Archdiocese of Trento

The Archdiocese of Trento (, German Trient) is a Latin Metropolitan archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the Triveneto, named after its see in Alpine Italy, Trento (Tr(i)ent), in Trentino-Alto Adige region.

The seat (throne) of the archbishop is in the Minor basilica Cattedrale di S. Vigilio Vescovo in Trento. The diocese has two other minor basilicas: the Basilica S. Maria Maggiore (city of Trento), and the Basilica di Ss. Sisinio, Martirio e Alessandro (Sanzeno).

History

It is said that Christianity was introduced in the Val d'Adige circa 200 AD, where the Diocese of Trento was later established.There is no evidence for this claim. The list of bishops begins with Iovinus, who is specifically numbered the first bishop: Ughelli V, p. 589. The diocese, however, was a creation of the 4th century.Curzel (2005), Chiese trentine, p. 11: "Le origini della Chiesa trentina si situano nel IV secolo, nello stesso periodo in cui alle prime chiese dell’Italia settentrionale (Milano, Aquileia e Ravenna) e a quelle che erano sorte all’inizio del IV secolo (Brescia e Verona) andavano ad affiancarsi molte altre sedi episcopali." It became a suffragan of the Patriarchs of Aquileia-Grado.In 1677, it was still a suffragan of the Patriarchate of Aquileia; the city had a population of c. 7000 Catholics. Ritzler-Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica V, p. 389, note 1. In 1748, it was still a suffragan of the Patriarchate of Aquileia; the city had a population of c. 9000 Catholics. Ritzler-Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica VI, p. 416, note 1.

The original cathedral of S. Vigilius was founded , and restored and rebuilt several times during the Middle Ages. It was rededicated under Bishop Altmannus by the Patriarch of Aquileia, Peregrinus, in 1145.Bonelli III.2, p. 24.

On 31 May 1027, the Emperor Conrad II granted the bishops of Trent the County of Trent, and thereby beginning the history of the Prince-Bishopric of TrentUghelli V, pp. 591–2. Gar, p. 4. as a state of the Holy Roman Empire.

The Patriarchate of Aquileia was suppressed by Pope Benedict XIV, who, on 18 April 1752, created the Archdiocese of Gorizia, and made Trento subject to Gorizia.

In 1786, it gained territory from the Diocese of Feltre.

French occupation In August 1797, French invasion troops under General Masséna occupied Trent. They were forced to retreat in the winter, due to the Austrian advance. But they returned in January 1801, and after the Treaty of Lunéville on 9 February 1801, the prince-bishopric of Trent was abolished and its government secularized (1803); its territory was handed over to Austria and made a part of the County of Tyrol. In 1805, Trent, Tyrol, and the city and territory of Roveredo were transferred to the Kingdom of Bavaria. In 1810, the Emperor Napoleon transferred Trent to his new Kingdom of Italy, declaring Trent to be the capital of the Department of Alto Adige, and requiring it to be administered entirely by Italians.Gaetano Moroni (ed.), Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica. Vol. LXXIX (Venice 1834), p. 301.

Restoration From 1809 until 1814, Pope Pius VII was a prisoner in France, and unable to deal with the changes being made by Napoleon. On his fall, however, the pope faced a chaos in the Churches which had suffered the intrusion of the French. New diplomatic and ecclesiastical arrangements (concordats) with the various restored powers were necessary. On 9 May 1818, therefore, Pius VII issued the bull , formalizing the agreements which had been reached with the Austrian Emperor Francis I concerning the provinces of Tyrol and Vorarlberg.Bullarii Romani continuatio. Tomus Decimus quintus (Roma 1853), pp. 40-7. The Pope noted that in a very large area there were only three dioceses (Salzburg, Trent, and Brixen) and one vicariate (Feldkirch). He announced his intention to elevate Feldkirch into a diocese."tribus proinde universa ea regio contineretur dioecesibus, Salisburgensi nimirum, Tridentina, et Brixinensi cum vicariata Faldkirkii constituendo" In the bull, he assigned new limits to each of the dioceses by listing the parishes; Trent gained a few parishes from Brixen.Complete list of parishes in the diocese of Trent: Bullarii Romani continuatio, § 8, pp. 42–3. No metropolitan is named in the bull. Salzburg had been secularized at the same time as Trent, and the archbishop had died in 1812. At the time of the bull, the archbishopric of Salzburg was vacant; it was reconstituted in 1823. A new archbishop, Augustin Johann Joseph Gruber, was nominated by the Emperor Francis I on 16 February 1823, and confirmed by Pope Leo XII on 17 November 1823. Ritzler-Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica VII, p. 330.

On 29 September 1822, in the bull , on a petition presented by Count Antal Apponyi, ambassador of the Emperor Francis I to the Holy See, Pope Pius VII granted the emperor the privilege of nominating the bishops of Trent and Brixen. The bull states that this was done with the consent of the Chapters of the two cathedrals (who thereby lost their right to free election of their bishop), as well as of the bishop of Brixen.Bullarii Romani continuatio. Tomus Decimus quintus (Roma 1853), p. 573. The pope would impose a time limit, during which the privilege could be exercised.

Metropolitan of Salzburg On 7 March 1825, Pope Leo XII issued the bull , in which he named Salzburg as the metropolitan of the ecclesiastical province, and assigned as suffragans the dioceses of Trent, Brixen, Gurk, Seckau, and Lavant.Bullarii Romani continuatio Tomus Decimus sextus (Roma 1853), pp. 304–7, at § 5. In the same document he determined that the cathedral Chapter of Trent should have three dignities (the Dean, the Provost, and the Archdeacon) and four Canons.In 1748, the Chapter had had 2 dignities and 18 Canons. Ritzler-Sefrin VI, p. 416, note 1. One of the Canons was to serve as Penitentiary, another as Theologus, "who, on stated days, should explain holy scripture."Bullarii Romani continuatio 16, p. 305, § 3.

Archdiocese of Trent On 14 June 1929, by the bull , Pope Pius XI raised diocese of Trent to the status of an archdiocese.Acta Apostolicae Sedis 21 (Città del Vaticano 1929), pp. 471-473. The pope was observing the twenty-fifth anniversary of Bishop Celestino Endrici: "Cum itaque nuper clerus et fideles dioecesis Tridentinae, occasionem nacti quod solemnia peragantur pro vicesimo quinto expleto anno quo venerabilis frater Caelestinus Endrici dioecesim regendam suscepit, Nobis enixas preces porrexerint ut, ob eiusdem Tridentinae Ecclesiae praestantiam, eam ad sedis archiepiscopalis honorem et fastigium evehere dignaremur..."

On 6 July 1964, by the bull , Pope Paul VI removed territory from the diocese of Trent and assigned it to the Diocese of Brixen (Bressanone).Acta Apostolicae Sedis 57 (Città del Vaticano 1965), pp. 363-365: "Ab archidioecesi Tridentina partem territorii separamus, quae in provincia civili Bauzanensi sita est, illamque dioecesi Brixinensi adnectimus, quae dehinc Bauzanensis-Brixinensis vocabitur."

The archdiocese of Trent only became a metropolitan see on 6 August 1964, when Pope Paul VI issued the bull , creating a new ecclesiastical province and naming the newly created Diocese of Bolzano-Brixen as its only suffragan.Acta Apostolicae Sedis 57 (Città del Vaticano 1965), pp. 367-8: "Novam ecclesiasticam provinciam constituimus, Tridentinam appellandam, cuius Ecclesia princeps Tridentina ipsa erit et metropolitana, suffraganea vero dioecesis Bauzanensis-Brixinensis." Catholic Hierarchy page.

Pope John Paul II visited in July 1988 and April 1995. On the latter occasion, on 30 April 1995, he beatified Bishop Johann Nepomuk von Tschiderer zu Gleifheim, a 19th-century bishop of Trent.

