Chieti-Vasto (Archdiocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy]

Bishop(s)

Bruno Forte, Archbishop

General Information

Type of Jurisdiction: Archdiocese
Name Changed: 30 September 1986
Metropolitan See
Rite: Latin (or Roman)
Country: Italy
Square Kilometers: 2,539 (980 Square Miles)
Conference Region: Abruzzo-Molise
Official Web Site: https://www.diocesichieti.it
Mailing Address: Piazza G. G. Valignani 4, 66100 Chieti, Italia
Telephone: 0871.35.911
Fax: 0871.33.05.15

Historical Details

Diocese of Chieti
- Latin Name: Theatina
- Erected: 6th Century
- Immediately Subject to the Holy See
- Country: Italy
Archdiocese of Chieti
- Latin Name: Theatina
- Elevated: 1 July 1526
- Metropolitan See
- Country: Italy
- Square Kilometers: 2,449 (945 Square Miles)

Past and Present Ordinaries

Alexander de Capua † (24 Aug 1254 Appointed - )
Nicola da Fossanova, O. Cist. † ( 1262 Appointed - )
Tommaso † (31 Mar 1286 Appointed - )
Rinaldo , O.P. † (17 Apr 1295 Appointed - 1303 Died)
Mattia † (29 May 1303 Appointed - Jun 1303 Died)
Pietro † (19 Jul 1303 Appointed - 1320 Died)
Raimondo de Mausaco, O.F.M. † (21 Feb 1321 Appointed - 21 Feb 1326 Appointed, Bishop of Aversa)
Giovanni Crispano † (21 Feb 1326 Appointed - 1335 Died)
Pierre Ferri † (10 May 1336 Appointed - 17 Nov 1336 Died)
Beltramino Paravicini † (14 Dec 1336 Appointed - 24 Nov 1339 Appointed, Bishop of Como)
Guillaume de Capodiferro † (17 Mar 1340 Appointed - 1352 Died)
Bartolomeo Carbone de Papazurri, O.P. † (24 May 1353 Appointed - 21 Jul 1363 Appointed, Archbishop of Patrae Veteres (Patras))
Vitale da Bologna, O.S.M. † (21 Jul 1363 Appointed - 1373 Died)
Eleazario da Sabran † (5 Sep 1373 Appointed - 18 Sep 1378 Appointed, Cardinal-Priest of Santa Balbina)
Giovanni da Comino, O.S.B. † (19 Mar 1379 Appointed - 1396 Died)
Guglielmo Carbone † (18 Aug 1396 Appointed - 22 Nov 1418 Died)
Niccolò Vivari † (1 Feb 1419 Appointed - 6 Nov 1428 Died)
Marino de Tocco † (7 Jan 1429 Appointed - 1438 Died)
Giovanni Battista della Buona † (20 Oct 1438 Appointed - 1445 Resigned)
Colantonio Valignani † (15 Mar 1445 Appointed - 1488 Died)
Alfonso de Aragón † (28 Feb 1488 Appointed - 1496 Resigned)
Giacomo de Bacio † (16 Nov 1496 Appointed - 1500 Died)
Oliviero Carafa † (2 Feb 1500 Appointed - 20 Dec 1501 Resigned)
Bernardino Carafa † (20 Dec 1501 Appointed - 30 Jul 1505 Died)
Gian Pietro Carafa † (30 Jul 1505 Appointed - 20 Dec 1518 Appointed, Archbishop of Brindisi)
Felice Trofino † (24 Aug 1524 Appointed - 1527 Died)
Guido de’ Medici † (3 Jan 1528 Appointed - 1537 Died)
Gian Pietro Carafa † (20 Jun 1537 Appointed - 22 Feb 1549 Appointed, Archbishop of Napoli {Naples})
Bernardino Maffei † (9 Nov 1549 Appointed - 14 Jul 1553 Resigned)
Marcantonio Maffei † (14 Jul 1553 Appointed - 14 Jan 1568 Resigned)
Giovanni Oliva † (14 Jan 1568 Appointed - 1577 Died)
Jerome de Leonibus † (30 Oct 1577 Appointed - 3 Mar 1578 Died)
Cesare Busdrago † (11 Aug 1578 Appointed - Oct 1585 Died)
Giovanni Battista Castrucci † (21 Oct 1585 Appointed - 20 Mar 1591 Resigned)
Horatius Sanminiato † (20 Mar 1591 Appointed - 29 Jan 1592 Died)
Matteo Sanminiato † (4 Mar 1592 Appointed - Feb 1607 Died)
