Roman Catholic Church in Sicily
The Catholic Church is the largest religious community in Sicily . More than 97% of the inhabitants of Sicily belong to the Roman Catholic Church .
history
- Main article: Church history of Sicily
Little is known about the original Christianization of Sicily. According to legend, the apostle Paul is said to have landed in Syracuse on his journey to Rome and preached there.
Christianity in Sicily only becomes historically comprehensible through the acts of martyrdom of the 3rd and early 4th centuries. These martyrs of holy counted Marcian , the first known bishop of Syracuse, the holy Saint Lucy , Saint Agatha of Catania and Saint Veit (Vitus).
Emperor Leo III. assigned the Church of Sicily to Constantinople in 733/34. Under the Arab domination (from 827) almost the entire organizational structure of the Church in Sicily fell apart. After the conquest by the Normans (from 1061) there was only a Greek archbishop in Palermo.
The Norman rulers of Sicily gave the Catholic Church in Sicily a structure again. Some former Byzantine dioceses were re-established as Latin dioceses, and some completely new dioceses were created. In Palermo around 1083 the Byzantine archbishop was replaced by a Latin one.
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. Two more dioceses were added in the 20th century, the Eparchy Piana degli Albanesi for Catholics of the Byzantine rite and the Diocese of Ragusa .
The most recent reorganization of the Catholic Church in Sicily took place on December 2, 2000 by Pope John Paul II with the Apostolic Constitution Ad maiori consulendum . They gave the church region of Sicily its current structure with 5 church provinces.
organization
- Main article: Church region of Sicily
Organizationally, the Catholic Church in Sicily is a church region of the Catholic Church in Italy . The church region of Sicily comprises 5 church provinces with a total of 17 dioceses as well as an immediate eparchy .
- Ecclesiastical province of Agrigento with the Archdiocese of Agrigento as a metropolitan diocese and the suffragan dioceses Caltanissetta and Piazza Armerina
- Church province of Catania with the Archdiocese of Catania as a metropolitan diocese and the suffragan dioceses Acireale and San Caltagirone
- Church province of Messina with the Archdiocese of Messina-Lipari-Santa Lucia del Mela as a metropolitan bishopric and the suffragan bishops Nicosia and Patti
- Ecclesiastical Province of Palermo with the Archdiocese of Palermo as the metropolitan diocese and the Archdiocese of Monreale and the dioceses of Cefalù , Mazara del Vallo and Trapani as suffragan dioceses
- Church province of Syracuse with the Archdiocese of Syracuse as a metropolitan diocese and the suffragan dioceses of Noto and Ragusa
- Immediate : the Eparchy Piana degli Albanesi
The bishops of the 18 dioceses are united in the Sicilian Bishops' Conference .
Saints
- Main article: Saints of Sicily
Of the saints of Sicily, three martyrs from the time of the persecution of Christians are particularly known in the German-speaking area: St. Lucia of Syracuse and St. Agatha of Catania , who are named in the first prayer (the Roman canon) of Holy Mass , and the saint Veit (Vitus), one of the fourteen helpers in need.
There are also several Popes among the saints of Sicily , among them Agatho (Pope 678-681), Leo II (Pope 682-683) and Sergius I (Pope 687-701)
Festivals
In addition to the general ecclesiastical festivals and holidays, the days of the patron saints of the individual places are celebrated in public in Sicily.
The largest of these festivals is the festival in honor of St. Rosalia , the patron saint of Palermo, from July 13th to 15th every year. The silver shrine with the relics of the saints is driven through the city in a procession on a large float. But smaller towns also celebrate their patron saint with large parades.
The Good Friday processions, which reveal the Spanish influence in Sicily, are particularly solemn.
literature
- Gaetano Zito (Ed.): Storia delle Chiese di Sicilia. Città del Vaticano: Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2009, ISBN 978-88-209-8171-6 .
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
Individual evidence
- ↑ Marcianus, p . In: Johann E. Stadler , Franz Joseph Heim, Johann N. Ginal (Eds.): Complete Lexicon of Saints ... , Volume 4 (M – P), B. Schmid'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung (A. Manz), Augsburg 1875, p. 104 .