The Archdiocese of Catanzaro-Squillace () is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Calabria, has existed in its current form since 1986. In that year the Archdiocese of Catanzaro became a metropolitan see, and was combined with the diocese of Squillace."Archdiocese of Catanzaro-Squillace" Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved October 6, 2016."Metropolitan Archdiocese of Catanzaro–Squillace" GCatholic.org. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
History Establishment of the diocese Pope Calixtus II (Guy of Burgundy), Archbishop of Vienne since 1088, was elected pope at Cluny on 2 February 1119. He spent more than a year fortifying France and Germany against the excommunicated Emperor Henry V through synods and councils, and dealing with affairs as co-regent in Castile for his nephew Alfonso VII of León and Castile, who had become heir to the throne in 1109, and then king in 1116. In the spring of 1120, Calixtus turned his attention to Italy, arriving in Rome on 3 July.
At the Lateran Palace, on 14 January 1121, Pope Calixtus signed the bull Et synodalium, the text of which is found only in the Cronica Trium Tabernarum.Caspar, p. 43, summarized by Kehr, p. 79, nos. 1-4. The bull has been denounced as a forgery by Ughelli, De Meo, Batiffol, and others (Kehr, p. 80, top). Ughelli points out (p. 358) that the Pope subscribes as "Calixtus catholicae ecclesiae Pontifex", which was never the pontifical style; Caspar disguises the problem by putting the correct "Episcopus" in the text, though it is not in the manuscripts, and reporting the state of the manuscripts only in the scholarly apparatus. In the bull, the Pope announced that he had restored the diocese of Tres Tabernae (Taberna) to its original state, that he has consecrated Bishop Joannes, and that he had restored to him the possessions of the diocese. He did this after having received an embassy from Count Gaufredus of Catanzaro and the people of Tres Taberna, requesting restoration of the diocese, and after sending Cardinal Desiderius of S. Prassede to Calabria on an inspection tour.
In July 1121 Pope Calixtus travelled to Campania, spending time in Aversa, Salerno, Melfi, and Taranto. He arrived in Catanzaro by 21 December.P. Jaffé, Regesta pontificum Romanorum , editio secunda (Leipzig: Veit 1885), pp. 781, 795, 801-803. The purpose of his visit was to arrange a truce and peace between Count Roger and Duke William of Italy.Cronica Trium Tabernarum section 19: "[19.] Post aliquantum uero temporis ueniens isdem felicis memoriae papa Calixtus in Calabriae partibus, ut inter domnum regem Rogerium, qui tunc comes erat, et inter Guillelmum ducem treguas reformaret et pacem...." The Chronicle of Taverna has been published by Erich Caspar, "Die chronik von Tres Tabernae in Calabrien," in 10 (Rome: Loescher 1907), p. 45. William was Duke of Pouille, not Duke of Italy. Batiffol, p. 237. He failed in his mission.Caspar, p. 4.
In the bull Notum sit omnibus, allegedly published on 28 December 1121, Pope Calixtus states that he dedicated the church of the Virgin Mary and Saints Peter and Paul in Catanzaro; that he granted and confirmed to that church the episcopal seat and dignity of the diocese of Tres Tabernae; granted the favor of absolution from all of their sins upon being buried in that church's cemetery; that annually on the festival of that church, which was to be celebrated for eight days, the Faithful were to be granted one year's remission of the punishment due their sins, provided they made a sacramental confession.Caspar, pp. 46-49; Caspar has tampered with the date formula. The bull, however, is a forgery.Kehr, pp. 80-81, no. 7, who indicates that elements in the forgery were borrowed from a genuine bull for the Monastery of S. Trinita de Mileto. The signatories of the bull present several problems: Rainaldus of Mileto was not yet bishop of Mileto; Vellardus of Agrigento signed (though the real bishop's name was Albert); Bishop Gerardof Potenza signed, though he had been dead for nearly three years; Bishop Polichronius of Genicocastro signed, though neither the diocese nor the bishop is known, except in a Greek hagiographical text of the end of the 12th century.Batiffol, p. 238. Caspar, p. 47, has again "corrected" the text for Bishop Albertus, inserting the name which is not in the manuscripts, though the true fact is reported only in the footnotes.