Anselmo Marzato, O.F.M. Cap. † (12 Feb 1607 Appointed - 17 Aug 1607 Died)
Orazio Maffei † (3 Sep 1607 Appointed - 11 Jan 1609 Died)
Ulpiano (Volpiano) Volpi † (11 Mar 1609 Appointed - 16 Dec 1615 Resigned)
Paolo Tolosa, C.R. † (16 Dec 1615 Appointed - 3 Oct 1618 Died)
Marsilio Peruzzi † (26 Nov 1618 Appointed - 1631 Died)
Antonio Santacroce † (10 Mar 1631 Appointed - 9 Jun 1636 Appointed, Archbishop of Urbino)
Stefano Sauli † (10 Nov 1638 Appointed - 1649 Died)
Vincenzo Rabatta † (9 Dec 1649 Appointed - 1654 Died)
Angelo Maria Ciria Panvini, O.S.M. † (1 Jun 1654 Appointed - 4 Apr 1656 Died)
Modesto Gavazzi, O.F.M. Conv. † (19 Feb 1657 Appointed - 6 Mar 1657 Died)
Niccolò Radulovich † (10 Mar 1659 Appointed - 27 Oct 1702 Died)
Vincenzo Capece † (23 Apr 1703 Appointed - Feb 1722 Died)
Filippo Valignani, O.P. † (20 Apr 1722 Appointed - Feb 1737 Died)
Michele di Palma † (6 May 1737 Appointed - 23 Mar 1755 Died)
Nicola Sanchez de Luna † (21 Jul 1755 Appointed - 9 Apr 1764 Appointed, Archbishop (Personal Title) of Nola)
Francesco Brancia † (9 Apr 1764 Appointed - 7 Jan 1770 Died)
Luigi del Giudice, O.S.B. † (12 Mar 1770 Appointed - 1790 Died)
Ambrogio (Paulo Maria Michael) Mirelli, O.S.B. † (27 Feb 1792 Confirmed - 22 Jul 1795 Died)
Francesco Saverio Bassi, O.S.B. † (18 Dec 1797 Appointed - 1821 Died)
Carlo-Maria Cernelli † (19 Apr 1822 Confirmed - 18 May 1837 Died)
Giosuè Maria Saggese, C.SS.R. † (17 Sep 1838 Confirmed - 24 Apr 1852 Died)
Michele Manzo † (27 Sep 1852 Confirmed - 7 Mar 1856 Died)
Luigi Maria de Marinis † (18 Sep 1856 Confirmed - 27 Aug 1877 Died)
Fulco Luigi Ruffo-Scilla † (28 Dec 1877 Appointed - 23 May 1887 Appointed, Titular Archbishop of Petra in Palaestina)
Rocco Cocchia, O.F.M. Cap. † (23 May 1887 Appointed - 19 Dec 1901 Died)
Gennaro Costagliola, C.M. † (15 Apr 1901 Appointed - 15 Feb 1919 Died)
Nicola Monterisi † (15 Dec 1919 Appointed - 5 Oct 1929 Appointed, Archbishop of Salerno (-Acerno))
Giuseppe Venturi † (18 Feb 1931 Appointed - 11 Nov 1947 Died)
Giovanni Battista Bosio † (24 Jul 1948 Appointed - 25 May 1967 Died)
Loris Francesco Capovilla † (26 Jun 1967 Appointed - 25 Sep 1971 Appointed, Prelate of Loreto)
Vincenzo Fagiolo † (20 Nov 1971 Appointed - 15 Jul 1984 Resigned)
Antonio Valentini † (31 Dec 1984 Appointed - 30 Sep 1993 Resigned)
Edoardo Menichelli (10 Jun 1994 Appointed - 8 Jan 2004 Appointed, Archbishop of Ancona-Osimo)
Bruno Forte (26 Jun 2004 Appointed - )

Historical Summary

Date	Event	From	To
Diocese of Chieti
6th Century	Erected		Diocese of Chieti (erected)
27 April 1515	Territory Lost	Diocese of Chieti	Diocese of Lanciano (erected)
Archdiocese of Chieti
1 July 1526	Elevated	Diocese of Chieti	Archdiocese of Chieti
1 July 1949	Territory Lost	Archdiocese of Chieti (S. Gettae, S. Mariae de Igne, S. Silvestri, Stella Maris, and S. Peter the Martyr) Diocese of Penne e Atri	Diocese of Penne e Pescara
21 March 1977	Territory Added	Territorial Abbey of Montecassino (Serramonacesca, Fara Filiorum Petri and Ripacorbaria in Manoppello)	Archdiocese of Chieti
2 March 1982	Territory Added		Archdiocese of Chieti (became a metropolitan)
Archdiocese of Chieti-Vasto
30 September 1986	Name Changed	Archdiocese of Chieti	Archdiocese of Chieti-Vasto

