Roman Catholic Diocese of Parma

Diocese of Parma Dioecesis Parmensis
Parma Cathedral
Location
Country	Italy
Ecclesiastical province	Modena-Nonantola
Statistics
Area	2,100 km^2 (810 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2004) 320,662 308,247 (96.1%)
Parishes	309
Information
Denomination	Catholic Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	4th Century (414 years ago)
Cathedral	Basilica Cattedrale della Assunzione di Maria Virgine
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Enrico Solmi
Website
www.diocesi.parma.it

The Italian Catholic Diocese of Parma (Latin: Dioecesis Parmensis) has properly been called Diocese of Parma-Fontevivo since 1892.^[1] The bishop's seat is in Parma Cathedral. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Modena-Nonantola.

History

The first known Bishop of Parma is Urbanus, a partisan of the antipope Ursicinus, and deposed by Pope Damasus in 378.^[2]

Other bishops were:

• Gratiosus (680);
• Lantpertus (827);
• Wihbodus (860-77), who bore important charges from Emperor Louis II and his successors
• Aicardus, who in 920 restored the cathedral, which had been destroyed by fire
• Sigefredus, a former chancellor of King Hugo, who accompanied in 937 Hugo's daughter Berta, the promised bride of Constantine Porphyrogenitus;
• Hucbertus (961), to whom Ratherius di Verona dedicated his De contemptu canonum;
• Cadalus obtained his see through simony, and became the antipope Honorius II, while remaining Bishop of Parma;
• his successor, Everardo (1073), was a partisan of the antipope Clement III, in whose interest Everardo even resorted to arms, but was defeated by the Countess Matilda, near Sorbara (1084);
• another schismatic, Wido (1085); in whose place was put (1091)
• St. Bernardo degli Uberti, Abbot of Vallombrosa and a cardinal, in 1104, in dragged violently from the altar, and driven from his see, to which he was not able to return peacefully until 1106; he resigned the temporal power held by the bishops of this diocese and, having opposed the coronation of Conrad (1127) was again obliged to flee from Parma, and died in 1133;
• Aicardo, a partisan of Frederick Barbarossa, and therefore deposed (1167).
• Obizzo Fieschi, an uncle of Pope Innocent IV;
• Gratian (1224), professor of law at Bologna University;
• Alberto Sanvitale (1243)
• His brother Obizzo (1259) (both brothers nephews of Innocent IV) exerted himself greatly for the reform of morals, favoured the "Milizia di Gesù Cristo", and exposed the sect of the Apostolic Brethren, founded by the Parmesan Gherardo Segarelli;
• Ugolino Rossi (1322) was obliged to flee from Parma, with his father Guglielmo Rossi, on account of the latter's political reverses (1334);
• Gian Antonio da S. Giorgio (1500) a learned cardinal;
• Alessandro Farnese (1509), whobecame Pope Paul III, he resigned the See of Parma in favour of his nephew,
• Cardinal Alessandro Farnese;
• Alessandro Sforza (1560), who distinguished himself at the Council of Trent;
• Ferrante Farnese, (1573) active in the cause of ecclesiastical reform;
• Camillo Marazzani (1711), who governed the diocese during forty-eight years;
• Adeodato Turchi (1788), a Capuchin who wrote pastorals and homilies;
• Cardinal Francesco Caselli (1804), a former superior of the Servites and a companion of Consalvi during the negotiation of the Concordat with Napoleon; at the national council of Paris in 1811, he defended the rights of the Holy See.

Notes

1. Catholic Hierarchy page. At this time the diocese absorbed the spiritualities of Fontevivo Abbey, a former territorial abbey. The Bishop of Parma has since also had the title of Abbot of Fontevivo.
2.  "Diocese of Parma". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913.

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