Roman Catholic Diocese of Imola

Diocese of Imola Dioecesis Imolensis
Cathedral of Imola
Location
Country	Italy
Ecclesiastical province	Bologna
Statistics
Area	740 km2 (290 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2013) 145,000 135,000 (93.1%)
Parishes	108
Information
Denomination	Catholic Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	4th Century
Cathedral	Basilica Cattedrale di S. Cassiano Martire
Secular priests	101 (diocesan) 12 (religious Orders)
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Tommaso Ghirelli
Bishops emeritus	Giuseppe Fabiani

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Imola (Template:Lang-la) is a territory in Romagna, northern Italy. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Bologna. The current bishop is Tommaso Ghirelli. It is noted for having had a number of its bishops elected to the Papacy.

History

The Christian origins of Imola are obscure. The episcopal see certainly antedates St. Ambrose, who sede vacante ordered the bishop of Vigorenza to visit the church of Imola and provide for the election of a pastor. The martyrdom of Saint Cassian is likewise certain, being described by Prudentius from pictures seen by him in the cathedral of Imola.

In 435 Emperor Valentinian III built the church of S. Maria in Arenula. The bishop then was Cornelius, whose archdeacon Peter was appointed Bishop of Ravenna by Pope Sixtus III and is known as St. Peter Chrysologus. His successor was Projectus, at whose ordination as bishop Chrysologus gave a magnificent eulogy of Bishop Cornelius. Chrysologus himself was buried at Imola, having died in his native city. His tombstone, discovered in 1698, was a rude block on which was written PETRUS. Of the gifts given by Chrysologus to the church of Imola there is still preserved a paten, with the figure of a lamb on an altar, surrounded by the metrical legend Quem plebs tunc cara crucis agnum fixit in ara. Hostia fit gentis primi pro labe parentis. These leonine verses, however, indicate a much more recent date.

Other bishops worthy of mention are: John (946), who restored the cathedral and embellished the tomb of St. Peter Chrysologus; Blessed Basil (1063); Ridolfo (1146) and Enrico (1174), who suffered for their adherence to Pope Alexander III, Enrico laid the foundations of the present cathedral, finished in 1271 under Bishop Sinibaldo; Pietro Ondedei (1416), a distinguished canonist and theologian; the Dominican Gaspare Sighigelli (1450), learned and saintly; Girolamo Dandini (1546), formerly nuncio at Paris, founder of an orphan asylum; Francesco Guarini (1566), the founder of the seminary; Cardinal Fabio Chigi (1652), afterwards Pope Alexander VII; Cardinal Filippo Antonio Gualterio (1702), founder of a mone frumentario to supply the poor peasant with seed; Cardinal Giovanni Carlo Bandi (1752), who rebuilt the cathedral and the basilica of Valentinian; Cardinal Barnaba Chiaramonti (1785), afterwards Pope Pius VII; Cardinal Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti (1832), afterwards Pope Pius IX.

The diocesan website currently (October 2016) lists 93 diocesan priests and 17 religious priests.

Ordinaries

Diocese of Imola

Erected: 4th Century
Latin Name: Imolensis
Metropolitan: Archdiocese of Bologna

• Matteo Orsini, O.P. (1302 - 12 Jan 1317 Appointed, Bishop of Chiusi)
• Antonio Calvi (10 Oct 1390 - 22 Dec 1395 Appointed, Bishop of Todi)
• Simone Bonadies (17 Sep 1488 - 10 Feb 1511 Appointed, Bishop of Rimini)
• Domenico Scribonio dei Cerboni (10 Feb 1511 - 1533 Resigned)
• Niccolò Ridolfi (4 Aug 1533 - 17 May 1546 Resigned)
• Girolamo Dandini (17 May 1546 - 11 May 1552 Resigned)
• Anastasio Umberto Dandini, O.S.B. (11 May 1552 - 25 Mar 1558 Died)
• Vitellozzo Vitelli (7 Feb 1560 - 24 Oct 1561 Resigned)
• Francesco Guarini (bishop) (24 Oct 1561 - 1569 Died)
• Giovanni Aldobrandini (26 Aug 1569 - 9 Feb 1573 Resigned)
• Vincenzo Ercolano, O.P. (9 Feb 1573 - 27 Nov 1579 Appointed, Bishop of Perugia)
• Alessandro Musotti (9 Dec 1579 - 23 Jan 1607 Died)
• Giovanni Garzia Mellini (7 Feb 1607 - 27 Jun 1611 Resigned)
• Rodolfo Paleotti (27 Jun 1611 - 24 May 1619 Died)
• Ferdinando Millini (17 Jun 1619 - 1644 Died)
• Mario Theodoli (17 Oct 1644 - 19 Feb 1646 Resigned)
• Marco Antonio Coccini (19 Feb 1646 - 1652 Died)
• Fabio Chigi (13 May 1653 - 7 Apr 1655 Elected, Pope)
• Giovanni Stefano Donghi (2 Aug 1655 - 26 Feb 1663 Appointed, Bishop of Ferrara)
• Francesco Maria Ghislieri (1 Sep 1664 - 4 Jul 1672 Resigned)
• Costanzo Zani, O.S.B. (12 Sep 1672 - 16 Jun 1694 Died)
• Taddeo Luigi dal Verme (2 Jan 1696 - 14 Mar 1701 Appointed, Bishop of Ferrara)
• Filippo Antonio Gualtieri (21 Nov 1701 - 14 Oct 1709 Appointed, Archbishop (Personal Title) of Todi)
• Ulisse Giuseppe Gozzadini (19 Feb 1710 - 20 Mar 1728 Died)
• Giuseppe Accoramboni (12 Apr 1728 - 22 Feb 1739 Resigned)
• Giovanni Tommaso Maria Marelli, C.O. (23 Feb 1739 - 9 Feb 1752 Died)
• Giovanni Carlo Bandi (20 Mar 1752 - 23 Mar 1784 Died)
• Barnaba Chiaramonti, O.S.B. (14 Feb 1785 - 8 Mar 1816 Resigned)
• Antonio Lamberto Rusconi (8 Mar 1816 - 1 Aug 1825 Died)
• Giacomo Giustiniani (13 Mar 1826 - 16 Dec 1832 Resigned)
• Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti (17 Dec 1832 - 21 Sep 1846 Resigned)
• Gaetano Baluffi (21 Sep 1846 - 11 Nov 1866 Died)
• Vincenzo Moretti (27 Mar 1867 - 27 Oct 1871 Appointed, Archbishop of Ravenna)
• Luigi Tesorieri (27 Oct 1871 - 2 Apr 1901 Died)
• Francesco Baldassarri (15 Apr 1901 - 9 Nov 1912 Died)
• Paolino Giovanni Tribbioli, O.F.M. Cap. (9 Apr 1913 - 12 May 1956 Died)
• Benigno Carrara (12 May 1956 Succeeded - 12 Mar 1974 Retired)
• Luigi Dardani (12 Mar 1974 - 19 Jul 1989 Retired)
• Giuseppe Fabiani (19 Jul 1989 - 18 Oct 2002 Retired)
• Tommaso Ghirelli (18 Oct 2002 - )

References

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)