Year Catholics Total Population Percent Catholic Diocesan Priests Religious Priests Total Priests Catholics Per Priest Permanent Deacons Male Religious Female Religious Parishes Source

Archdiocese of Chieti

1886 262,847 .0% 408 0 115 OTC

1949 350,000 350,000 100.0% 207 90 297 1,178 120 425 133 ap1951

1958 333,468 335,468 99.4% 190 94 284 1,174 142 491 133 ap1960

1970 292,000 294,030 99.3% 180 102 282 1,035 127 578 141 ap1971

1980 290,729 296,029 98.2% 171 99 270 1,076 1 122 420 156 ap1981

Archdiocese of Chieti-Vasto

1990 311,500 316,500 98.4% 158 87 245 1,271 6 113 391 158 ap1991

1999 316,000 321,162 98.4% 159 76 235 1,344 6 87 364 158 ap2000

2000 313,935 315,865 99.4% 167 81 248 1,265 6 96 370 158 ap2001

2001 313,855 315,865 99.4% 166 85 251 1,250 5 107 373 158 ap2002

2002 313,855 315,870 99.4% 155 80 235 1,335 14 93 401 158 ap2003

2003 310,350 314,800 98.6% 151 79 230 1,349 14 92 401 158 ap2004

2004 308,600 313,500 98.4% 146 80 226 1,365 14 96 400 158 ap2005

2006 305,882 312,982 97.7% 148 75 223 1,371 17 93 370 157 ap2007

2013 297,000 316,300 93.9% 145 102 247 1,202 20 115 314 147 ap2014

2016 307,779 333,454 92.3% 136 82 218 1,411 21 95 302 144 ap2017

2019 287,000 322,876 88.9% 142 90 232 1,237 23 103 209 138 ap2020

2021 284,205 312,827 90.9% 136 72 208 1,366 24 86 215 144 ap2022

Year	Catholics	Total Population	Percent Catholic	Diocesan Priests	Religious Priests	Total Priests	Catholics Per Priest	Permanent Deacons	Male Religious	Female Religious	Parishes	Source
Archdiocese of Chieti
1886		262,847	.0%			408	0				115	OTC
1949	350,000	350,000	100.0%	207	90	297	1,178		120	425	133	ap1951
1958	333,468	335,468	99.4%	190	94	284	1,174		142	491	133	ap1960
1970	292,000	294,030	99.3%	180	102	282	1,035		127	578	141	ap1971
1980	290,729	296,029	98.2%	171	99	270	1,076	1	122	420	156	ap1981
Archdiocese of Chieti-Vasto
1990	311,500	316,500	98.4%	158	87	245	1,271	6	113	391	158	ap1991
1999	316,000	321,162	98.4%	159	76	235	1,344	6	87	364	158	ap2000
2000	313,935	315,865	99.4%	167	81	248	1,265	6	96	370	158	ap2001
2001	313,855	315,865	99.4%	166	85	251	1,250	5	107	373	158	ap2002
2002	313,855	315,870	99.4%	155	80	235	1,335	14	93	401	158	ap2003
2003	310,350	314,800	98.6%	151	79	230	1,349	14	92	401	158	ap2004
2004	308,600	313,500	98.4%	146	80	226	1,365	14	96	400	158	ap2005
2006	305,882	312,982	97.7%	148	75	223	1,371	17	93	370	157	ap2007
2013	297,000	316,300	93.9%	145	102	247	1,202	20	115	314	147	ap2014
2016	307,779	333,454	92.3%	136	82	218	1,411	21	95	302	144	ap2017
2019	287,000	322,876	88.9%	142	90	232	1,237	23	103	209	138	ap2020
2021	284,205	312,827	90.9%	136	72	208	1,366	24	86	215	144	ap2022

Note: Any changes in boundaries over time are not indicated in the above table.

