The Archdiocese of Siracusa or Syracuse () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Sicily. It became an archdiocese in 1844.The Bull In suprema was issued by Pope Gregory XVI on 17 February 1844. "Archdiocese of Siracusa", Catholic-Hierarchy.org. Retrieved 29 February 2016."Metropolitan Archdiocese of Siracusa", GCatholic.org. Retrieved 29 February 2016. The current archbishop is Francesco Lomanto.

History Syracuse claimed to be the second Church founded by St. Peter, after that of Antioch. It also claims that St. Paul preached there. As its first bishop it venerates St. Marcianus, whose dates are uncertain, though some claim he was ordained by St. Peter himself.Gaetani, pg. 1. Francesco Serafino, in: D'Avino, pg. 634. Little trust can be placed in the authenticity of the list of the seventeen bishops who were predecessors of Chrestus, to whom the Emperor Constantine wrote a letter.Lanzoni, pp. 636–637.

In the times of St. Cyprian (mid-3rd century), Christianity certainly flourished at Syracuse, and the catacombs located there attest to Christian worship there in the 2nd century. Besides its martyred bishops, Syracuse claims other Christian martyrs, such as Saints Benignus and Evagrius (204), St. Bassianus (270); and the martyrdom of the deacon Euplus and the virgin St. Lucy under Diocletian are thought to be historical.

The names of the known bishops of the following century are few in number: Germanus (346); Eulalius (465);The bishops of the first half of the sixth century are known only from a list provided by the 16th century scholar Lucius Christophorus Scobar, De rebus praeclaris Syracusanis et peruetustis auspicatissime atque felicissime incipit opus, from whom they are copied by Cappelletti and Gams. Lanzoni, pg. 638. Pirro, pp. 604–605. Agatho (553), during whose rule Pope Vigilius died at Syracuse; another bishop was denounced by Pope Honorius for the protection which he accorded to prostitutes; St. Zozimus (640), who founded the monastery of Santa Lucia fuori-le-mura; St. Elias (d. 660).

Of Marcianos II, it is said that he was consecrated not at Rome, but at Syracuse, since the Emperor Leo the Isaurian (726) had removed Southern Italy from the jurisdiction of Rome, and had then elevated Syracuse to the dignity of a metropolitan see, over the thirteen other dioceses of Sicily. Bishop Stephen II (c. 768–787) was present at the Second Council of Nicaea,Pirro, pg. 610. and carried to Constantinople the relics of St. Lucy for safety against the Saracen incursions.

Archbishop Gregorios Asbestas was deposed by Ignatius, who had become Patriarch of Constantinople in 847, though Ignatius' election and then his act of deposition of Gregory were condemned by Pope Leo IV. Gregory and two other bishops had appealed to Rome, and Pope Leo insisted that no bishop should be deposed without the consent of Rome. Gregory then became the principal supporter of Patriarch St. Photius, and actually carried out his consecration in 857.Romilly James Heald Jenkins. Byzantium: the Imperial centuries, 171 AD 610-1071, University of Toronto Press; , pg. 171. He lost his See when Syracuse fell to the Arabs.Francis Dvornik indicates that Gregory was in Constantinople in 847 not as a refugee from the Saracens, but as an envoy of the bishops of Sicily:

After Syracuse fell to the Arabs in 878, Bishop Sophronius was thrown into prison at Palermo together with the monk Theodosius, where he died in a dungeon. Until the Norman Conquest in the eleventh century the names of other bishops are not known. The series of bishops begins again in 1093 with Bishop Rogerius,Bishop Roger: Pirro, pp. 617–618. who received the pallium from Pope Urban II.

On 19 October 1188, Pope Celestine III wrote to the Archbishop of Monreale, Guglielmo, finally settling the dissention between Siracusa and Monreale over the right to metropolitan status, which had turned into a scandal. The Pope decided that the pallium, which the Archbishops of Siracusa had been accustomed to wear through the indulgence of the Holy See, should not be used by the bishop of Syracuse and his successors. The diocese of Siracusa became suffragan of the archdiocese of Monreale.

Among the bishops of this period were: Pietro de Urries (1516), ambassador of Emperor Charles V to the Fifth Lateran Council; Jacopo Orozco (1562), who introduced the Roman ritual in place of the Gallican, and who founded the seminary.

