Roman Catholic Diocese of Montalcino

The Diocese of Montalcino (Latin: Dioecesis Ilcinensis) was a Roman Catholic diocese located in the town of Montalcino to the west of Pienza, close to the Crete Senesi in Val d'Orcia in Tuscany, Italy. In 1986, it was suppressed and united with the Diocese of Colle di Val d'Elsa and the Archdiocese of Siena to form the Archdiocese of Siena-Colle di Val d'Elsa-Montalcino.^[1][2]

Cocathedral of Santissimo Salvatore

History

Establishment of the diocese

On 13 August 1462, Pope Pius II established the Diocese of Montalcino, drawing its territory from the Diocese of Arezzo, the Diocese of Chiusi, and the Diocese of Grosseto^[3] The new dioceses were removed from all jurisdiction of the metropolitan archbishop of Siena, and made directly subject to the Holy See (Papacy). If a bishop wished, however, he could submit a case to the archbishop, who was authorized to take cognizance of it. The bishop of Pienza and of Montalcino was not obligated to attend the provincial synods of Siena, though he could do so if he wished.^[4]

In 1528, Pope Clement VII separated the two dioceses of Montalcino and Pienza into two episcopal jurisdictions with two bishops.^[5]

On 15 June 1772, Montalcino gained territory from the Diocese of Chiusi and from the Diocese of Pienza^[6][2]

Chapter and cathedral

The cathedral was originally a collegiate church, dedicated to the Holy Saviour (San Salvatore)

The cathedral was staffed and administered by a Chapter, composed of four dignities (the Archdeacon, the Archpriest, the Provost, and the Primicerius) and nine Canons. There were in addition four honorary Canons ^[7]

Consolidation

The Second Vatican Council, in order to ensure that all Catholics received proper spiritual attention, decreed the reorganization of the diocesan structure of Italy and the consolidation of small and struggling dioceses.^[8]

In 1980, the diocese of Montalcino claimed a Catholic population of 24,500 persons. Colle di Val d'Elsa had slightly over 60,000.

On 18 February 1984, the Vatican and the Italian State signed a new and revised concordat. Based on the revisions, a set of Normae was issued on 15 November 1984, which was accompanied in the next year, on 3 June 1985, by enabling legislation. According to the agreement, the practice of having one bishop govern two separate dioceses at the same time, aeque personaliter, was abolished. This made the combining of Montalcino and Colle di Val d'Elsa under one bishop infeasible. Instead, the Vatican continued consultations which had begun under Pope John XXIII for the merging of small dioceses, especially those with personnel and financial problems, into one combined diocese. On 30 September 1986, Pope John Paul II ordered that the dioceses of Montalcino and Colle be merged with the diocese of Siena, into one diocese with one bishop, with the Latin title Archidioecesis Senensis-Collensis-Ilcinensis. The seat of the diocese was to be in Siena, and the cathedral of Siena was to serve as the cathedral of the merged dioceses. The cathedrals in Montalcino and Colle were to become co-cathedrals, and the cathedral Chapters were each to be a Capitulum Concathedralis. There was to be only one diocesan Tribunal, in Siena, and likewise one seminary, one College of Consultors, and one Priests' Council. The territory of the new diocese was to include the territory of the former dioceses of Montalcino and of Colle.^[9]

Bishops of Pienza e Montalcino

Erected: 13 August 1462
Latin Name: Pientia et Mons Ilcinus

• Giovanni Chinugi (1462–1470)^[10]
• Tommaso della Testa Piccolomini (1470–1482)^[11]
• Agostino Patrizi de Piccolomini (1484–1495)^[12]

Cardinal Francesco Todeschini-Piccolomini (1495–1498 Resigned) Administrator^[13]

• Girolamo Piccolomini (seniore) (14 Mar 1498 – 1510 Resigned)^[14]
• Girolamo Piccolomini (iuniore) (9 Dec 1510 – 1535 Died)^[15]

Bishops of Montalcino

1528: Split into the Diocese of Montalcino and the Diocese of Pienza
Latin Name: Ilcinensis