Affiliated Bishops, Living

Camillo Cibotti (Priest: 1 Jul 1978 to 8 May 2014)
Giuseppe Di Falco (Priest: 29 Jun 1953 to 25 May 1985)
Bruno Forte (Archbishop: 26 Jun 2004 - )
Mauro Lalli (Priest: 14 Jul 1990 to 1 Mar 2024)
Giulio Mencuccini, C.P.
Edoardo Menichelli (Archbishop: 10 Jun 1994 to 8 Jan 2004)
Pietro Santoro (Priest: 17 May 1970 to 28 Jun 2007)
Domenico Angelo Scotti (Deacon: 6 Nov 1966; Priest: 25 Jun 1967 to 17 Oct 2005)
Luciano Suriani (Priest: 5 Aug 1981 to 22 Feb 2008)

Affiliated Bishops, Deceased

Alfonso de Aragón † (Bishop: 28 Feb 1488 to 1496)
Giacomo de Bacio † (Bishop: 16 Nov 1496 to 1500)
Francesco Saverio Bassi, O.S.B. † (Archbishop: 18 Dec 1797 to 1821)
Vitale da Bologna, O.S.M. † (Bishop: 21 Jul 1363 to 1373)
Giovanni Battista Bosio † (Archbishop: 24 Jul 1948 to 25 May 1967)
Francesco Brancia † (Archbishop: 9 Apr 1764 to 7 Jan 1770)
Cesare Busdrago † (Archbishop: 11 Aug 1578 to Oct 1585)
Vincenzo Capece † (Archbishop: 23 Apr 1703 to Feb 1722)
Guillaume de Capodiferro † (Archbishop: 17 Mar 1340 to 1352)
Loris Francesco Capovilla † (Archbishop: 26 Jun 1967 to 25 Sep 1971)
Alexander de Capua † (Bishop: 24 Aug 1254)
Bernardino Carafa † (Bishop: 20 Dec 1501 to 30 Jul 1505)
Gian Pietro Carafa † (Bishop: 30 Jul 1505 to 20 Dec 1518; Apostolic Administrator: 20 Dec 1518 to 24 Aug 1524; Archbishop: 20 Jun 1537 to 22 Feb 1549)
Oliviero Carafa † (Administrator: 2 Feb 1500 to 20 Dec 1501)
Guglielmo Carbone † (Bishop: 18 Aug 1396 to 22 Nov 1418)
Bartolomeo Carbone de Papazurri, O.P. † (Bishop: 24 May 1353 to 21 Jul 1363)
Giovanni Battista Castrucci † (Archbishop: 21 Oct 1585 to 20 Mar 1591)
Carlo-Maria Cernelli † (Archbishop: 19 Apr 1822 to 18 May 1837)
Angelo Maria Ciria Panvini, O.S.M. † (Archbishop: 1 Jun 1654 to 4 Apr 1656)
Rocco Cocchia, O.F.M. Cap. † (Archbishop: 23 May 1887 to 19 Dec 1901)
Girolamo Colonna †
Giovanni da Comino, O.S.B. † (Bishop: 19 Mar 1379 to 1396)
Gennaro Costagliola, C.M. † (Archbishop: 15 Apr 1901 to 15 Feb 1919)
Giovanni Crispano † (Bishop: 21 Feb 1326 to 1335)
Luigi del Giudice, O.S.B. † (Archbishop: 12 Mar 1770 to 1790)
Giovanni Battista della Buona † (Bishop: 20 Oct 1438 to 1445)
Guido de’ Medici † (Archbishop: 3 Jan 1528 to 1537)
Vincenzo Fagiolo † (Archbishop: 20 Nov 1971 to 15 Jul 1984)
Benedetto Falcucci † (Auxiliary Bishop: 22 Dec 1945 to 2 Jul 1949)
Pierre Ferri † (Bishop: 10 May 1336 to 17 Nov 1336)
Nicola da Fossanova, O. Cist. † (Bishop: 1262)
Nicola Francesco Franchi †
Modesto Gavazzi, O.F.M. Conv. † (Archbishop: 19 Feb 1657 to 6 Mar 1657)
Thomas-Marie Gentili, O.P. †
Federico de Giacomo †
Jerome de Leonibus † (Archbishop: 30 Oct 1577 to 3 Mar 1578)
Bernardino Maffei † (Archbishop: 9 Nov 1549 to 14 Jul 1553)
Marcantonio Maffei † (Archbishop: 14 Jul 1553 to 14 Jan 1568)
Orazio Maffei † (Archbishop: 3 Sep 1607 to 11 Jan 1609)
Michele Manzo † (Archbishop: 27 Sep 1852 to 7 Mar 1856)
Luigi Maria de Marinis † (Archbishop: 18 Sep 1856 to 27 Aug 1877)
