The Diocese of Piacenza-Bobbio () is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in northern Italy. It has existed since 1989. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Modena-Nonantola. The historic Diocese of Piacenza was combined with the territory of the diocese of Bobbio-San Colombano, which was briefly united with the archdiocese of Genoa.
History
An early martyr, St. Antonius (or Antoninus, as the diocese prefers), is said to have belonged to the Theban Legion, and to have suffered martyrdom at Piacenza in the second or third century. He has no "Passion", however, and the ninth century document that makes him a member of the Theban legion is pieno di favole ('full of fables').Lanzoni, pp. 814-815.
The Lombards took possession of Piacenza at the beginning of their invasion and thereafter it remained in their power. Piacenza was originally a suffragan (subordinate, as part of the ecclesiastical province) of Milan. Bishop Majorianus was one of the bishops who attended the synod of Milan called by Archbishop Eusebius in 451. Piacenza was certainly suffragan to Ravenna by the time of the Roman synod of 680.Pietro Piacenza (1900), pp. 4-7.
Bishop Soffredus In 865, after twenty-five years of service in Piacenza, Bishop Soffredus (Seufredus) found himself driven from his office by the treachery of his own nephew, the deacon Paulus. Eager for power, Paulus usurped the episcopal seat, and styled himself Paulus vocatus Episcopus sanctae Placentinae ecclesiae.Campi, I, p. 213. Pope Nicholas I immediately wrote to the Emperor Louis II, demanding to know whether there was any crime charged against Soffredus, or any incapacity, that made his removal necessary; and pointing out that such problems were normally directed to the metropolitan, or if they were serious enough, to the pope himself. Pope Nicholas then ordered the Emperor to restore Soffredus to his episcopal seat.Kehr, p. 443, no. 1. At the same time, through his legates, Pope Nicholas had Soffredus restored to his seat."Life of Nicholas I," in: Louis Duchesne (ed.), Liber pontificalis Volume II (Paris: Thorin 1892), p. 163. Paulus was forbidden to attempt such a thing ever again, or to seek the bishopric. Nonetheless, on the death of Soffredus in 870, Paulus, who had evidently been restored to favor and was serving as Archdeacon of Piacenza, was elected bishop in his place.Kehr, p. 443, no. 3, with note. Cappelletti, pp. 19-20.
The temporal power was in the hands of the bishops from the ninth century until the twelfth century, when the town became a commune governed by consuls and later (1188) by a podestà.
The Bishop of Piacenza was first referred to as bishop and count in 1065.Pierre Racine, "La chiesa piacentina nell'età del Comune," in: Pietro Castagnoli (ed.) Storia di Piacenza (Piacenza: Tip. Le Company, 1990), p. 351.
Bishop Sigulf During the last six years of his administration, Bishop Sigulfus (951–988) enjoyed the services of a coadjutor-bishop, Johannes Philagathos, who, thanks to the patronage of the Empress Theophano, was also Abbot of the Monastery of Nonantola and tutor of the child who would become the Emperor Otto III. When Sigulfus died, Joannes began to sign himself Archiepiscopus Sancte Placentine Ecclesie.Campi, I, p. 280; and Registro, p. 493, no. LIX, dated 3 January 989. The diocese of Piacenza had been detached from the ecclesiastical province of Ravenna, through the influence of the Regent Theophano and with the consent of Pope John XV, and erected into an archdiocese directly dependent upon the Papacy.T. De Luca, "Giovanni Filagato," in Almanacco Calabrese (Rome 1955), pp. 81-92. Wolfgang Huschner, "Giovanni XVI, antipapa," Enciclopedia dei Papi (2000). : Dopo