In 1122, Pope Calixtus II transferred to Catanzaro the see of Taverna (Tres Tabernae), which is taken as the date of foundation of the diocese, at least according to the Catholic Encyclopedia.Catholic Encyclopedia article The date and circumstances, however, are hotly debated by scholars.The five bulls of Pope Calixtus II referring to Tres Tabernae (Taverna) and Catanzaro, found only in the Chronicle of Taverna, have been attacked as falsifications, though one is certainly authentic. Pierre Batiffol, Chronique de Taverna et les fausses décretales de Catanzaro, Revue des questions historiques 51 (Paris, January 1892), pp. 235-244. He was answered by Paul Favre, "Les fausses décretales de Catanzaro," Revue des questions historiques 53 (Paris 1893), pp. 519-522; with a reply by P. Batiffol, pp. 522-527. Paul Fabre, "Correspondence," Revue des questions historiques 54 (Paris 1894), pp. 596-599, with a rejoinder by Batiffol at p. 599. See also Kehr, pp. 77-78 for additional bibliography. P. Fedele in Archivio storico per le province Napolitane 32 (1907), pp. 203-206.
No bishop of Calabria attended the First Lateran Council of Pope Calixtus II in Rome in 1123, held to deal with investiture, simony, clerical concubinage, and an expedition against the Saracens.Domenico Taccone-Gallucci, Regesti dei Romani Pontefici per le chiese della Calabria (Roma 1902), p. 325.
In the 1140s, the diocese of Tres Tabernae is listed as one of the "exempt dioceses" in Calabria. By the end of the century, the Liber censuum indicates that it had become a suffragan (subordinate) of the archdiocese of Reggio Calabria, as the diocese of Catanzaro (Catacensis).Louis Duchesne, "Les évêchés de Calabrie," in: Mélanges Paul Favre, reprinted in Scripta Minora. Études de topographie romaine et de géographie ecclésiastique (Rome: École Française de Rome 1973), pp. 439-454, at p. 14 : "Quant à l'évêché de Très Tabernae, il fut fondé en 1121 (J. 6890; cf. 6937, 6938, 6942). Dans le courant du XIIe siècle on le transféra à Catanzaro, mais il perdit son exemption; les provinciaux d'Albinus et de Cencius le marquent parmi les suffragante de Reggio." P. Fabre, Le Liber censuum, I (Paris: Fontemoing 1905), pp. 21-22.
On 27 March 1638, a major earthquake struck Calabria, killing thousands. In Catanzaro, the death of the Patrician, Onofrio Cattaneo, the Franciscan Francesco Pistoia of Catanzaro, and the priest Geronimo Gerasio, were recorded; in the whole territory some 200 persons died.D'Amato, pp. 213-214. M. Baratta, I terramoti d'Italia (Torino 1901), p. 130, reports 4 deaths, 18 houses and one church destroyed. The bishop' palace and the cathedral suffered considerable damage. In the earthquake of 8 March 1832, the most severely damaged buildings were: the school (lyceum), the headquarters of the royal intendent, the civic hospital, and the prison. A total of 234 persons died in the quake, four of them in the city of Catanzaro.Baratta, p. 370-371, note 1.
Cathedral and Chapter The cathedral of the Assumption is administered and staffed by a corporation of Canons, consisting, in 1692, of four dignities and fourteen Canons.Ritzler-Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica V, p. 149, note 1.
Religious orders
The Dominicans first arrived in Catanzaro in 1401.D'Amato, p. 72.
The contract for a Jesuit college (lyceum) in Catanzaro was signed on 1 February 1563. Bishop Ottaviano Moriconi (1572–1582) facilitated their establishment. The Jesuits were expelled from Catanzaro on 20 November 1767.