Anselmo Marzato, O.F.M. Cap. † (Archbishop: 12 Feb 1607 to 17 Aug 1607)
Raimondo de Mausaco, O.F.M. † (Bishop: 21 Feb 1321 to 21 Feb 1326)
Ambrogio (Paulo Maria Michael) Mirelli, O.S.B. † (Archbishop: 27 Feb 1792 to 22 Jul 1795)
Francesco Monaldi † (Auxiliary Bishop: 11 May 1552)
Nicola Monterisi † (Archbishop: 15 Dec 1919 to 5 Oct 1929)
Marcello Morgante †
Giovanni Oliva † (Archbishop: 14 Jan 1568 to 1577)
Michele di Palma † (Archbishop: 6 May 1737 to 23 Mar 1755)
Beltramino Paravicini † (Bishop: 14 Dec 1336 to 24 Nov 1339)
Marsilio Peruzzi † (Archbishop: 26 Nov 1618 to 1631)
Nicola Piccirilli †
Vincenzo Rabatta † (Archbishop: 9 Dec 1649 to 1654)
Niccolò Radulovich † (Archbishop: 10 Mar 1659 to 27 Oct 1702)
Scipione Rebiba † (Auxiliary Bishop: 16 Mar 1541 to 12 Oct 1551)
Alessandro de Risio, C.SS.R. †
Fulco Luigi Ruffo-Scilla † (Archbishop: 28 Dec 1877 to 23 May 1887)
Eleazario da Sabran † (Bishop: 5 Sep 1373 to 18 Sep 1378)
Giosuè Maria Saggese, C.SS.R. † (Archbishop: 17 Sep 1838 to 24 Apr 1852)
Nicola Sanchez de Luna † (Archbishop: 21 Jul 1755 to 9 Apr 1764)
Horatius Sanminiato † (Archbishop: 20 Mar 1591 to 29 Jan 1592)
Matteo Sanminiato † (Archbishop: 4 Mar 1592 to Feb 1607)
Antonio Santacroce † (Archbishop: 10 Mar 1631 to 9 Jun 1636)
Stefano Sauli † (Archbishop: 10 Nov 1638 to 1649)
Antonio Tasca †
Marino de Tocco † (Bishop: 7 Jan 1429 to 1438)
Paolo Tolosa, C.R. † (Archbishop: 16 Dec 1615 to 3 Oct 1618)
Caius Asterius Toppi †
Felice Trofino † (Bishop: 24 Aug 1524; Archbishop: 1 Jun 1526 to 1527)
Antonio Valentini † (Archbishop: 31 Dec 1984 to 30 Sep 1993)
Raphael Valenza † (Priest: 1 Apr 1843; Auxiliary Bishop: 24 May 1889 to 22 Dec 1897)
Colantonio Valignani † (Bishop: 15 Mar 1445 to 1488)
Filippo Valignani, O.P. † (Archbishop: 20 Apr 1722 to Feb 1737)
Giuseppe Venturi † (Archbishop: 18 Feb 1931 to 11 Nov 1947)
Giacomo de Vincentiis † (Priest: 21 Dec 1799 to 22 Dec 1848)
Niccolò Vivari † (Bishop: 1 Feb 1419 to 6 Nov 1428)
Ulpiano (Volpiano) Volpi † (Archbishop: 11 Mar 1609 to 16 Dec 1615)
Mattia † (Bishop: 29 May 1303 to Jun 1303)
Pietro † (Bishop: 19 Jul 1303 to 1320)
Rinaldo , O.P. † (Bishop: 17 Apr 1295 to 1303)
Tommaso † (Bishop: 31 Mar 1286)

Source(s)

Diocese of Chieti
- Hierarchia Catholica, Volume 1, Page 481
- Hierarchia Catholica, Volume 2, Page 249
- Hierarchia Catholica, Volume 3, Page 311
- Series Episcoporum Ecclesiae Catholicae, Volume 1, Page 875, to Page 876
Archdiocese of Chieti
- Hierarchia Catholica, Volume 4, Page 332
- Hierarchia Catholica, Volume 5, Page 373
- Hierarchia Catholica, Volume 6, Page 400
- Acta Apostolicae Sedis, Volume 69, Page 217, to Page 219
- Acta Apostolicae Sedis, Volume 74, Page 665, and Page 666
Archdiocese of Chieti-Vasto
- Acta Apostolicae Sedis, Volume 79, Page 800, to Page 802

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Archdiocese of Chieti-Vasto

Archidioecesis Theatina-Vastensis