii da Carpi, who was married to the Bishop's sister Taddea. Alberto and Margherita's property was confiscated, and both were beheaded on 6 March 1400. The Bishop's brother Filippo was sent into exile, and Marco Pio was kept in prison. Bishop Niccolò was deposed from his bishopric, though Pope Boniface IX issued a decree vouching for his absolute innocence.Barotti, pp. 66-67. Ferranti, III, pp. 10-13, who states, on the authority of Ughelli and without evidence, that the Pope transferred Bishop Niccolò to another See. The cause of the Marchese's violent actions is unknown.
On 8 January 1438, Pope Eugene IV opened the seventeenth ecumenical council in Ferrara, but the plague of 1439 compelled him to move the sessions to Florence.The Pope had been planning the move anyway. The plague was a fortuitous incentive.
Cathedral and Chapter
The Cathedral of San Giorgio was begun in 1132, and consecrated in 1135 by Bishop Landolfo (1105–1138/1139), with the participation of the Papal Legate in Bologna, Cardinal Azzo. The High Altar was consecrated by Pope Alexander III on 18 May 1177. It also served as a parish church, and the Archpriest of the Cathedral Chapter served as the pastor of the congregation. In 1735, when the diocese became a metropolitanate with an Archbishop, the Cathedral became a metropolitan cathedral.Santolaria de Puey y Cruells, Annuario Diocesano 2017, p. 123. It was granted the title and privileges of a Minor Basilica by Pope John XXIII on 13 November 1959.Acta Apostolicae Sedis LX (Città del Vaticano: Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis 1960), pp. 145-147.
Pope Paul III visited the city of Ferrara along with seventeen cardinals in April 1543. At the Solemn Mass held in the cathedral on 24 April, the Feast of Saint George, he granted to all the Canons the right to call themselves Monsignor.
In 1746, the Chapter of the Cathedral was composed of seven dignities and thirteen Canons.Ritzler-Sefrin, VI, p. 215, note 1. The dignities were: the Archpriest, the Provost, the Archdeacon, the Primicerius, the Custos, the Treasurer, and the Dean.Ughelli, II, p. 515.
The Chapter was abolished on the Feast of Corpus Christi, 1798, in accordance with French laws, which had come into force in the Cisalpine Republic. It was restored in 1799, but abolished again in 1800. Napoleon restored the Chapter by a decree of 8 June 1805, but also reordered its composition. According to his orders, there were to be: the Archpriest, the Provost, the Treasurer, the Theologus, the Penitentiary, and ten additional Canons. The arrangement still holds good, with the addition of Honorary Canons, currently five in number, with two Emeriti and three Supernumerarii; there are also seven Mansionarii, each with a five-year term.Santolaria de Puey y Cruells, Annuario Diocesano 2017, pp. 129-133. The Canon Theologicus also serves as Censor librorum (Censor of books and other printed matter) for the diocese (p. 76).
On 12 April 1530 a new set of Statutes was approved for the Cathedral Chapter, Reverendi Capituli Dominorum Canonicorum Ecclesiae Ferrariensis nova Statuta anno 153o die XII mensis Aprilis condita.
Seminary The Council of Trent, in its 23rd Session, meeting on 15 July 1563, issued a decree, the 18th chapter of which required that every diocese have a seminary for the training of clergy.Gaetano Moroni (ed.), Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica, Volume LXXIX (Venezia: Tipografia Emiliana 1856), pp. 340-341.
The seminary of the diocese of Ferrara was founded by Bishop Paolo Leoni (1578–1590), in accordance with the decrees of the Council of Trent, and opened on 22 July 1584. In 1723, Cardinal Tommaso Ruffo (1717–1738) purchased the Palazzo Costabili-Trotti, to which he transferred the personnel of the seminary in 1724. In 1755, Cardinal Marcello Crescenzi (1746–1768) added the Palazzo Libanori-Guastavillari. The seminary was closed in 1798 by the French occupation officials, though it was allowed to reopen in the next year. In 1955, the seminary moved to its present quarters, a completely modern building.Archdiocese of Ferrara, Annuario Diocesano 2011 (Ferrara 2011), p. 53.
Synods
A diocesan synod was an irregular but important meeting of the bishop of a diocese and his clergy. Its purpose was (1) to proclaim generally the various decrees already issued by the bishop; (2) to discuss and ratify measures on which the bishop chose to consult with his clergy; (3) to publish statutes and decrees of the diocesan synod, of the provincial synod, and of the Holy See. John Paul II, Constitutio Apostolica de Synodis Dioecesanis Agendis (March 19, 1997): Acta Apostolicae Sedis 89 (1997), pp. 706-727.
In 1278 Bishop Guglielmo held a synod (Cleri Conventus), and on 9 December issued a set of Statutes.Cappelletti, IV, pp. 98-104.
Bishop Guido held a diocesan synod in 1332 and published its Statutes and those of his predecessors which he had collected. It included a section on sorcerers (xliii), who were subject to excommunication.J. D. Mansi (ed.), Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio, editio novissima, Tomus XXV (Venice: A. Zatta 1782), pp. 901-934.