Church region of Sicily
The church region of Sicily ( Italian Regione Sicilia ecclesiastica ) is one of the 16 church regions of the Roman Catholic Church in Italy . It consists of 5 church provinces and a total of 18 dioceses . The bishops of the 18 dioceses are united in the Sicilian Bishops' Conference .
Territorially, the church region of Sicily corresponds to the Italian region of Sicily . More than 97% of the inhabitants of Sicily belong to the Roman Catholic Church.
history
- The following historical outline gives a brief overview of historical events that are important for the current structure of the church region of Sicily. A more detailed presentation can be found under Church History of Sicily .
The current structure of the church region of Sicily goes back to the Middle Ages . The ancient organization of the Catholic Church in Sicily had perished under the Arab domination , after the conquest by the Normans (from 1061) there was only a Greek archbishop in Palermo. This was reinstated by Roger I in the Cathedral of Palermo , which had meanwhile been converted into a mosque. From 1083 the successors of this archbishop were Latins.
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Some ancient bishoprics were re-established under the Norman rulers, but new bishoprics were also created. In detail these were:
- under Roger I the diocese of Messina (originally Troina , from 1131/1166 archbishopric) and the dioceses of Catania , Syracuse , Agrigento and Mazara del Vallo ,
- under Roger II the dioceses of Cefalù and Lipari-Patti and the Archimandritate of San Salvatore ,
- under Wilhelm II the Archdiocese of Monreale as a political counterweight to the Archdiocese of Palermo, which was not founded under the Normans .
The originally two-part ecclesiastical structure of Sicily with the metropolitan seats of Palermo and Messina became three-part through the establishment of the Archdiocese of Monreale and remained so until the 19th century. In 1399 the diocese of Lipari-Patti was divided into the dioceses of Lipari and Patti .
In the 19th century, the diocese borders were reorganized in two stages (1816/17 and 1844). The existing, often very large, dioceses were reduced in size and new dioceses were established on their former territory. Thus in 1816/17 the dioceses of Caltagirone , Piazza Armerina and Nicosia were created , and in 1844 the dioceses of Acireale , Caltanissetta , Noto and Trapani . Also in 1844 the diocese of Syracuse was elevated to the status of an archbishopric and metropolitan seat and, with its suffragan dioceses, Caltagirone, Piazza Armerina and Noto formed the fourth church province in Sicily. In 1859 the diocese of Catania was raised to the status of an immediate archdiocese.
Two other dioceses were added in the 20th century: in 1937 the Eparchy Piana degli Albanesi for Catholics of the Byzantine rite (mainly Arbëresh in Piana degli Albanesi and the surrounding communities), and in 1950 the Diocese of Ragusa . In 1986 the Archdiocese of Messina, the Diocese of Lipari and the prelature of Santa Lucia del Mela, founded in 1206, were merged to form the Archdiocese of Messina-Lipari-Santa Lucia del Mela .
On December 2, 2000, the ecclesiastical region of Sicily received its current structure through Pope John Paul II with the Apostolic Constitution Ad maiori consulendum : The dioceses of Catania and Agrigento were elevated to metropolitan bishoprics. At the same time the ecclesiastical province of Monreale was dissolved, and its dioceses were assigned to other ecclesiastical provinces. The Archdiocese of Monreale retained its archbishopric status, but became the suffragan of Palermo.
Subdivision
The church region of Sicily is divided into the 5 church provinces of Agrigento , Catania , Messina-Lipari-Santa Lucia del Mela , Palermo and Syracuse with the 5 metropolitan districts of the same name and a total of 12 suffragan districts . There is also the Eparchy Piana degli Albanesi , a diocese for Catholics of the Byzantine rite , which immediately , d. H. is directly subordinate to the Holy See and does not belong to any ecclesiastical province.
- Explanations
- em. = retired
- KK = co-cathedral
- nom. = nominated
- Wb. = Auxiliary bishop
Statistical data
The dioceses are divided into a total of 1,751 parishes . The clergy of the Catholic Church in Sicily consists of 2,217 secular priests , 923 religious priests and 257 permanent deacons .
These dates and those in the following table are taken from the Annuario Pontificio 2008 (editorial deadline December 31, 2007).
