The Diocese of Adria-Rovigo is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in the Triveneto. It has existed under this name since 1986. It is a Latin suffragan to the Patriarchate of Venice. The comune of Adria is north of the Po River, some 88 km (56 mi) north of Ravenna. Its territory comprises roughly the northeastern Italian civil Province of Rovigo (Rovigo itself is not an episcopal see), and a part of one town in the Province of Padua.

Ecclesiastical history

Tradition dates the preaching of the Gospel in Adria from the days of Saint Apollinaris, himself consecrated bishop by Saint Peter. The figure of this Bishop of Ravenna has a singular importance in the hagiographical legends of the northeast of Italy. Even if Emilia, Romagna and the territory around Venice were Christianized and had bishops before Piedmont, for example, their conversion does not go back beyond the end of the second century. The diocese was established by the 640s AD as the Diocese of Adria. The first known bishop of Adria is Gallonistus, who was present at a synod in Rome (649) under Pope Martin I. The Venerable Bede's Martyrology mentions a Saint Colianus, Bishop of Adria, but nothing is known about him. The diocese of Adria was a suffragan of Ravenna until 1818, despite its location in the territory of Venice. On 1 May 1818, in the bull "De Salute", Pope Pius VII removed the diocese of Adria from subjection as a suffragan to the Archdiocese of Ravenna, and assigned it to the Patriarchate of Venice. In the same bull, the diocese of Adria lost one parish to the Diocese of Padova, and six to the Archdiocese of Ferrara. Adria gained two parishes from the Archdiocese of Ravenna, and two other parishes from the Archdiocese of Ferrara. The city of Adria had a population of c. 8,000 inhabitants in 1747. A list of the parishes of the diocese and their populations c. 1850, estimated at 140,000 persons, is given by Francesco de' Lardi. The diocese had in the early 20th century, a population of 190,400: 80 parishes, 300 churches, chapels and oratories; 250 secular priests, 72 seminarians, 12 regular priests and 9 lay-brothers; 90 confraternities; 3 boys schools (97 pupils) and 6 girls schools (99 pupils). In a decree of the Second Vatican Council, it was recommended that dioceses be reorganized to take into account modern developments. A project begun on orders from Pope John XXIII, and continued under his successors, was intended to reduce the number of dioceses in Italy and to rationalize their borders in terms of modern population changes and shortages of clergy. The change was made urgent because of changes made to the Concordat between the Italian State and the Holy See on 18 February 1984, and embodied in a law of 3 June 1985. Rovigo had become the capital of the civil province, and a more important center of social and political life than Adria, and an addition to the title of the diocese of Adria was decided upon. The change was approved by Pope John Paul II in an audience of 27 September 1986, and by a decree of the Sacred Congregation of Bishops of the Papal Curia on 30 September 1986. The diocese was renamed Diocese of Adria–Rovigo. At the same time, it seemed appropriate "for a more appropriate looking out for the good of souls" that the Basilica of S. Stephen Pope and Martyr be granted the dignity of being a co-cathedral.

Cathedrals and notable churches

The cathedral of the diocese of Adria is the Cattedrale di SS. Pietro e Paolo, in Adria, province of Rovigo. The cathedral was administered and staffed by a corporation called the Chapter, consisting of an archpriest and seven canons; there were also twelve priests who carried out various religious functions. The archpriest served as pastor of the cathedral parish. By 1747, the number of canons had been increased to twelve. It has a Co-Cathedral in the city of Rovigo, the Concattedrale di S. Stefano Papa e Martire, dedicated to the martyr Pope Stephen I. Rovigo was never a diocese. In addition, there are several Minor Basilicas :

Bishops

Diocese of Adria

Erected: 7th Century Latin Name: Adriensis Suffragan of Ravenna

to 1200

1200 to 1500

Metropolitan: Archdiocese of Ravenna

1500 to 1700

1700 to 1900

since 1900

Diocese of Adria-Rovigo

Name Changed: 30 September 1986 Latin Name: Adriensis-Rhodigiensis Metropolitan: Patriarchate of Venice

Sources