Roman Catholic Diocese of Ajaccio

Diocese of Ajaccio
Dioecesis Adiacensis
Diocèse d'Ajaccio

Location
Country Corsica France
Ecclesiastical province Marseille
Metropolitan Archdiocese of Marseille
Statistics
Area 8,722 km2 (3,368 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics		 (as of 2012)
278,100
258,200 (92.8%)
Parishes 434
Information
Denomination Roman Catholic
Rite Roman Rite
Established 3rd Century
Cathedral Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption of Ajaccio
Patron saint St Euphrase
Secular priests 47 (diocesan)
24 (Religious Orders)
Current leadership
Pope Francis
Bishop Olivier de Germay
Metropolitan Archbishop Georges Pontier
Website
Website of the Diocese

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Ajaccio (Adjax or Ajax in Latin) is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France.[1][2] The diocese comprises the whole of the island of Corsica.

Erected in the 3rd century, the diocese was formerly a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Pisa. After the French Concordat of 1801, the diocese became a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Aix,[3] until 2002 when it was attached to the archidiocesan province of Marseille. In 2012 in the diocese of Ajaccio there was one priest for every 3,636 Catholics.


History

Its first bishop known to history was Evandrus, who assisted at the Council of Rome in 313.

In 1077 Pope Gregory VII granted the sovereignty of the island of Corsica to Pisa. In 1347 Pisa was forced to cede its control over the island of Corsica to Genoa. Pope Eugene IV tried to reestablish papal sovereignty, but he failed.[4]

At the end of the sixteenth century the Cathedral of Ajaccio had only two dignitaries, the Archpriest and the Archdeacon, and three Canons with three prebends. Pope Sixtus V added five Canons, making a total of ten members of the body.[5] In 1695 there were two dignities and twelve Canons.[6]

In 1759, Ajaccio had a population of around 5,000, under the political control of the Republic of Genoa, though the diocese was suffragan to the Metropolitan of Pisa. The Cathedral had one dignitary and thirteen canons, there was one monastery of monks.[7]

Before the French Revolution, Corsica contained five other dioceses:[8]

The Civil Constitution of the Clergy (1791) suppressed all these bishoprics in favor of one diocese for the entire island, called the Diocese de Corse, inside the province of the Côtes de la Méditerranée.[9]

The Byzantine ruins at Mariana perpetuate the memory of the church built by the Pisans in the 12th century.

The Cathedral

There is a legend that the bishops banished from Africa to Corsica in 484 by Hunneric, Arian King of the Vandals, built with their own hands the primitive cathedral of Ajaccio. The present cathedral, dating from 1554 to 1593, owes its construction to the initiative of Gregory XIII, who while still Ugo Buoncompagni, spent some time at Ajaccio as papal legate. The see was left vacant for five years, during which time the diocesan revenues were applied to the building of the cathedral. It was finished by Bishop Giustiniani after his nomination. It is said that the cathedral was designed by Giacomo della Porta, but a guidebook remarks, "Se è vero, non era molto in forma."[10] Napoleon Bonaparte's uncle Lucien (Luciano) was Archdeacon of the Church of Ajaccio.[11] Napoleon was baptized in the Cathedral on 21 July 1771.

Liturgical services are held according to the Greek Byzantine rite in the village of Cargèse, founded in 1676 by the descendants of the Greek aristocrat Stephen Comnenus (Stephanos Comnenos), whom the Ottoman Turks had expelled from the Peloponnesus.

Bishops

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

before 1200

Sede vacante
...

1200 to 1400

...

1400 to 1600

  • Petrus Corsus : (1401 – 1411)[18]
  • Marco : (1411 – 1420)
  • Paolo de Albertis, O.Min. : (1420 – 1422)[19]
  • Andreas Didaci de Escobar : (1422 – 1428)[20]
  • Lucas de Offida, O.E.S.A. : (1429 – 1438)[21]
  • Valeriano Calderini : (1438)[22]
  • Rafael Spinola, O.Min. : (1438 – 1457)
  • Deodato Boctoni : (1457 – 1476)[23]
  • Paolo di Bonifazio : (1477 – 1482)
  • Gabriel de Franchi, O.P. : (1482 – )[24]
  • Cardinal Paolo Fregoso : (1482 – 1498?) Administrator.[25]
  • Filippo Pallavicini : (1498 – 1518)[26]
  • Giacomo Pallavicini : (1518 – 1539)[27]
  • Leonardo Tornabuoni : (1539 – 1540)[28]
  • Alessandro Guidiccioni : (1541 – 1548)[29]
  • Giovanni Battista Bernardi : (1548 – 1578)[30]
  • Cristoforo Guidiccioni : (1578 – 1582)[31]
Sede vacante
  • Giulio Giustiniani : (1587 – 1616)[32]