Discussions about the small number of bishops on the island of Sicily and the large numbers of Catholics in their dioceses began as early as 1778 in the General Parliament of Sicily. On 5 April 1778, they petitioned King Ferdinand to have the number of dioceses increased to solve the problem, and he graciously agreed to their supplication. In 1802, when the Bishop of Syracuse died, the town Council of Caltagirone petitioned the King again, and in the bull of appointment of the new bishop Pope Pius VII reserved the right to divide the diocese at the appropriate moment. In 1806, the Pope and the Consistorial Congregation assigned the Archbishop of Palermo the task of carrying out the negotiations which would lead to a reordering of the dioceses of Sicily. A new bishop of Siracusa, Filippo Trigona, was appointed in 1807, and both he and the town council of Siracusa were opposed to the plan to diminish the size of the diocese. On 12 September 1816, however, Pope Pius VII proceeded to issue the instructions to detach the new diocese of Caltagirone from Syracuse, and the King followed with executorial letters on 8 April 1817.D'Avino, pp. 129–130. On 15 May 1844, Pope Gregory XVI created the new diocese of Noto out of territory belonging to the diocese of Siracusa, and the action was approved by King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies on 2 July 1844. Noto was made suffragan to the diocese of Siracusa.Andrea Gallo (ed.), Codice ecclesiastico sicolo Libro II (Palermo: Carini 1846), pp. 73–74.

On 6 May 1950,Pius XII, Bull Ad dominicum gregem, in: Acta Apostolicae Sedis Annus XLII, Series II, Vol. 17 (Vatican Polyglot Press 1950), pp. 622–625. Pope Pius XII established the new diocese of Ragusa out of the territory of the Archdiocese of Siracusa, and made it suffragan to the ecclesiastical province of Siracusa. The Archbishop of Siracusa, Ettore Baranzini, was appointed to guide the formation of the new diocese, and, on 9 September 1950, the Papal Legate, Cardinal Ernesto Ruffini of Palermo, handed over the new diocese to Archbishop Baranzini. His Auxiliary Bishop, Francesco Pennisi, was appointed Vicar General of Ragusa and took up residence in the town of some 73,000. On 1 October 1955,Pius XII, Bull Quamquam est, in: Acta Apostolicae Sedis Annus XLVII, Series II, Vol. 22 (Vatican Polyglot Press 1950), pp. 851–852. the definitive separation of the two dioceses took effect, and Bishop Pennisi became the first bishop of Ragusa.Diocesi di Ragusa, La Diocesi. Retrieved 17 April 2017.

Bishops Diocese of Siracusa Erected: 2nd Century Latin Name: Syracusanus Metropolitan: Archdiocese of Monreale