Change of status Since the 12th century, Catanzaro had been a suffragan diocese (subordinate) of the archbishop of Reggio Calabria. On 5 July 1927, [Pope Pius XI] changed the status of Catanzaro, liberating it from the metropolitan jurisdiction of Reggio Calabria and making it directly dependent on the Holy See (Papacy). He then raised the diocese to the dignity of an archdiocese, without however naming any suffragan dioceses.Acta Apostolicae Sedis Vol. 19 (Rome 1927), pp. 394-395.
Acquisition of diocese of Squillace From 1927 to 1986, the Archbishop of Catanzaro was also appointed Bishop of Squillace, holding two dioceses at the same time.Archbishop Giovanni Fiorentini was appointed Bishop of Squillace on 22 December 1927.
On 18 February 1984, the Vatican and the Italian State signed a new and revised concordat, which was accompanied in the next year 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. Otherwise Catanzaro and Saquillace might have continued to share a bishop, as the archbishop of Catanzaro e Squillace. Instead, 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 Catanzaro and Squillace be merged into one diocese with one bishop, with the Latin title Archidioecesis Catacensis-Squillacensis. The seat of the diocese was to be in Catanzaro, and the cathedral of Catanzaro was to serve as the cathedral of the merged diocese. The cathedral in Squillace was to become a co-cathedral, and its cathedral Chapter was to be a Capitulum Concathedralis. There was to be only one diocesan Tribunal, in Catanzaro, 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 former dioceses of Squillace and of Catanzaro.Acta Apostolicae Sedis Vol. 79 (Città del Vaticano 1987), pp. 679-682. The diocese was directly subject to the Holy See.
Losses of territory On 18 November 1989, the Congregation of Bishops in the Roman Curia, with the consent of Pope John Paul II, transferred fifteen parishes from the diocese of Catanzaro-Squillace to the diocese of Locri-Gerace. At the same time, Catanzaro-Squillace received five parishes from Locri-Gerace, Crotone-Santa Severina, Lamezia Terme and Cosenza-Bisignano.Acta Apostolicae Sedis Vol. 82 (Città del Vaticano 1990), pp. 679-682.
Metropolitan archdiocese On 30 January 2001, Pope John Paul II promoted the archdiocese of Catanzaro-Squillace to the status of metropolitan archdiocese, and assigned it as suffragan dioceses the archdiocese of Crotone-Santa Severina and the diocese of Lamezia Terme.Acta Apostolicae Sedis Vol. 93 (Città del Vaticano 2001), pp. 337-338.
Suffragan sees Crotone-Santa Severina Lamezia Terme
Bishops Diocese of Catanzaro
to 1600
... [Norbertus ? (1152)]Gams, p. 874, column 1. ... Robertus (attested 1167)Robertus: Kehr X, p. 77. ... Bassovinus (attested 1200)Bassovinus (or Basuinus) was a native of Aversa. He became bishop of Aversa between 1210 and 1215. He died in 1221. Ughelli IX, p. 368. Eubel, Hierarchia catholica I, p. 174. Kamp, pp. 950-951. Robertus (attested 1217–1222)Roberto: Eubel I, p. 174. Kamp, p. 951. ... Fortunatus, O.Min. (1251–1252)Fortunato was a Canon of Catanzaro as early as 1217, and was later promoted to Cantor of the cathedral Chapter by 1233. He is named bishop-elect in a document of 21 August 1251. His latest document is in April 1252. Eubel I, p. 174. Kamp, p. 952. Jacobus (attested 1252–1266)Giacomo: Eubel I, p. 174. Kamp, p. 952-953. Sede vacante (1268–1274)Kamp, p. 954. Gabriel (1274–1280) [Nicolaus]Niccolo: Eubel I, p. 174. Kamp, p. 954, note 52, rejects the report of Ughelli, p. 372, of a bishop Nicolaus in 1275, since it contradicts other documentary evidence. RobertusRoberto: Eubel I, p. 174.