Roman Catholic Diocese of Locri-Gerace

Diocese of Locri-Gerace
Dioecesis Locrensis-Hieracensis

Co-cathedral in Gerace
Location
Country Italy
Ecclesiastical province Reggio Calabria-Bova
Statistics
Area 1,248 km2 (482 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics		 (as of 2004)
134,043
132,511 (98.9%)
Parishes 73
Information
Denomination Catholic Church
Rite Roman Rite
Established 5th century
Cathedral Cattedrale di S. Maria del Mastro (Locri)
Co-cathedral Concattedrale di S. Maria Assunta (Gerace)
Current leadership
Pope Francis
Bishop Francesco Oliva
Map
Website
www.diocesilocri.it

The Italian Catholic Diocese of Locri-Gerace (Latin: Dioecesis Locrensis-Hieracensis ) is in Calabria. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Reggio Calabria-Bova.

Historically it was the Diocese of Gerace, becoming in 1954 the Diocese of Gerace-Locri and taking the current name in 1986.[1][2]

History

Gerace probably owes its origin, or at least its importance, to the ruin of the town of Locri Epizephyrii, one of the earliest Greek colonies in Lower Italy, founded by the Ozolian Locrians (684-680 B.C.) and endowed with a code of laws by Zaleucus. Before its total ruin, Locri Epizephrii had a bishop of its own; but in 709, under Bishop Gregory, the see was transferred to Gerace.

The name Gerace is probably derived from Saint Cyriaca, whose church was destroyed by the Saracens in 915. They captured the town in 986, but in 1059 it fell into the hands of the Normans.

Until 1467 the Greek Rite was in use at Gerace, and such had probably been the custom from the beginning. As early as the thirteenth century efforts were made to introduce the Latin Rite, which accounts for the schism between Latins and Greeks about 1250-1253. The latter demanded as bishop the monk Bartenulfo, a Greek, whereas Pope Innocent IV, in 1253, appointed Marco Leone. In 1467, bishop Atanasio Calceofilo introduced the Latin Rite.

Other bishops were:

Ordinaries

Diocese of Gerace

Latin Name: Hieracensis
Erected: 5th Century

...
...

Diocese of Gerace (-Santa Maria di Polsi)

Latin Name: Hieracensis (-Sanctae Mariae de Pulsi)
Name Changed: 8 April 1920
Metropolitan: Archdiocese of Reggio Calabria

Diocese of Gerace-Locri (-Santa Maria di Polsi)

Latin Name: Hieracensis-Locrensis (-Sanctae Mariae de Pulsi)
Name Changed: 22 February 1954
Metropolitan: Archdiocese of Reggio Calabria

Diocese of Locri-Gerace (-Santa Maria di Polsi)

Latin Name: Dioecesis Locrensis-Hieracensis (-Sanctae Mariae de Pulsi)
Name Changed: 30 September 1986
Metropolitan: Archdiocese of Reggio Calabria-Bova

Notes

  1. ↑ "Diocese of Locri-Gerace (-Santa Maria di Polsi)". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  2. ↑ GCatholic: "Diocese of Locri–Gerace" retrieved January 30, 2016
  3. ↑ Catholic Encyclopedia article, Gerace

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

Coordinates: 38°14′00″N 16°16′00″E / 38.2333°N 16.2667°E / 38.2333; 16.2667

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