la morte del vescovo Sigolfo di Piacenza nel 988, G. fu chiamato a succedergli, scavalcando un altro candidato che forse era già stato eletto. Inoltre Teofane ottenne da papa Giovanni XV che Piacenza venisse sottratta alla provincia ecclesiastica di Ravenna e diventasse sede metropolitica. Kehr, p. 52, no. 165. In 1095, the Archbishop and Archbishop Bernard of Würzburg were sent to Constantinople to attempt to arrange for the marriage of a Byzantine princess and the new Emperor Otto III. On their return Joannes was drawn into Roman politics by Crescentius II Nomentanus, who had just engineered a coup-d'état against Pope Gregory V. Archbishop Joannes found himself named pope (or rather antipope) in February or March 997, under the name John XVI. The Emperor, however, was not pleased that Pope Gregory V, his cousin Otto of Carinthia, had been expelled from Rome. He summoned a synod at Pavia, which anathematized Crescentius and John XVI.J.N.D. Kelly, The Oxford Dictionary of Popes (Oxford: OUP 1986), pp. 135-136. Piacenza received a new bishop, the Benedictine Sigifredus. The title of archbishop was withdrawn, and the diocese of Piacenza was returned to the metropolitanate of Ravenna.This was effected by Gregory V's bull of 7 July 997, Divinae remunerationis: A. Tomasetti (ed.), Bullarum, diplomatum et privilegiorum Sanctorum Romanorum Pontificum Taurensis Editio Tomus I (Turin: Seb. Franco et Henrico Dalmazzo 1857), pp. 468-469 . Its time as an independent archdiocese had lasted from 988 to 997.Piacenza, Cronotassi, pp. 7-8. Schwartz, p. 188.
On 21 October 1106, Pope Paschal II, at the Council of Guastalla, removed the dioceses of Emilia from the metropolitanate of Ravenna, and made them directly dependent upon the Holy See (papacy). This action was in punishment for the schism carried on by Archbishop Wibert of Ravenna (Antipope Clement III), in concert with the Emperor Henry IV.Kehr, p. 57 no. 188, quoting the "Vita Paschalis II auctore Bosone": Paschalis II in concilio apud villam Guardastallum, a. d. inc. 1106, 11 kal. nov. celebrate constituit, ut Aemilia tota cum suis urbibus, id est Placentia, Parma, Regio, Mutina, Bononia, nunquam ulterius Ravennati metropoli subiaceat. On 7 August 1118, Pope Gelasius II withdrew Pope Paschal's order, and returned the dioceses to the metropolitanate of Ravenna;Pope Gelasius fled from Rome at the end of August 1118, and died in France on 29 January 1119. P. Jaffé, Regesta pontificum Romanorum Volume I, 2nd edition (Leipzig 1885), pp. 777 and 780. his decision was confirmed by Pope Calixtus II in 1121, and in 1125 by Pope Honorius II.Cappelletti, p. 28. Kehr, pp. 57-58, nos. 189-190. Bishop Arduinus of Piacenza (1119?–1147), however, resisted efforts of the popes and the Archbishop of Ravenna to return his diocese to suffragan status.Piacenza, Cronotassi, pp. 8-11. On 29 March 1148, Pope Eugene III wrote to Archbishop Moyses of Ravenna that he had approved the election of Bishop Joannes of Piacenza. On 9 November 1148, however, he wrote to Bishop-elect Joannes, ordering him to have himself consecrated by the Archbishop of Ravenna. After resisting for more than two years, Giovanni finally submitted to the Pope's order, and was consecrated by the Archbishop of Ravenna on 3 July 1151.Piacenza, Cronotassi, p. 9. Jaffé, II, p. 60 no. 9299. Est enim quasi peccatum ariolandi repugnare, et velut scelus idololatriae est nolle aquiescere. Per praesentia itaque scripta mandamus, atque praecipimus, quatenus Ven. Fratri nostro Ravennati archiepiscopo, tamquam metropolitano vestro, obedientiam et reverentiam deferatis, ne super vos quaerela ad nostras aures pervenire debeat, et nos inobedientiam vestram punire districtius compellamur.