• Alessandro Piccolomini (20 Nov 1528 – 1554 Resigned)^[16]
• Francesco Maria Piccolomini (20 Apr 1554 – 1599 Died)^[17]
• Camillo Borghese (1600–1607)^[18]
• Mario Cossa (1607–1618)^[19]
• Ippolito Borghese, O.S.B. (1618–1636)^[20]
• Scipione Tancredi (1637–1641)^[21]
• Alessandro Sergardi (1641–1649)^[22]

Sede vacante (1649–1652)^[23]

• Antonio Bichi (1652–1656)^[24]
• Lorenzo Martinozzi, O.S.B. (16 Oct 1656 – Aug 1663 Died)
• Fabio de Vecchi (14 Jan 1664 – Aug 1688 Resigned)^[25]
• Romualdo Tancredi, O.S.B. (9 Aug 1688 – Dec 1694 Died)^[25]
• Giuseppe Maria Borgognini (28 Nov 1695 – Nov 1726 Died)^[25]
• Bernardino Ciani, O.S.A. (30 Jul 1727 – 9 Aug 1767 Died)^[25]
• Domenico Andrea Vegni (14 Dec 1767 – 8 Nov 1773 Died)
• Giuseppe Bernardino Pecci, O.S.B. (27 Jun 1774 – 1809 Died)
• Giacinto Pippi (15 Mar 1815 – 12 Jul 1824 Appointed, Bishop of Chiusi e Pienza)
• Giovanni Bindi Sergardi (20 Dec 1824 – 18 Nov 1843 Died)
• Paolo Giovanni Bertolozzi (7 Jan 1850 – 27 Jan 1867 Died)
• Raffaele Pucci-Sisti (23 Feb 1872 – 30 May 1879 Died)
• Donnino Donnini (19 Sep 1879 – 14 Dec 1891 Appointed, Bishop of Arezzo)
• Amilcare Tonietti (12 Jun 1893 – 25 Sep 1899 Resigned)
• Iader Bertini (18 Sep 1899 – 27 Sep 1908 Died)
• Alfredo del Tomba (29 Apr 1909 – 10 Jul 1937 Resigned)
• Ireneo Enrico Chelucci (22 Jul 1938 – 8 Jun 1970 Died)
• Ismaele Mario Castellano, O.P. (19 Jan 1978 – 30 Sep 1986 Appointed, Archbishop of Siena-Colle di Val d'Elsa-Montalcino)

