Bishop of Syracuse
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Archdiocese of Siracusa Archidioecesis Syracusana |
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| Location | |
| Country | Sicily |
| Ecclesiastical province | Siracusa |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 1,341 km2 (518 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics |
(as of 2014) 297,286 289,162 (97.3%) |
| Parishes | 76 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Catholic Church |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Established | 2nd century |
| Cathedral | Cattedrale della Natività di Maria Santissima |
| Secular priests | 103 (diocesan) 37 (Religious Orders) 16 Deacons |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Archbishop | Salvatore Pappalardo |
| Emeritus Bishops | Giuseppe Costanzo |
| Map | |
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| Website | |
| www.arcidiocesi.siracusa.it | |
The Italian Catholic Archdiocese of Siracusa, also known as Syracuse, (Latin: Archidioecesis Syracusana) is in Sicily. It became an archdiocese in 1844. The current Archbishop is Salvatore Pappalardo. He was given the pallium by Pope Benedict on 29 June 2009, during a Mass in the Vatican Basilica on the feast Saints Peter and Paul. He is not to be confused with the deceased Cardinal Salvatore Pappalardo, Archbishop of Palermo (d. 2006).
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 S. Peter himself. 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.
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 St. Benignus and St. 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); 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).
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Wikipedia