Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bari-Bitonto

Archdiocese of Bari-Bitonto Archidioecesis Barensis-Bituntinus
Cathedral in Bari
Location
Country	Italy
Ecclesiastical province	Bari-Bitonto
Statistics
Area	1,264 km2 (488 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2006) 740,900 732,277 (98.8%)
Parishes	125
Information
Denomination	Catholic Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	4th Century
Cathedral	Cattedrale-Basilica di S. Maria
Co-cathedral	Concattedrale di Maria SS. Assunta
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Archbishop	Francesco Cacucci
Website
www.arcidiocesibaribitonto.it

Co-cathedral in Bitonto

The archdiocese of Bari-Bitonto (Latin: Archidioecesis Barensis-Bituntinus) is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Apulia, southern Italy, created in 1986, when the historical archdiocese of Bari was united to the diocese of Bitonto.^[1][2]

History

The first known Bishop of Bari was Gervasius, who, in 347, was at the Council of Sardica. In 530 Bishop Peter held the title of Metropolitan under Epiphanius, Patriarch of Constantinople. In 780 Bishop Leontius was present at the Seventh Ecumenical Council, the Second of Nicaea.

In the ninth century the Saracens laid waste Apulia, destroyed the city of Canosa (Canusium) and captured Bari. In 841, however, the Byzantine army reconquered Bari, and in 844 Saint Angelarius, Bishop of Canosa, then in ruins, brought to Bari the relics of Saint Rufinus, Saint Memorus, and Saint Sabinus, which he had rescued from the ruins. Pope Sergius II conferred on him the title of Bishop of the two dioceses of Bari and Canosa, a title which the Archbishops of Bari retain to the present time.

In 933 Pope John XI granted the Bishops of Bari the use of the pallium. It seems that the Bishops were dependent on the Patriarch of Constantinople until the tenth century. Giovanni II (952) was able to withdraw from this influence, refusing to accept the prescriptions of the patriarch concerning liturgical points. All connection was finally severed in the eleventh century, and Bari became a direct dependency of Rome. Archbishop Bisanzio (1025) obtained from the pope the privilege of consecrating his suffragans; he also began the construction of the new cathedral, which was continued by his successors, Nicolo (1035), Andreas (1062), and Elia (1089) of the Benedictine Order.

Andreas was the archbishop from 1062 to at least 1066, when he journeyed to Constantinople and at some point converted to Judaism. Andreas then fled to the Muslim-dominated Egypt, where he eventually died in 1078.^[3]

Remarkably, the next archbishop Urso (1080–1089)^[4] was captured by the Muslim forces and converted to Islam.^[5]

Other archbishops were:

• John the Saracen (1259), restored a tower of the cathedral damaged in an earthquake;
• Romualdo Grisoni (1280), distinguished for his restorations of churches;
• Bartolomeo Prignano (1377), later Pope Urban VI, who, however, never saw this see;
• Ascanio Gesualdo (1613), known for charity in the earthquake of 1632;
• Diego Sersale (1638), who at his own expense rebuilt the cathedral, the episcopal palace, and the seminary;
• the Dominican Tommaso Maria, of the Dukes of Bagnara (1684).

In 1087 some Bari sailors, on their return from the East, brought with them the relics of Saint Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, for which Roger, Duke of Apulia, built a church, the Basilica of San Nicola, Bari; this became the object of veneration and of pilgrimages.

In the reorganization of the dioceses of the Kingdom of Naples, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, the diocese of Bitetto was suppressed and made a part of the Diocese of Bari. The suffragan sees under Bari historically were: the diocese of Conversano, diocese of Ruvo, and diocese of Bitonto.^[6]

Sufragan sees

• Altamura-Gravina-Acquaviva delle Fonti
• Andria
• Conversano-Monopoli
• Molfetta-Ruvo-Giovinazzo-Terlizzi
• Trani-Barletta-Bisceglie

Bishops and Archbishops

Diocese of Bari

Erected: 4th Century
Latin Name: Barensis

Archdiocese of Bari (-Canosa)

Elevated: 6th Century to Metropolitan See
Latin Name: Barensis (-Canusinus)

1200 to 1600

1600 to 1800

since 1800

• Baldassare Mormile, C.R. (26 Jun 1805 Confirmed - 6 Apr 1818 Confirmed, Archbishop of Capua)
• Nicola Coppola, C.O. (25 May 1818 Confirmed - 17 Nov 1823 Confirmed, Archbishop (Personal Title) of Nola)
• Michele Basilio Clari (Clary), O.S.B.I. (17 Nov 1823 Confirmed - 15 Feb 1858 Died)
• Francesco Pedicini (27 Sep 1858 - 6 Jun 1886 Died)
• Enrico (Ernesto) Mazzella (14 Mar 1887 - 14 Oct 1897 Died)
• Giulio Vaccaro (24 Mar 1898 - 10 Mar 1924 Died)
• Pietro Pomares y Morant (16 Oct 1924 - 14 Dec 1924 Died)
• Augusto Curi (5 May 1925 - 28 Mar 1933 Died)
• Marcello Mimmi (31 Jul 1933 - 30 Aug 1952 Appointed, Archbishop of Naples)
• Enrico Nicodemo^[13] (11 Nov 1952 - 27 Aug 1973 Died)
• Anastasio Alberto Ballestrero, O.C.D. (21 Dec 1973 - 1 Aug 1977 Appointed, Archbishop of Turin)
• Andrea Mariano Magrassi, O.S.B. (24 Nov 1977 - 3 Jul 1999 Resigned)

Archdiocese of Bari-Bitonto

30 September 1986 United with the Diocese of Bitonto to form the Archdiocese of Bari-Bitonto
Latin Name: Barensis-Bituntinus

• Francesco Cacucci (3 Jul 1999 - )

References

Books

• Garruba, Michele (1844). Serie critica de sacri pastori Baresi, corr. accresciuta ed ill (in Italian). Bari: Cannone. 
• Ughelli, Ferdinando; Coleti, Niccolò (1721). Italia sacra, sive De Episcopis Italiae (in Latin). Tomus septimus (VII). Venice: apud Sebastianum Coleti. pp. 589–679. 

Acknowledgment

• Benigni, Umberto. "Bari." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. pp. 295-296. Retrieved: 2016-09-30.

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

Coordinates: 41°07′42″N 16°52′06″E / 41.12833°N 16.86833°E / 41.12833; 16.86833