1600 to 1800

  • Fabiano Giustiniani, Orat. : (1616 – 1627)[33]
  • Ottaviano Rivarola : (1627 – 1651)[34]
  • Cardinal Giovanni Stefano Donghi : (1651 – 1655)[35]
  • Syrus Strassera, O.Theat. : (1655 – 1656)[36]
  • Giovanni Gregorio Ardizzoni : (1656 – 1685)[37]
  • Giovanni Paolo Inurea, O.Camald. (1686 –1694)[38]
  • Giovanni Battista Gentile, O.S.B. : (1694 – 1695)[39]
  • Francesco Maria Sacco, O.Theat. : (1695 – 1697)[40]
  • Pietro Spinola, O.F.M.Ref. : (1698 – 1715)[41]
  • Agostino Spinola, C.R.Som. : (1716 – 1722)[42]
  • Carlo Lomellino : (1723 – 1741)[43]
  • Bernardino Centurione : (1741 – 1759)[44]
  • Benedetto Andrea Doria : (1759 – 1794)[45]
    • Ignace-François Guasco (1791-1793) (Constitutional Bishop of Corse)[46]

1800 to 2000

  • Louis Sébastiani (de La Porta) : (13 Apr 1802 - 9 Dec 1831 Died).[47]
  • Toussaint (Raffaele Sante) Casanelli d'Istria : (28 Jun 1833 - 12 Oct 1869 Died).[48]
  • Pierre-Paul de Cuttoli : (21 Dec 1869 - 18 Dec 1870 Died).[49]
  • François-André-Xavier de Gaffory : (27 Feb 1872 - 14 Jul 1877 Died).[50]
  • Paul-Matthieu de La Foata : (21 Aug 1877 - 3 Jan 1899 Died)[51]
  • Louis Olivieri : (7 Dec 1899 - 17 May 1903 Died)[52]
Sede vacante[53]
  • Marie-Joseph Ollivier : (21 Feb 1906 - 21 Mar 1906 Died)
  • Jean-Baptiste Desanti : (1 Jun 1906 - 11 Feb 1916 Died)[54]
  • Auguste-Joseph-Marie Simeone : (27 May 1916 - 30 Jul 1926 Appointed, Bishop of Fréjus)[55]
  • Jean-Marcel Rodié : (29 Apr 1927 - 7 Mar 1938 Appointed, Bishop of Agen)[56]
  • Jean-Baptiste-Adrien Llosa † (14 Sep 1938 - 26 Jul 1966 Retired)[57]
  • André Charles Collini † (26 Jul 1966 Succeeded - 22 Dec 1972 Appointed, Coadjutor Archbishop of Toulouse (-Narbonne-Saint Bertrand de Comminges-Rieux))
  • Jean-Charles Thomas (4 Feb 1974 - 23 Dec 1986 Appointed, Coadjutor Bishop of Versailles)
  • Sauveur Casanova † (13 Aug 1987 - 5 Jan 1995 Retired)
  • André Jean René Lacrampe, Ist. del Prado (5 Jan 1995 - 13 Aug 2003, Appointed Archbishop of Besançon)