Before 1400

... Chrestus (attested 314)Bishop Crescens (or Chrestus, or Chrispus, or Cretus) was present at the Council of Arles in 314. C. Munier, Concilia Galliae, A. 314 – A. 506 (Turnholt: Brepols 1963), pp. 14, 16, 18, 19. ... Eulalius (attested 499/500)Eulalius is known only from the hagiographic Life of Fulgentius. Pirro, p. 604. Lanzoni, p. 638. Maximianus, O.S.B. (591 – dead by Nov 594)Maximianus' death brought about a contested election, with three candidates. Pirro, pp. 605–607. Lanzoni, pg. 639, no. 5. Ioannes (595 – after 603)Pope Gregory I had suggested the name of Ioannes, Archdeacon of Catania, after he rejected the first candidate in February 595. In October 595 Bishop Ioannes was granted the pallium. Pirro, pp. 607–608. Lanzoni, pg. 639, no. 6. ... Gregory Asbestas (844 – ca. 852/3, 858–867, and 877–878/9)Gregory consecrated the Patriarch Photios I of Constantinople. He was transferred by the Patriarch Photios to the See of Nicaea (Turkey). Pirro, pg. 612, column 1. Gams, p. 954. Hans-Georg Beck, in: Sophronius (c. 876–878)Pirro, pp. 613–618. Gams, p. 954. ... Riccardus Palmeri (1156? – December 1182)An Englishman, Richard Palmer was a friend of King William I and King William II of Sicily. Though appointed c. 1156, he was still bishop-elect in 1169. In April 1169, he was summoned by Pope Alexander III, who was at Benevento, and consecrated a bishop by the Pope personally; he was invested with the pallium, and it was announced that the archdiocese of Syracuse was thenceforth subject only to the Pope as its metropolitan. Palmer was transferred to the diocese of Messina by January 1183. Pirro, pp. 621–624. Sidney Lee (ed.), Dictionary of National Biography, Volume 43 (London: Macmillan 1895), pp. 146–148. Kamp, pg. 1234. Laurentius (c. 1192 – 1200/1201)Laurentius: Pirro, p. 624. Kamp, pp. 1234–1236. Gottofredus (Rotofredus) (c. 1202?)Gottofredus: Kamp, p. 1237. Andreas (died 1207)Adnreas: Kamp, pg. 1238. Adam (attested 1211–1212)Adam: Eubel, I, pg. 471. Bartolomeo (1215–1226)Bartolomeo: Pirro, pg. 625. Kamp, pp. 1238–1240. Gualterus de Palena (Bishop-Elect)Gualterus: Eubel, I, pg. 417. Conradus (c. 1228) (Bishop-Elect)Corrado: Kamp, pp. 1240–1241. Gregorius (attested 1233–1254)Gregorius: Pirro, pg. 625. Kamp, pp. 1241–1242). Mathaeus de Panormo (1255–1267)Matthaeus died c. 1268: Kamp, pp. 1243–1245. Pirro, pg. 625, column 2. Reynaldus de LusioReynaldus: Pirro, pg. 625, column 2. Kamp, pp. 1245–1247. Simon de Leontino, O.P. (1270 – c. 1280)His father was Justiciar of Sicily. Pirro, pp. 625–626. Kamp, pp. 1247–1250. ... Domenico de Saragossa, O.P. (10 January 1304 – 8 August 1304)Eubel, I, pg. 471. Philippus de Sanchio (1305–1312)Pirro, pg. 626 column 2. Petrus de Montecateno (1313 – 4 September 1336)Pedro de Moncada, a Catalan and member of the royal family, was brother of Bishop Gaston of Osca and of Guilelmo Raymundo de Montecateno, who had come to Sicily with King Peter of Aragon in 1282. Pirro, pp. 626–627. Eubel, I, pg. 471. ... Thomas de Herbes, O.S.B. (18 March 1388 – 14 March 1419)A native of Catania, Thomas de Herbes was a Doctor in utroque iure (Civil and Canon Law) and a monk of the Cathedral of S. Agatha in Catania. A papal Referendary, Thomas was appointed to Catania by Pope Boniface IX of the Roman Obedience. King Martin and Queen Maria, however, appointed the Catalan Jacobus de China, O.Min., which pleased neither the Pope nor the Canons of the Cathedral of Syracuse, who supported Thomas. Pirro, pp. 629–631. Eubel, I, pg. 471.

From 1400 to 1600

Rogerius (Bellhomo) (15 May 1419 – 22 January 1443)Roger was a native of Syracuse and had been Dean of the Cathedral of Syracuse. His father Ioannes and brother were both familiars of King Alfonso, and his father had been a royal ambassador. Roger held the degree of Doctor in utroque iure (Civil and Canon Law), and was an intimate of Queen Blanche, through whose influence he became Prior of S. Andrea de Platea. He was preferred to the diocese of Syracuse by King Alfonso. Pirro, pp. 631–632. Eubel, I, p. 471 with note 3. Joannes Garsias, O.P. (5 October 1444 – 3 February 1446)Garsias had been Confessor and Major Chaplain of King Alfonso. He had previously been Bishop of Ales in Sardinia (1439–1444). He was transferred to the diocese of Mallorca on 3 February 1446. He died on 20 July 1459. Pirro, pg. 632. Eubel, II, pp. 184, 244, 261. Paolo de Santafé (3 February 1446 – 4 January 1460)A native of Aragon, Paolo de Santafe had been a Canon of Bordeaux and Auditor (judge) of the Rota and Sedis Apostolicae Referendarius in the Roman Curia for twelve years. He was a councilor of King Alfonso of Spain, who preferred him to the bishopric of Syracuse. He was consecrated a bishop by Pope Nicholas V on 17 March 1447. Pirro, pp. 632–634. Eubel, II, pg. 244.