30 September 1986: Suppressed, and incorporated in the Archdiocese of Siena-Colle di Val d'Elsa-Montalcino

See also

• Catholic Church in Italy
• List of Catholic dioceses in Italy

Notes and references

1. Cheney, David M. "Diocese of Montalcino". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. Retrieved June 16, 2018. ^{[self-published]}
2. Chow, Gabriel. "Diocese of Montalcino (Italy)". GCatholic.org. Retrieved June 16, 2018. ^{[self-published]}
3. Bullarum diplomatum et privilegiorum sanctorum romanorum pontificum (in Latin). Vol. Tomus V. Turin: Seb. Franco, H. Fori et H. Dalmazzo. 1860. pp. 166–169.
4. Bullarum diplomatum V, p. 168, § 6. Cappelletti, Le chiese d'Italia XVII, p. 616; XVIII, p. 441.
5. Cappelletti XVII, p. 622.
6. Repetti, p. 300.
7. Cappelletti XVIII, p. 453.
8. In its decree Christus Dominus, section 22, it stated: "Concerning diocesan boundaries, therefore, this sacred synod decrees that, to the extent required by the good of souls, a fitting revision of diocesan boundaries be undertaken prudently and as soon as possible. This can be done by dividing dismembering or uniting them, or by changing their boundaries, or by determining a better place for the episcopal see or, finally, especially in the case of dioceses having larger cities, by providing them with a new internal organization.... At the same time the natural population units of people, together with the civil jurisdictions and social institutions that compose their organic structure, should be preserved as far as possible as units. For this reason, obviously, the territory of each diocese should be continuous."
9. Acta Apostolicae Sedis 79 (Città del Vaticano 1987), pp. 783-786.
10. A native of Siena, Chinugi had been papal Master of Ceremonies. He had previously been Bishop-elect of Chiusi (6 April 1462–7 October 1462 ? ; Gams, p. 754, gives the dates 1460 to 1462), though this is denied by Cappelletti (XVII, p. 620). He was appointed the first bishop of Pienza e Montalcino on 7 October 1462 (Compare: Cappelletti (XVII, p. 620; XVIII, p. 457; and Zweder R. W. M. von Martels; Arie Johan Vanderjagt (2003). Pius II, "el Più Expeditivo Pontefice". Leiden & Boston: Brill. p. 178. ISBN 90-04-13190-6. who give the date of 1 September 1462). He died on 30 September 1470. Gaetano Moroni, Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica Vol. XLVI (Venice: Emiliana 1847), p. 143. Eubel II, pp. 131, 216.
11. Testa had been a Canon of Siena, and then Bishop of Sovana (1462–1470). He was transferred to Montalcino on 26 October 1470 by Pope Paul II. He was an imperial councilor of Frederick III. He died in Siena, where he had spent much of his time, in 1482, at the age of fifty-two. He is buried in the duomo of Siena. Ughelli, p. 1178. Gaetano Moron (1851). Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica (in Italian). Vol. LII. Venezia: Tipografia Emiliana. pp. 290, column 2. Cappelletti XVIII, p. 457. Robert Munman (1993). Sienese Renaissance Tomb Monuments. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society. p. 146. ISBN 978-0-87169-205-4. Eubel, Hierarchia catholica II, p. 216.
12. Patrizi had been private secretary of Pope Pius II, and, on his death, secretary to Cardinal Francesco Todeschini-Piccolomini, Pius' nephew. Patrizi accompanied him on a German legation in 1471. He was appointed a papal master of ceremonies by Pope Sixtus IV in 1483. He was named Bishop of Montalcino by Pope Sixtus on 19 January 1484. He continued as Master of Ceremonies from 1485 to 1488. He died in Rome, c. 1495. Rino Avesani (1964), "Per la Biblioteca di Agostino Patrizi Piccolomini, vescovo di Pienza," in" Mélanges Eugène Tisserant Vol. VI, part 1 (Città del Vaticano 1964), pp. 1-37. Marc Dykmans (1980). L'Oeuvre de Patrizi Piccolomini ou le cérémonial papal de la première Renaissance: Livre premier (in French). Città del Vaticano: Biblioteca apostólica vaticana. pp. xix–xx. ISBN 978-88-210-0518-3. Cappelletti, p. 621. Eubel II, p. 216.
13. Cardinal Todeschini-Piccolomini, the nephew of Pope Pius II, was already Archbishop of Siena (1460–1503). He was named Apostolic Administrator of the diocese of Montalcino by Pope Alexander VI on 31 October 1495. He was neither a priest nor a bishop until 30 September and 1 October 1503, and thus performed no episcopal functions. He resigned the diocese on 14 March 1498 in favor of his relative, Girolamo Piccolomini. He became Pope Pius III on 22 September 1503, and died on 18 October 1503. Cappelletti, p. 621. Eubel II, p. 216. Carol Richardson, "The Lost Will and Testament of Cardinal Francesco Todeschini Piccolomini (1439-1503)," Papers of the British School at Rome, 66 (1998), pp. 193-214, at p. 193.