since 2000

References

  1. ↑ "Diocese of Ajaccio" Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved February 29, 2016
  2. ↑ "Diocese of Ajaccio" GCatholic.org. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved February 29, 2016
  3. ↑ Convenzione tra il governo francese e S. S. Pio VII: bolle, discorsi, leggi, decreti, giuramenti, proclami, ec., relativi ai culti in Francia (in Italian). Genoa: Stamperia della Libertá in Scurreria. 1802. p. 161.
  4. ↑ Casta, p. 32.
  5. ↑ Ughelli, III, p. 493.
  6. ↑ Ritzler, V, p. 68, note 1.
  7. ↑ Ritzler, VI, p. 65, note 1.
  8. ↑ Casta, pp. 35-41.
  9. ↑ Pisani, p. 332-334.
  10. ↑ 'If true, he wasn't in good form.' Corsica - Guide Routard (in Italian). Touring Editore. 2002. p. 187. ISBN 978-88-365-2546-1.
  11. ↑ Napoleon Bonaparte; D. A. Bingham (2010). A Selection from the Letters and Despatches of the First Napoleon: With Explanatory Notes. Cambridge University Press. p. 13. ISBN 978-1-108-02340-5.
  12. ↑ Evandrus ab Ursino: Ughelli, III, pp. 493-494. J. D. Mansi (ed.), Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio editio novissima Tomus II (Florence 1759), p. 437.
  13. ↑ Benedictus was present at the Lateran council of 649 under Pope Martin I. Mansi, Tomus X (Florence 1764), p. 866. Gams, p. 764.
  14. ↑ Eubel, I, p. 71.
  15. ↑ Bertrand was transferred to the diocese of Assisi on 14 August 1348. He died in 1357. Eubel, I, p. 71 and 113.
  16. ↑ Gams, p. 764.
  17. ↑ Ughelli, p. 494.
  18. ↑ Petrus had been transferred from the diocese of Ampurias (Sardinia) (1395–1401). He was appointed by Boniface IX, of the Roman Obedience. Eubel, I, p. 71, 86.
  19. ↑ A Florentine, Alberti had been Bishop of Orte (1395–1420). He was transferred from Ajaccio to Asculi Piceno on 19 October 1422. Eubel, I, 71, 111.
  20. ↑ Andreas had been Bishop of Ciudad Rodrigo (1410–1422). He was transferred from Ajaccio to the titular bishopric of Megara in Greece on 5 May 1428. Ughelli, pp. 494-495. Eubel, I, 71, 190, 333.
  21. ↑ Offida was a Master of theology. Eubel, I, p. 71.
  22. ↑ Calderini was a Doctor of Canon Law. On 18 July 1438 he was transferred to Sagona (Corsica); in 1443 he was transferred to Savona; in 1466 he was transferred to Albenga. He died in 1472. Eubel, II, p. 79, 84 227, 229.
  23. ↑ Ughelli, p. 495. Eubel, II, p. 79.
  24. ↑ Eubel, II, p. 79.
  25. ↑ Fregoso was Archbishop of Genoa (1453-1498). Doge of Genoa (for the third time), 1483. Eubel, II, p. 167.
  26. ↑ Filippo Pallavicini of Genoa was the nephew of Cardinal Antoniotto Pallavicini. He died in 1515. Ughelli, p. 495. Eubel, II, p. 79; III, p. 94, note 2.
  27. ↑ A native of Genoa, Giacomo Pallavicini was the nephew of his predecessor, as well as his coadjutor. Eubel, III, p. 94, with note 3.
  28. ↑ Tornabuoni was secretary (until 1538) and chamberlain of Pope Clement VII, who appointed him Bishop of Borgo San Sepolcro (1522–1539). In December 1529 he was sent as Nuncio to Flanders by Clement VII. In 1539 the Genoese authorities refused to grant Tornabuoni possession of the diocese of Ajaccio. On 9 April 1539 Pope Paul III had to write to the Genoese demanding his installation, but in November had to extend the term of Tornabuoni executing his bulls. He was buried in Santo Spiritu in Sasso in Rome on 31 August 1544. Eubel III, p. 94, with notes 4 and 6.
  29. ↑ Doctor in utroque iure (Civil and Canon Law). Maggiordomo of Pope Paul III. Commander of the Hospital of Santo Spiritu. In 1548 he resigned the diocese. He died on 7 October 1552 in Rome. Eubel, III, p. 94, with note 8.
  30. ↑ Bernardi was a native of Lucca. Papal Chamberlain. Scriptor litterarum Apostolicarum (papal secretary). In 1562 he was at the Council of Trent. Ughelli, pp. 496-497. Eubel, III, p. 94, with note 9.
  31. ↑ Guidiccioni was a native of Lucca. He died at the age of 46. Ughelli, p. 497.
  32. ↑ Giustiniani was a Doctor in utroque iure (Civil and Canon Law). He died on 18 April 1616. Carlo Fabrizio Giustiniani (1667). Vita di monsignor Giulio Giustiniani vescouo di Aiaccio scritta da monsignor Carlo Fabritio Giustiniani vescouo di Mariana, & di Accia (in Italian). Roma: per il Tinassi. Ughelli, pp. 497-499. Eubel, III, p. 94, with note 10.
