Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Monreale

Archdiocese of Monreale Archidioecesis Montis Regalis
Monreale Cathedral
Location
Country	Italy
Ecclesiastical province	Palermo
Statistics
Area
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2004) 193,413 185,000 (95.7%)
Parishes	113
Information
Denomination	Catholic Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	1176 (848 years ago)
Cathedral	Basilica Cattedrale di S. Maria La Nuova
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Archbishop	Michele Pennisi
Emeritus Bishops	Salvatore Di Cristina
Map
File:Arcidiocesi di Monreale.png
Website
www.webdiocesi.chiesacattolica.it

The Italian Catholic Archdiocese of Monreale (Latin: Archidioecesis Montis Regalis) is in Sicily. As of 2000 it is no longer a metropolitan see, and is now a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Palermo.

History

In 1174 the abbey of Monreale was declared a prælatura nullius; two years later its abbot was vested with the title and jurisdiction of a bishop. In 1182 Monreale became the metropolitan see for the diocese of Catania and diocese of Siracusa. At first the archbishops were elected by the monks, but were not always Benedictines; since 1275 the election has been reserved to itself by the Holy See.

In time the diocese of Girgenti and diocese of Caltagirone also became suffragan to Monreale; but Siracusa, in 1844, and Catania, in 1860, became archiepiscopal sees. The former having become the Metropolitan of Caltagirone, Monreale received the new diocese of Caltanisetta (1860), which see and Girgenti became its only suffragans.

Among the archbishops have been:

• Cardinal Giovanni Proccamazza (1278);
• Pietro Gerra (1286);
• Cardinal Aussio Despuig de Podio (1458);
• Cardinal Juan de Borja Lanzol de Romaní, el mayor (September 13, 1483—August 1, 1503)
• Cardinal Pompeo Colonna (1531);
• Cardinal Ippolito de' Medici (1532);
• Cardinal Alessandro Farnese (1536);
• Ludovico de Torres (1584);
• Cardinal Francesco Peretti di Montalto (1650 - 1655);
• Cardinal Vitaliano Visconti (1670);
• Cardinal Francesco del Giudice (1704 - 1725);
• Cardinal Traian d'Acquaviva d'Aragona (1739).

From 1775 to 1802 Monreale and Palermo were united.

Monreale Cathederal

Ordinaries

Diocese of Monreale

Erected: 1176
Latin Name: Montis Regalis

Archdiocese of Monreale

Elevated: 5 February 1183
Latin Name: Montis Regalis

• Giovanni Boccamazza (15 Aug 1278 - Aug 1286 Resigned)
• Pietro Guerra (20 Aug 1286 - 6 Jan 1298 Appointed, Archbishop of Capua)
• Ausias Despuig (18 Sep 1458 - 2 Sep 1483 Died)
• Juan de Borja Lanzol de Romaní (13 Sep 1483 - 1 Aug 1503 Died)
• Juan Castellar y de Borja (9 Aug 1503 - 1 Jan 1505 Died)
• Enrique de Cardona y Enríquez (23 Jan 1512 - 7 Feb 1530 Died)
• Pompeo Colonna (14 Dec 1530 - 28 Jun 1532 Died)
• Ippolito de' Medici (26 Jul 1532 - 10 Aug 1535 Died)
• Alessandro Farnese (cardinal) (15 May 1536 - 9 Dec 1573 Resigned)
• Ludovico de Torres (archbishop) (I) (9 Dec 1573 - 31 Dec 1583 Died)
• Ludovico de Torres (cardinal) (II) (22 Jan 1588 - 8 Jul 1609 Died)
• Arcangelo Gualtieri, O.F.M. (18 Jun 1612 - 1619 Died)
• Jerónimo Venero Leyva (17 Feb 1620 - Aug 1628 Died)
• Cosimo de Torres (3 Apr 1634 - 1 May 1642 Died)
• Giovanni Torresiglia (Torrecilla Manso) (13 Jul 1644 - 28 Jan 1648 Died)
• Francesco Peretti di Montalto (30 May 1650 - 4 May 1655 Died)
• Luis Alfonso de Los Cameros (16 Oct 1656 - 14 May 1668 Appointed, Archbishop of Valencia)
• Vitaliano Visconti (2 Jun 1670 - 7 Sep 1671 Died)
• Giovanni Roano e Corrionero (27 Nov 1673 - 4 Jul 1703 Died)
• Francesco del Giudice (14 Jan 1704 - 15 Feb 1725 Retired)
• Juan Álvaro Cienfuegos Villazón, S.J. (21 Feb 1725 - 24 Apr 1739 Resigned)
• Troiano Acquaviva d'Aragona (4 May 1739 - 20 Mar 1747 Died)
• Giacomo Bonanno, C.R. (28 May 1753 - 14 Jan 1754 Died)
• Francesco Maria Testa (22 Apr 1754 - 17 May 1773 Died)
• Francesco Ferdinando Sanseverino, C.P.O. (15 Apr 1776 - 31 Mar 1793 Died)
• Filippo López y Rojo, C.R. (17 Jun 1793 - 4 Sep 1801 Resigned)
• Mercurio Maria Teresi (24 May 1802 - 17 Apr 1805 Died)
• Domenico Benedetto Balsamo, O.S.B. (23 Sep 1816 - 6 Apr 1844 Died)
• Pier Francesco Brunaccini, O.S.B. (24 Nov 1845 - 14 Jun 1850 Died)
• Benedetto D'Acquisto, O.F.M. (23 Dec 1858 - 7 Aug 1867 Died)
• Giuseppe Maria Papardo del Pacco, C.R. (27 Oct 1871 - 3 Aug 1883 Died)
• Domenico Gaspare Lancia di Brolo, O.S.B. (24 Mar 1884 - 31 Jul 1919 Died)
• Antonio Augusto Intreccialagli, O.C.D. (31 Jul 1919 - 19 Sep 1924 Died)
• Ernesto Eugenio Filippi (6 Apr 1925 - 23 Aug 1951 Died)
• Francesco Carpino (23 Aug 1951 Succeeded - 19 Jan 1961 Appointed, Official of the Sacred Consistorial Congregation)
• Corrado Mingo (28 Apr 1961 - 11 Mar 1978 Retired)
• Salvatore Cassisa (11 Mar 1978 - 24 May 1997 Retired)
• Pio Vittorio Vigo (24 May 1997 - 15 Oct 2002 Appointed, Archbishop (Personal Title) of Acireale)
• Cataldo Naro (18 Oct 2002 - 29 Sep 2006 Died)
• Salvatore Di Cristina (2 Dec 2006 - 8 Feb 2013 Retired)
• Michele Pennisi (8 Feb 2013 - )

Auxiliary bishops

• Gian Antonio Fassano (4 Jun 1544 - 10 Sep 1568)
• Giovanni Pietro Fortiguerra (4 Jun 1567 - 26 Apr 1574)
• Blas Antonio Olóriz (2 Dec 1733 -)
• Emanuele Romano (20 Jun 1973 - 24 Jan 1978)

Notes

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: