Roman Catholic Diocese of Alessandria

Diocese of Alessandria Dioecesis Alexandrinus Statiellorum
Alessandria Cathedral
Location
Country	Italy
Ecclesiastical province	Vercelli
Statistics
Area	740 km2 (290 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2012) 162,900 151,100 (approx.) (92.7%)
Parishes	75
Information
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	1175
Cathedral	Cattedrale di S. Pietro Apostolo
Patron saint	Saint Baudolino [1]
Secular priests	74 (diocesan) 18 (Religious Orders)
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Guido Gallese
Map
Website
www.diocesialessandria.it

The Diocese of Alessandria (Latin: Dioecesis Alexandrinus Statiellorum) is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Piedmont, northern Italy. It is a suffragan of the diocese of Vercelli.^{[2] [3]}

History

In 1168, in response to the aggression of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, the leaders of Milan, Cremona and Piacenza, established a new town in order to discomfit Frederick's ally Pavia. Seeking support for their undertaking, they sent ambassadors to Pope Alexander III (1159–1181), announcing that they had named the new city in his honor and begging for his support.^[4] Alessandria was made a see in 1175 by Pope Alexander III, with territory removed from the diocese of Acqui. The clergy of Acqui objected, of course, and, at a vacancy in the bishopric of Alessandria, they sometimes attempted to elect a bishop of their own; the Papacy was therefore faced with the need to sort out conflicts between the Chapter of Alessandria and the Chapter of Acqui.^[5]

In a Brief of 30 January 1176, he declared that he had selected Alessandria's first bishop, though he did so without any prejudice to the rights of the Chapter for the future to elect their bishop, just as the other suffragans of Milan did.^[6]

The diocese was suppressed in 1213 by Pope Innocent III, due to their support of the Emperor Otto IV.^[7] It was restored in 1240 by Pope Gregory IX as part of his strategy to defeat Frederick II.^[8] The territory of the diocese of Acqui was united with that of Alessandria until 1405, when Acqui again received its own bishop.^[9] The diocese was suppressed in 1803, as part of the effort on the part of the Papacy to regularize the situation after the liquidation of the "Cisalpine Republic", which had been created in northern Italy by General Napoleon Bonaparte. Alessandria was re-established as independent in 1817. It was vacant from 1854 to 1867.^[10]

List of Bishops

Parishes

The diocese has 75 parishes, all within the Piedmontese province of Alessandria.^[26] In 2012, there was one priest for every 1,641 Catholics.

References

Books

Reference works

• Gams, Pius Bonifatius (1873). Series episcoporum Ecclesiae catholicae: quotquot innotuerunt a beato Petro apostolo. Ratisbon: Typis et Sumptibus Georgii Josephi Manz.  p. 811. (Use with caution; obsolete)
• Eubel, Conradus (ed.) (1913). Hierarchia catholica, Tomus 1 (second ed.). Münster: Libreria Regensbergiana.  p. 83. (in Latin)
• Eubel, Conradus (ed.) (1914). Hierarchia catholica, Tomus 2 (second ed.). Münster: Libreria Regensbergiana.  p. 85.
• Eubel, Conradus (ed.); Gulik, Guilelmus (1923). Hierarchia catholica, Tomus 3 (second ed.). Münster: Libreria Regensbergiana.  pp. 102-103.
• Gauchat, Patritius (Patrice) (1935). Hierarchia catholica IV (1592-1667). Münster: Libraria Regensbergiana. Retrieved 2016-07-06.  p. 77.
• Ritzler, Remigius; Sefrin, Pirminus (1952). Hierarchia catholica medii et recentis aevi V (1667-1730). Patavii: Messagero di S. Antonio. Retrieved 2016-07-06.  p. 77.
• Ritzler, Remigius; Sefrin, Pirminus (1958). Hierarchia catholica medii et recentis aevi VI (1730-1799). Patavii: Messagero di S. Antonio. Retrieved 2016-07-06.  p. 75.

Studies

• Cappelletti, Giuseppe (1858). Le chiese d'Italia: dalla loro origine sino ai nostri giorni (in Italian). Volume decimoquarto (XIV). Venice: G. Antonelli. pp. 531–562. 
• Chenna, Giuseppe Antonio (1785). Del vescovato, de'vescovi e delle chiese della città e diocesi d'Alessandria (in Italian). Alessandria: Ignazio Vimercati. 
• Fedele, Savio (1898). Gli antichi Vescovi d'Italia: il Piemonte (in Italian). Torino: Bocca. pp. 66–68. 
• Lanzavecchia, Renato (1999). Storia della Diocesi di Alessandria (in Italian). Alessandria editrice. pp. 351 ff. 
• Ughelli, Ferdinando; Coleti, Niccolò (1719). Italia sacra sive De episcopis Italiæ (in Latin). Tomus quartus (IV). Venice: apud Sebastianum Coleti. pp. 312–331. 

acknowledgment

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Alessandria della Paglia". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton. 

Coordinates: 44°54′00″N 8°37′00″E / 44.9000°N 8.6167°E / 44.9000; 8.6167