Puglia ecclesiastical region

History

The current definition of the ecclesiastical region of Puglia took place with a decree of the Pontifical Consistorial Congregation of 12 September 1976, published by order of Pope Paul VI. All the dioceses existing in the civil province of Foggia (Manfredonia and Vieste, Foggia, Bovino and Troia, Ascoli and Cerignola, Lucera and San Severo) were transferred to the Apulian episcopal conference, and the borders of the ecclesiastical region thus came to coincide geographically with those of the region civil. In fact, the diocese of Irsinia was transferred to the conference of the bishops of Basilicata and in the following November the territories of the municipalities of Laterza and Ginosa were assigned to the diocese of Castellaneta with their parishes, to that of Gravina the municipality and the parishes of Spinazzola and to that of Venosa the municipality and the parish of Monte Milone, which had belonged to the diocese of Andria. In the following years John Paul II established the present organization of the ecclesiastical provinces. On 30 April 1979 the new metropolitan see of Foggia received the archdiocese of Manfredonia and Vieste and the dioceses of Bovino and Troia, Ascoli and Cerignola, Lucera and San Severo as suffragan seats. The new metropolitan see of Lecce, on 20 October 1980, received as suffragans the archdioceses of Otranto, Brindisi-Ostuni, and the dioceses of Nardò, Gallipoli, Ugento-Santa Maria di Leuca. On 20 October 1980 the metropolitan see of Bari received as suffragans the archdiocese of Trani-Barletta-Bisceglie and the dioceses of Andria, Molfetta-Giovinazzo-Terlizzi, Ruvo and Bitonto, Monopoli and Conversano, Gravina-Altamura-Acquaviva. The metropolitan see of Taranto, on the other hand, kept its traditional organization, with the suffragan dioceses of Castellaneta and Oria. The last development of the diocesan organization of Puglia was that of 30 September 1986, within the overall framework of the new name of the seats of the Italian dioceses, attributed by the decree of the congregation of bishops following the implementation of the revision agreement of the Holy See and the Italian Republic, of February 18, 1984. Some dioceses were merged and the episcopal see became the only one, the seminary, the ecclesiastical tribunal, the presbyteral council, the diocesan pastoral council, the council of consultors.

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HISTORY

I - Origins and the Middle Ages

The first Apulian Christians whose name is known are Pardus Salpensis and Marcus Calabriae, Marco di Aeca and his twelve brothers martyred in 298 at Satrianum, on the territory of today's Cerignola-Ascoli Satriano diocese.