The Diocese of Molfetta-Ruvo-Giovinazzo-Terlizzi () is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in Apulia, southern Italy, which was established in 1986, when the diocese of Molfetta-Giovinazzo-Terlizzi was united with the diocese of Ruvo. Giovinazzo is only four miles south-east of Molfetta along the Adriatic coast, and Ruvo only ten miles inland to the south-west; Terlizzi is likewise only four miles from Molfetta, some four miles nearer than Ruvo. The historical diocese of Molfetta was expanded in 1818. The current diocese is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Bari-Bitonto."Diocese of Molfetta-Ruvo-Giovinazzo-Terlizzi" Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved September 25, 2016. "Diocese of Molfetta-Ruvo-Giovinazzo-Terlizzi" GCatholic.org. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved September 25, 2016.

History

The name Molfetta appears nowhere before the 10th century.De Palma (1983), La sede episcopale.... p. 17. The diocese of Molfetta is not older than the 11th century.Cappelletti XXI, p. 394. The first bishop of Molfetta of whom there is any record was Bishop Joannes, who issued a charter in 1136. The diocese was at first a suffragan (subordinate diocese) of Bari, but in 1484 it became immediately dependent upon Rome.

Boniface VIII and Bishop Paulus Following the death of Pope Nicholas IV on 4 April 1292, a dozen cardinals took 27 months to agree on a successor, the hermit monk Pietro del Morrone, a man in his mid-80s. The cardinals wanted him to come to Perugia, where the Conclave had taken place, but he was convinced by Cardinal Pietro Colonna, the agent of Charles II, King of Naples, to go to Naples for his coronation. The new pope, Celestine V as Pietro del Morrone called himself, reserved for himself all the benefices in the Church which were vacant or would become vacant.But within five months, it became apparent that Celestine was not up to the tasks involved in being pope, and he decided, on the urging of many people, to resign. J.N.D. Kelly and M.J. Walsh, Oxford Dictionary of Popes, second edition (Oxford UP 2010), pp. 208-210. His successor, Boniface VIII (Benedetto Caetani), was elected on Christmas Eve, 1294. Three days later, he revoked all of the provisions in anticipation of vacancies made by his predecessors, Nicholas IV and Celestine V, as well as those made by himself and Cardinal Gerardo Bianchi when they were legates in France. He also suspended all holders of benefices which had been made without the consent of the cardinals in consistory, contrary to practice.Bartholmew Cotton, "Historia Anglicana," in: Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptorum Tomus XXVIII (1887; Leipzig: K. Hiersemann 1925), p. 612: "Die vero sancti Iohannis dominus papa revocavit omnes provisiones vacaturas factas tempore Celestini et Nicholai, predecessorum suorum, et etiam per ipsum et per dominum Gerardum in Francia. Suspendit etiam omnes archiepiscopos, episcopos et alios, qui habuerunt dignitates per Celestinum sine consilio cardinalium sive non factas ut consuevit, in consistorio."

These circumstances directly affected the Church of Molfetta. Celestine V had specially reserved the appointment of the next bishop to the papacy. When he heard that the bishop of Molfetta had died, he granted to Cardinal Thomas de Aquila (d'Ocre)Tommaso of S. Cecilia was a new cardinal, appointed only on 18 September 1294. He belonged to the congregation of Benedictine monks led by Celestine, later called the "Celestines". and Cardina Pietro Colonna by letter the right to provide a bishop for the diocese of Molfetta. With these faculties, they provided Fra Petrus, O.Min., whom Celestine later confirmed, and granted Petrus the privilege of being consecrated by whichever bishop he should choose. He was consecrated by the bishop of Civitas,Boniface VIII, "Rationis Oculis," 2 December 1295, in: Bullarium Franciscanum Romanorum Pontificum, Volume 4 (Rome: Typis SC de Propaganda Fide 1768), p. 375. F. Ughelli (1716), Italia Sacra Vol. 1 (Venice: Sebastianus Coleti 1717), p. 917. Boniface VIII's bull, however, had suspended all of Celestine's provisions, and additionally the provision of Petrus, O.Min. had been irregular, at least in Boniface's view, and Petrus too was suspended."Nosque postea Divina dispositione ad apicem Summi Apostolatus assumpti provisionem hujusmodi de te factam ex certis et legitimis causis, non tamen personae tuae merito, duximus revocandam." After investigating the entire affair, and taking counsel with the cardinals, Boniface VIII himself preferred (appointed) Petrus, O.Min. to the post of bishop of Molfetta on 2 December 1295.De Palma (1989), Contributo..., p. 154.

Directly subject to Papacy Pope Innocent VIII (Cibo), who had been Bishop of Molfetta from 1472 to 1484, granted the diocese the privilege of being immediately subject to the Roman pontiff, without any other Metropolitan.Gaetano Moroni (ed.), Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica Vol. XLV (Venezia: Tip. Emiliana 1847), p. 30 col. 2.

Statistics In 1600 the city of Molfetta had a population of around 10,000; in 1775 it was around 9,000. In the city were five religious houses for men, and one monastery of male monks. In 1775 there were four religious houses.Ritzler-Sefrin, V, p. 265 note 1; VI, p. 285 note 1.

Enlargement of diocese Following the expulsion of the French, a concordat with Naples was signed on 16 February 1818, and ratified by Pope Pius VII on 25 February 1818. King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies 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 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, among many other things, he dealt with dioceses which had been directly subject to the Holy See. The decision was made to suppress permanently the united diocese of Giovinazzo and diocese of Terlizzi, once the current incumbent had vacated the seats, and to incorporate the two dioceses into the diocese of Molfetta.Bullarii Romani Continuatio Tomus 25 (Rome 1853), p. 59 §. 26: "Pari autem modo ex nunc pro tunc et quando episcopales invicem unitae ecclesiae Juvenacensis, et Terlitiensis ex persona moderni earum antistitis quandocumque vacaverint easdem perpetuo extinguimus atque supprimimus, illarumque civitates, ac dioeceses episcopali ecclesiae Melphitensi aggregamus et incorporamus."