Diocesan synods A diocesan synod was an irregularly held, 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. 706-27.

Bishop Fredericus von Wangen (1207–1218) presided over a diocesan synod in Trent in 1208, and issued Synodal Statutes concerning the election of church dignities.Bonelli II, p. 105; III.1, p. 154. The Teutonic Knight, Fr. Henricus, O.T. (1274–1289), held a diocesan synod on 6 November 1276.Bonelli II, p. 160; III.1, p. 42. Bishop Enrico di Metz (1310–1336) held a diocesan synod on 14 January 1336, the complete proceedings of which were published by Benedetto Bonelli.Bonelli III.2, pp. 675–704. In 1344, Bishop Nicolò da Bruna (1338–1347) held a diocesan synod.Bonelli I, p. 333.

A diocesan synod was held in the cathedral of Trent by Bishop Udalrich Frundsberg (1486–1493) on 17–18 March 1489. Bishop Uldarich von Liechtenstein (1486–1505) held a synod on 4–5 April 1497.Bonelli III.2, p. 400, note 224.

Bishop Georg von Neideck (1506–1514) held a diocesan synod.Bonelli III.2, p. 400, note 225. Cardinal Bernhard von Cles (1514–1539) held a diocesan synod, in 1538.Bonelli III.1, p. 59. Cardinal Ludovico Madruzzo (1567–1600) held a diocesan synod in 1575, in which it was decreed that clerics should not grow mustaches, since it might interfere with drinking the blood of Christ from the communion cup. Madruzzo held another synod in 1593.Constitutiones Illustrissimi, Et Reverendissimi Domini Domini Ludovici S. R. E. Tituli Sancti Laurentij in Lucina, Presbyt. Cardinalis Madrutij, Episcopi Tridenti, etc. In Dioecesana Synodo Promulgatae Anno 1593. Tridenti: Giovanni Battista Gelmino 1594. Concilia Germaniae, quae celsissimi principis Joannis Mauritii, archiepiscopi Pragensis sumptu Joannes Fridericus Schannat magna ex parte primum collegit, dein Josephus Hartzheim ... plurimum auxit, continuavit, notis, digressionibus criticis, charta, et dissertatione chorographicis illustravit, Tomus VIII (Cologne: 1769), pp. 402-41.

Bishops and archbishops Bishops of Trento to 900

Iovinus (mid-4th cent.)Lanzoni, p. 937. Abundantius (attested 381)Bishop Abundantius was present at the provincial council of Aquileia in 381. J.D. Mansi (ed.), Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio, editio novissima, Tomus III (Florence: A. Zatta 1759), p. 599. Ughelli V, p. 589. Vigilius of Trent (c.387–c.400)Ambrose of Milan wrote Vigilius a letter c. 385. Lanzoni, pp. 937-939. Claudianus MagoriusMajorius: Lanzoni, p. 939, no. 5. ... Agnellus (attested 571–591)Agnellus: Bonelli, pp. 10-12. Lanzoni, p. 940, no. 24. ...The successors of Agnellus, down to Clementianus, bishops numbered 25 to 41, are known by name only, from the "Series Episcoporum Tridentinorum" (in: MGH: Scriptores, XIII: Supplementum Tomorum 01 12 Pars 1, p. 369. Whether they are real or fictitious, or at what dates they administered the diocese of Trent, cannot be established. Joannes ... ClementianusOnly a name. Bonelli III.2, p. 15, column 1. Amator (end of 8th cent.)It is said that Amator, or perhaps Clementianus his predecessor, or perhaps Voldericus his successor, was present at the synod of Fréjus in 796. But there is no evidence that any bishop of Trent was present at that assembly. Bonelli III.2, p. 15, column 1. Iltigario (c. 802 ?)Iltigarius (called Hyltigarius, in the "Series Episcoporum Tridentinorum") was also Bishop of Trieste (Italy) (802–814) and Apostolic Administrator of Koper (Slovenia) (802–814) Bonelli III.2, p. 15.