  33. ↑ Giustiniani was a native of Genoa. He was a Doctor in theology. Ughelli, pp. 499-500. Gauchat, IV, p. 68 with note 2.
  34. ↑ Rivarola, a native of Genoa, was the nephew of Cardinal Dominico Rivarola. He was Doctor in utroque iure (Civil Law and Canon Law), and was appointed Referendary of the Two Signatures, Vice-Legate in the Romandiola, and Vice-Governor of Fermo. Ughelli, p. 500. Gauchat, IV, p. 68 with note 3.
  35. ↑ Donghi, a native of Genoa, had been created a cardinal-deacon by Pope Urban VIII on 13 July 1643, and assigned the Deaconry of San Giorgio in Velabro. He was transferred to Imola on 2 August 1655. Gauchat, p. 26, no. 70; p. 68, with note 4; and p. 209.
  36. ↑ Strassera was a native of Genoa, and was a professor of theology. He was appointed on 11 October 1655, and died on 28 April, 1656. Gauchat, IV, p. 68, with note 5.
  37. ↑ Ardizzoni was born at Tabiae (Taggia) in the diocese of Albenga (Liguria). He was Doctor in utroque iure (Civil and Canon Law) from Bologna. He was appointed to Ajaccio on 28 August 1656, and died in November 1685. Gauchat, IV, p. 68 with note 6. Ritzler, V, p. 68, note 2.
  38. ↑ Inurea was born in Genoa. He rose to be General of the Camaldolese Order. He died on 10 March 1694. Ritzler, V, p. 68 with note 3.
  39. ↑ Gentile was born in Genoa. He held doctorates in philosophy and theology from the University of Parma. He was consecrated in Rome by Cardinal Bandino Panciatici on 19 September 1694. He died in September 1695. Ritzler, V, p. 68 with note 4.
  40. ↑ Sacco was born in Savona. He was lecturer in theology, and became Provost in his convents in Ravenna and in Rome. He was consecrated in Rome by Cardinal Pietro Petrucci on 30 November 1695. He was transferred to the diocese of Brugnato on 27 March 1697; he died there on 21 December 1721. Ritzler, V, p. 68 with note 5; p. 128 with n. 3.
  41. ↑ Ritzler, V, p. 68 with note 6.
  42. ↑ Spinola was transferred to Savona on 23 September 1722. Ritzler, V, p. 68 with note 7.
  43. ↑ Lomellino resigned on 26 November 1741, and was transferred to the titular Archbishopric of Hierapolis. Ritzler, V, p. 68 with note 8.
  44. ↑ Centurione was born in Pavomia, in the diocese of Sagona on Corsica. He held a Doctorate in theology. He was consecrated in Rome on 30 November 1741 by Cardinal Pompeio Aldovrando. He died in Ajaccio on 11 November 1758. Ritzler, VI, p. 65 with note 2.
  45. ↑ Born in Rogliano, in the diocese of Mariana on Corsica, Doria was a Doctor in utroque iure (Civil and Canon Law) (Pisa 1759); Consultor of the Inquisition in Genoa. He was a Canon in the Cathedral of Genoa. Doria was consecrated in Rome on 4 June 1759 by Cardinal Joaquin Fernández de Portocarrero. He died in La Spezia on 17 September 1794. Gams, p. 764. Ritzler, VI, p. 65 with note 3.
  46. ↑ Pisani, pp. 332-333.
  47. ↑ Cappelletti, p. 322. Gams, p. 764.
  48. ↑ Cappelletti, pp. 322-323. Gams, p. 764.
  49. ↑ Gams, p. 765.
  50. ↑ Gams, p. 765.
  51. ↑ Casta, pp. 211-215.
  52. ↑ Olivieri had been Vicar-General for Bishop de la Foata. He was Chevalier of the Legion of Honor (1898). Casta, pp. 215-217.
  53. ↑ This was during the struggle over, and implementation of, the Law of Separation. Casta, pp. 217-227.
  54. ↑ A native of Ajaccio, Desanti had been Canon of the Cathedral of Ajaccio. Casta, pp. 224-233.
  55. ↑ Simeone was born in Marseille and was a follower of Bishop Pierre-Paulin Andrieu, who became a Cardinal in 1907. He studied at the French College in Rome, and held a doctorate in theology. He was Canon of the Cathedral of Marseille. Casta, pp. 233-235.
  56. ↑ Casta, pp. 235-241.
  57. ↑ Casta, pp. 241-244.
  58. ↑ Bishop de Germay holds a maîtrise en théologie from the Institut Jean-Paul II in Rome (1999). Diocese of Ajaccio, Biography of Bishop de Germay (French) retrieved: 2016-10-27.

Books

Bishop Olivier de Germay, incumbent

Acknowledgment

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