On 4 March 1836, Pope Gregory XVI, in the bull "Aeterni Patris", united the dioceses of Giovenazzo and Terlizzi with the diocese of Molfetta. The dioceses were under the governance of one and the same bishop, aeque principaliter.Collezione degli atti emanati dopo la pubblicazione del Concordato dell'anno 1818 ...anno 1835 a tutto il primo semestre del 1839, Parte Settima (Napoli: Stamperia dell'Iride, 1839), pp. 33-61. Cappelletti XXI, p. 405. For the meaning of the term aeque principaliter, see: It was determined that there would be only one priestly seminary for the three dioceses, in Molfetta. Molfetta remained directly subject to the Holy See.Cappelletti XXI, p. 399.

Diocesan Reorganization

Following the Second Vatican Council, and in accordance with the norms laid out in the council's decree, Christus Dominus chapter 40,Christus Dominus 40. Therefore, in order to accomplish these aims this sacred synod decrees as follows: 1) The boundaries of ecclesiastical provinces are to be submitted to an early review and the rights and privileges of metropolitans are to be defined by new and suitable norms. 2) As a general rule all dioceses and other territorial divisions that are by law equivalent to dioceses should be attached to an ecclesiastical province. Therefore dioceses which are now directly subject to the Apostolic See and which are not united to any other are either to be brought together to form a new ecclesiastical province, if that be possible, or else attached to that province which is nearer or more convenient. They are to be made subject to the metropolitan jurisdiction of the bishop, in keeping with the norms of the common law. 3) Wherever advantageous, ecclesiastical provinces should be grouped into ecclesiastical regions for the structure of which juridical provision is to be made. Pope Paul VI ordered a reorganization of the ecclesiastical provinces in southern Italy. He ordered consultations among the members of the Congregation of Bishops in the Vatican Curia, the Italian Bishops Conference, and the various dioceses concerned.G. Feliciani (2005), "Il riordinamento delle diocesi in Italia da Pio XI a Giovanni Paolo II," in: L. Vaccaro (ed.), Storia della Chiesa in Europa tra ordinamento politico-amministrativo e strutture ecclesiastiche, Brescia 2005, pp. 283-300.

On 18 February 1984, the Vatican and the Italian State signed a new and revised concordat. Based on the revisions, a set of Normae was issued on 15 November 1984, which was accompanied in the next year, on 3 June 1985, by enabling legislation. According to the agreement, the practice of having one bishop govern two separate dioceses at the same time, aeque personaliter, was abolished. The Vatican continued consultations which had begun under Pope John XXIII for the merging of small dioceses, especially those with personnel and financial problems, into one combined diocese.

On 30 September 1986, Pope John Paul II ordered that the dioceses of Molfetta, Giovenazza, Terlizzi and Ruvo be merged into one diocese with one bishop, with the Latin title Dioecesis Melphictensis-Rubensis-Iuvenacensis-Terlitiensis. The seat of the diocese was to be in Molfetta, whose cathedral was to serve as the cathedral of the merged diocese. The cathedrals in Giovenazza, Terlizzi, and Ruvo were to have the honorary titles of "co-cathedral"; the Chapters were each to be a Capitulum Concathedralis. There was to be only one diocesan Tribunal, in Molfetta, and likewise one seminary, one College of Consultors, and one Priests' Council. The territory of the new diocese was to include the territory of the suppressed dioceses. The new diocese was a suffragan of the archdiocese of Bari-Bitonto.Acta Apostolicae Sedis 79 (Città del Vaticano 1987), pp. 735-738.

Chapter and cathedral

Under Bishop Simon Alopa (1386–1401), the number of Canons in the Cathedral ChapterC.D. Fonseca, "La cattedrale e il suo Capitolo. Analisi comparata in prospettiva storica, ecclesiologica e canonistica," , in: Annali di Studi Religiosi Vol. 4 (2003), pp. 215-235. was fixed at twenty-four, reducing the number from thirty-six.Sergio dei Giudici, in D'Avino, p. 342. In addition to the Canons there were six dignities in the Chapter, the Archdeacon, the Archpriest, two Primicerii (Cantores), the Penitentiary and the Sacristan.Ughelli, I, p. 916; Ughelli includes the six dignities among the twenty-four canons. Ritzler-Sefrin, V, p. 265 note 1; VI, p. 285 note 1. The current Chapter preserves these six dignities, but there are only eleven Canons and two Honorary Canons.Diocesi di Molfetta Ruvo Giovinazzo Terlizzi, Capitolo Cattedrale, retrieved: 2017-03-19.

Bishops

Diocese of Molfetta Latin Name: Melphictensis Erected: 12th Century

to 1300

... [Anonymous] (1071)An unnamed bishop of Molfetta took part in the consecration of the major church at Montecassino by Pope Alexander II on 1 October 1071. De Palma (1989), 'Contributo...", p. 153 with note 1. ... Ioannes (attested 1136)Kehr, p. 351. This is a grant by Bishop Ioannes to Abbot Simon of the monastery of Sma. Trinità de Cava. Carabellese, pp. 17-18. Cappelletti, p. 395. De Palma (1989), 'Contributo...", p. 153 with note 2. Riccardus (attested 1155 – 1162)De Palma (1989), 'Contributo...", p. 153 with note 3. ...