The Diocese of Termoli-Larino is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church situated in the province of Campobasso, region of Molise. The commune of Termoli is an important regional seaport. The diocese has existed in its current configuration since 1986, when the diocese of Larino was suppressed and added to its territory. It is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Campobasso-Boiano.

History

In 946, Pope Agapitus II (946–955) personally consecrated two bishops, the priest and monk Leo for the diocese of Trivento, and the priest Benedict for the diocese of Termoli. This produced an immediate protest from Archbishop Joannes of Benevento, who, as metropolitan, enjoyed the privilege of consecrated suffragan bishops in his ecclesiastical province. Agapitus admitted that he had done this in ignorance and contrary to the rules (irrationabiliter a sese episcopis consecratis et ipsum ordinem rei nesciente), and he ordered the clergy and laity of the two dioceses not to receive Leo and Benedict as their rightful bishops. According to Ferdinando Ughelli, whose information is repeated by nearly all authorities, the earliest known bishop of Termoli was Scio, who subscribed a bull of Pope John XIII in 969, establishing the ecclesiastical province of Benevento. The actual text of the bull, however, does not name Scio's diocese. The diocese was a suffragan (subordinate) of the archdiocese of Benevento. The earthquake of 11 October 1125 caused considerable damage in Termoli. In May 1219, the Emperor Frederick II gave orders that Termoli should be fortified with five fortresses (casalitia). In 1242, the Venetians, who had long been urged to come to the support of the Papal States in the struggle with Frederick II, finally opened a campaign in Apulia by attacking Termoli. The city was ruined. Frederick immediately had the castrum of Termoli rebuilt. In the autumn of 1297, Frederick wrote to the justiciar of the Capitinata, appointing Hugo de Abbemara castellan of the castrum of Termoli, and assigning him sufficient soldiers and a port officer. In 1620, a serious earthquake caused heavy damage to the façade of the cathedral of Termoli. In 1677, the population of Termoli was c. 300 persons. In 1753, it was estimated at 1,000 persons. In the census of 1861, the population had risen to 2626. The cathedral in Termoli is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and S. Bassus, whose body is buried in the church. It is administered by a corporation called the Chapter, consisting of twelve canons, including three dignities (the Archdeacon, the Archpriest, and the Primicerius). The cathedral is also a parish church, and the spiritual needs of the parishioners are serviced by the Archpriest.

After the French

Following the extinction of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy, the Congress of Vienna authorized the restoration of the Papal States and the Kingdom of Naples. Since the French occupation had seen the abolition of many Church institutions in the Kingdom, as well as the confiscation of much Church property and resources, it was imperative that Pope Pius VII and King Ferdinand IV reach agreement on restoration and restitution. Ferdinand demanded the suppression of fifty dioceses. A concordat was finally signed on 16 February 1818, and ratified by Pius VII on 25 February 1818. Ferdinand issued the concordat as a law on 21 March 1818. On 27 June 1818, Pius VII issued the bull De Ulteriore, in which the ecclesiastical province of Benevento was restored, including it suffragans, among them the diocese of Termoli. The decision was also made to suppress permanently the diocese of Guardialfiera, and to incorporate its territory into the diocese of Termoli.

New ecclesiastical province

Following the Second Vatican Council, and in accordance with the norms laid out in the council's decree, Christus Dominus chapter 40, Pope Paul VI ordered a reorganization of the ecclesiastical provinces in southern Italy. On 21 August 1976, he issued the decree "Ad apicem", creating the new ecclesiastical province entitled «Boianensis-Campobassensis», with its administrative center in Campobasso. The metropolitan archdiocese was assigned as suffragans the dioceses of Trivento (which had been immediately subject to the Holy See), Isernia-Venafro (which had been subject to the metropolitan archdiocese of Capua), and Termoli-Larino (which had been subject to the metropolitan archdiocese of Benevento.

Bishops

Diocese of Termoli

Erected: 10th Century Latin Name: Thermularum

to 1500

1500 to 1650

1650 to 1800

1800 to 1988

Diocese of Termoli-Larino

30 September 1986 United with Diocese of Larino Latin Name: Thermularum-Larinensis

Books

Reference works

Studies