Roman Catholic Diocese of Acqui
|
Diocese of Acqui Dioecesis Aquensis |
|
|---|---|
Acqui Terme Cathedral
|
|
| Location | |
| Country | Italy |
| Ecclesiastical province | Turin |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 1,683 km2 (650 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics |
(as of 2015) 156,100 (est.) 148,500 (est.) (95.1%) |
| Parishes | 115 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Catholic Church |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Established | 4th century |
| Cathedral | Cattedrale di Nostra Signora Assunta |
| Secular priests | 95 (diocesan) 8 (Religious Orders) 16 Permanent Deacons |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Bishop | Luigi Testore |
| Emeritus Bishops |
Livio Maritano Pier Giorgio Micchiardi |
| Map | |
 |
|
| Website | |
| www.diocesiacqui.piemonte.it | |
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Acqui (Latin: Dioecesis Aquensis) straddles the (civil) regions of Piedmont and Liguria, in northwest Italy. The ancient Roman name of the place was Aquae Statiellae, which was sometimes confused with Aquae Sentiae (Aix-en-Provence), and Aquae Augustae (Dax), where there were also bishops. Acqui had always been subordinate to the Province of Milan, down until 1817, when Pope Pius VII assigned it to the Province of Turin. As a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Turin, it falls within the ecclesiastical region of Piedmont.
It is probable that the diocese of Acqui was established at the end of the fourth century, about the same time, it would appear, as the dioceses of Novara, Turin, Ivrea, Aosta and perhaps, Asti and Alba.
The first undoubted bishop of Acqui was Ditarius. A tablet found in 1753 in the church of St. Peter, indicates that Ditarius, bishop of Acqui, died on 25 January 488, in the Consulate of Dinamias and Syphidius.
Popular tradition gives Deusdedit, Andreas, Severus, Maximus, and, earliest of all, Majorinus, as bishops prior to him. Majorinus probably lived either at the end of the fourth, or in the beginning of the fifth, century. The name was very common in the third, fourth, and fifth centuries. Veneration was offered to the saint from time immemorial by the church in Acqui, shown by his statues and relics. This veneration, however, has ceased since a decree of the Congregation of Rites (8 April 1628) prohibited the veneration of saints whose sanctity had not been declared by the Holy See.
In the list of the bishops of Acqui appears Saint Guido (1034–70), who was said to be a member of the family of the Counts of Acquesana, under whose patronage the cathedral was erected. He is the patron saint of Acqui.
In 1068 the new city of Alessandria, named in honor of Pope Alexander III, was created, with the object of countering the political maneuvers of the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. In 1070 a delegation was sent to Rome, which presented the city to the Pope as a vassal of the Holy Roman Church. In 1075, Pope Alexander erected a new diocese at Alessandria, and provided its first bishop, Arduinus. The territory of the new diocese was taken from that of the diocese of Acqui. In 1180, Archbishop Algisius of Milan, acting on authority delegated to him by Pope Alexander, decreed the union of the two dioceses in the person of Bishop Uberto Tornielli of Acqui, who would take the title of Bishop of Alessandria, but the arrangement was acceptable neither to the people of Acqui nor to Bishop-elect Otto of Alessandria, and therefore the union did not take effect.
...
Wikipedia