The people of Piacenza did not let the matter rest. They solicited the intervention of Abbot Peter the Venerable of Cluny, informing him of their point of view, that their metropolitan was the pope, not the Archbishops of Aquileia or Ravenna. They noted that Urban II and Calixtus II had consecrated their bishops.Piacenza, Cronotassi, p. 9. Abbot Peter states in his letter to Pope Eugenius in 1151 the claim of Piacenza: Metropolitanus noster non Ravennas, non Aquileiensis, non quilibet alter, sed Romanus Pontifex est, probandus hoc innumeris testibus, probamus placentinumn electum a multis retro saeculis a summo et universali praesule, non ab alio consecratum. Probamus inde pro exemplo praeter antiquiores, Urbanum secundum, Callixtum secundum, qui electis nostris consecrationis manus imposuerunt. The letter is given in full by Campi, II, pp. 351-352, cf. pp. 1-3. In 1155, with a new Pope, Adrian IV and a new bishop of Piacenza, Ugo Pierleoni, the matter was raised again, and Adrian issued a bull exempting Bishop Ugo from subjection to Ravenna, while at the same time claiming an inability to decide the issue between Ravenna and Piacenza.Kehr, p. 452 no. 52. Piacenza, Cronotassi, pp. 11-13. In March 1179, Bishop Tedaldo was present at the Third Lateran Council in Rome, and he subscribed along with the bishops directly dependent upon the Holy See (papacy), not with the suffragans of Ravenna.Piacenza, Cronotassi, p. 13.
Suffragan of Bologna, then Genoa In 1582 the diocese of Bologna was raised to the status of a metropolitan archbishopric. Piacenza was made a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Bologna by Pope Gregory XIII in the bull Universi orbis of 10 December 1582.
In 1806, in accordance with faculties specially granted to him by Pope Pius VII on 5 April 1806, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Caprara removed the dioceses of Piacenza, San Donnino, and Parma from the jurisdiction of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Bologna, and attached them to the Archdiocese of Genoa. On 30 March 1818, Pope Pius VII removed the same three dioceses from the jurisdiction of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Genoa, and made them directly dependent upon the Holy See.
The current bishop is Adriano Cevolotto."Diocese of Piacenza-Bobbio" Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved March 29, 2016"Diocese of Piacenza-Bobbio" GCatholic.org. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved March 29, 2016
Pope Urban II Pope Urban II visited Piacenza from 1 March to 5 April 1095, and held a synod there from 1–7 March. It is said that more than 4,000 clerics and 3,000 laypersons were present. Archbishop Hugh of Lyon was suspended from office because he was not in attendance and had offered no excuse. The Emperor Henry IV and his antipope Wibert of Ravenna (Clement III) were again excommunicated, and Wibert's bestowal of holy orders since his excommunication were annulled. The ambassador of the Emperor Alexios I Komnenos made another public appeal for assistance against the Muslims. Simony was again condemned, as was clerical concubinage. Berengar of Tours was condemned for his heretical views on the subject of transubstantiation. The dates for the observance of the Quattuor tempora were fixed.Campi, I, pp. 367-373. C. J. Hefele, Histoire des conciles (tr. Delarc) Tome VII (Paris: Adrien Leclere 1872), pp. 29-31. P. Jaffé and S. Loewenfeld, Regesta pontificum Romanorum I, editio altera (Leipzig: Veit 1888), pp. 677-679.
People from Piacenza took part in the First Crusade.A.G. Tononi, "Actes constant la participation des Plaisançais à la Ire Croisade," Archives de l'orient latin 1 (1881) 395-401.
Bishop Sega When Bishop Filippo Sega (1578–1596) was appointed Bishop of Piacenza, he was not even in Italy. He was in Spain, acting as Pope Gregory XIII's Nuncio to the court of King Philip II of Spain. He was already a bishop, the second Bishop of Ripatransone. He continued as Nuncio in Spain until the end of 1581, and did not enter Piacenza until the Spring of 1582.Angel Fernández Collado (1991), Gregorio XIII y Felipe II en la nunciatura de Felipe Sega (1577-1581): aspectos político, jurisdiccional y de reforma. (Toledo: Estudio Teologico San Ildefonso), pp. 27–34. (in Spanish) After little more than a year in the diocese, he was again appointed papal Nuncio to Spain on 20 September 1583, and, due to a serious illness at the end of the mission, which incapacitated him for five months in Barcelona, he did not return to Piacenza until June 1584.Fernández Collado, pp. 33-34.