- Explanations
- Eb. = raised to the archbishopric
- Latin = Latinized
- Met. = Raised to a metropolitan seat
- new = re-establishment after the Arab domination
- add. = merged with other jurisdictions
| diocese | Establishment | Area in km 2 |
Residents | Catholics | Cath.% | Parishes | World priest |
Religious priest |
Permanent deacons |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diocese of Acireale | 1844 | 665 | 225,900 | 223,625 | 99.0 | 111 | 126 | 34 | 9 |
| Archdiocese of Agrigento | 3rd to 4th Century, new 12th century, Eb./Met. 2000 | 3,041 | 474,333 | 465,000 | 98.0 | 194 | 228 | 48 | 35 |
| Diocese of Caltagirone | 1816 | 1,551 | 154.220 | 150,982 | 97.9 | 57 | 79 | 13 | 9 |
| Diocese of Caltanissetta | 1844 | 1,120 | 148,675 | 148.260 | 99.7 | 54 | 104 | 16 | 7th |
| Archdiocese of Catania | 1st century, new 1092, Eb. 1859, Met. 2000 | 1,332 | 703.368 | 694,000 | 98.7 | 155 | 257 | 141 | 33 |
| Diocese of Cefalù | 8th century, new 1131 | 1,718 | 112,972 | 110,950 | 98.2 | 53 | 71 | 24 | 2 |
| Diocese of Mazara del Vallo | 1093 | 1,374 | 236.103 | 222,870 | 94.4 | 66 | 70 | 30th | 0 |
| Archdiocese of Messina-Lipari-Santa Lucia del Mela | 5th century, new 1081, Eb./Met. 1131, together 1883 and 1986 | 1,848 | 490,000 | 483,000 | 98.6 | 244 | 228 | 139 | 69 |
| Archdiocese of Monreale | 1176 as Eb./Met. | 1,509 | 235,600 | 219,900 | 93.3 | 86 | 122 | 34 | 3 |
| Diocese of Nicosia | 1817 | 1,475 | 80,538 | 80.012 | 99.3 | 40 | 62 | 6th | 3 |
| Diocese of Noto | 1844 | 1,355 | 214,400 | 212,500 | 99.1 | 98 | 99 | 24 | 15th |
| Archdiocese of Palermo | 1st century, Eb./Met. 11th century, lat. 1083 | 1,366 | 912.506 | 890.100 | 97.5 | 178 | 229 | 272 | 32 |
| Diocese of Patti | 1131/1399 | 1,646 | 165,000 | 160,000 | 97.0 | 84 | 120 | 4th | 0 |
| Eparchy Piana degli Albanesi | 1937 | 420 | 30,000 | 28,500 | 95.0 | 15th | 30th | 1 | 1 |
| Diocese of Piazza Armerina | 1817 | 2.003 | 221,779 | 218,900 | 98.7 | 75 | 101 | 33 | 8th |
| Diocese of Ragusa | 1950 | 1,029 | 217.822 | 211,268 | 97.0 | 71 | 104 | 31 | 8th |
| Archdiocese of Syracuse | 1st century, new 1093, Eb./Met. 1844 | 1,341 | 334,600 | 324,500 | 97.0 | 76 | 108 | 37 | 10 |
| Diocese of Trapani | 1844 | 1,089 | 206.753 | 206.403 | 99.8 | 94 | 79 | 36 | 13 |
- Remarks
- ↑ a b c The institutions and surveys of dioceses made by antipope Anaklet II in 1131 were initially not recognized by Rome and only in 1166 by Pope Alexander III. performed again
- ^ Based initially in Troina , not until 1096 in Messina
- ^ Association of the Archdiocese of Messina with the Archimandrite of San Salvatore (1131)
- ↑ from the Archdiocese of Messina, the Diocese of Lipari (6th century/1131) and the Prelature of Santa Lucia del Mela (1206)
- ↑ In 1399 the diocese of Lipari-Patti was divided into two independent dioceses
swell
- Annuario Pontificio
- Websites of the individual dioceses (available at http://www.chiesacattolica.it/cci_new/diocesi/sicilia.html )
Web links
- Church region of Sicily with map on the official website of the Catholic Church of Italy (in Italian)
- Sicilian Bishops' Conference (official website in Italian) with map and links to the individual dioceses
- Entry on Church Region Sicily on catholic-hierarchy.org