14. Piccolomini records himself as the fourth bishop of Montalcino in an inscription in Siena, commemorating the restoration of the Franciscan convent, which was under the patronage of the Piccolomini. Cappelletti XVII, p. 622. Eubel II, p. 212.
15. Ughelli I, p. 996. Cappelletti XVIII, p. 458. Eubel, Hierarchia catholica III, p. 212, with notes 2 and 3.
16. Alessandro Piccolomini was the nephew of Bishop Girolamo Piccolomini (junior). He was named Bishop of Montalcino at the age of twenty-four by Pope Clement VII, on 20 November 1528, when the two dioceses of Montalcino and Pienza were separated and his uncle retained Pienza. He became Bishop of Pienza as well, on the death of his uncle, in 1535. He resigned in 1554. Ughelli I, p. 996. Cappelletti XVII, p. 622; XVIII, p. 458. Eubel III, p. 212 with note 4.
17. Gauchat, Hierarchia catholica IV, p. 208.
18. Borghese was a native of Siena, and the nephew of Cardinal Camillo Borghese, who became Pope Paul V in 1605. He had been bishop of Castro in Apulia (1592-1600), and was named Bishop of Montalcino on 7 January 1600. He was transferred to Siena by Pope Paul V on 24 January 1607, and took possession of the diocese on 29 March. He died on 8 October 1612. It was said that the pope had been petitioned to name him a cardinal, but that never took place. Giovanni Antonio Pecci (1748). Storia del Vescovado della città di Siena (in Italian). Lucca: Marescandoli. pp. 358-359. Cappelletti, p. 510. Gauchat, pp. 139, 208, 312 with note 3.
19. Cossa was a native of Siena, and a Canon of its cathedral Chapter. He held the degree of Doctor in utroque iure, and was a Protonotary Apostolic. He was General Vicar of Siena. He was appointed Bishop of Montalcino on 2 April 1607 by Pope Paul V (Borghese). His funeral monument says that he died in 1619, in his sixty-fifth year of age and the eleventh year of his episcopate. Ughelli, Italia sacra I, pp. 996-997. Cappelletti XVIII, p. Gauchat, p. 208 with note 3.
20. A native of Siena, Borghese was a monk of the Order of Our Lady of Mt. Olivet, a congregation founded by three Sienese aristocrats in the mid-fourteenth century. He became Abbot General of the entire Order. He was named Bishop of Montalcino on 26 March 1618 by Pope Paul V (Borghese). On 1 September 1636, he was transferred to the diocese of Pienza. He died in 1637. Cappelletti XVIII, p. 461. Gauchat, p. 208 with note 4; 280 with note 4.
21. A native of Siena, Tancredi held the degree of Doctor in utroque iure. He was named Bishop of Sovana on 15 January 1624. He was transferred to the diocese of Montalcino on 2 March 1637, by Pope Urban VIII. He died on 13 April 1641. Ughelli III, p. 761. Gauchat IV, pp. 208 with note 4; 323 with note 4.
22. Born in Siena in 1596, Alessandro Sergardi was a Doctor in utroque iure, and Notary Apostolic. His brother was prefect of the fleet of the Grand Duke of Tuscany. Alessandro was a Canon of the cathedral of Siena, and Vicar General of the archbishop. He was named Bishop of Montalcino on 21 October 1641 by Pope Urban VIII. He died in April 1649. Ughelli I, p. 997. Gauchat, p. 208 with note 5.
23. Cappelletti XVIII, p. 461.
24. Born in Siena, Bichi was the nephew of Fabio Chigi, Pope Alexander VII. He had studied law at the University of Siena. He was the Auditor of Cardinal Chigi, Legate in Cologne, during the negotiations for the Peace of Westphalia, and served as Internuncio in Flanders from 1642 to 1652. He was appointed Bishop of Montalcino on 11 December 1652. On 6 March 1656, he was transferred to the diocese of Osimo by his uncle Pope Alexander. He was named a cardinal on 9 April 1657, but his promotion was not announced until 10 November 1659. He died on 21 February 1691. Lorenzo Cardella (1793), Memorie storiche de' cardinali della Santa Romana Chiesa Vol. VII (Rome: Pagliarini 1793), pp. 135-137. Cappelletti XVIII, p. 461. Gauchat, pp. 33 no. 9; 104 with note 5; 208.
25. Ritzler & Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica V, p. 227.

Books

• Gams, Pius Bonifatius (1873). Series episcoporum Ecclesiae catholicae: quotquot innotuerunt a beato Petro apostolo. Ratisbon: Typis et Sumptibus Georgii Josephi Manz. pp. 743–744. (Use with caution; obsolete)
• Eubel, Conradus, ed. (1913). Hierarchia catholica (in Latin). Vol. Tomus 1 (second ed.). Münster: Libreria Regensbergiana.
• Eubel, Conradus, ed. (1914). Hierarchia catholica (in Latin). Vol. Tomus 2 (second ed.). Münster: Libreria Regensbergiana.
• Eubel, Conradus; Gulik, Guilelmus, eds. (1923). Hierarchia catholica (in Latin). Vol. Tomus 3 (second ed.). Münster: Libreria Regensbergiana.
• Gauchat, Patritius (Patrice) (1935). Hierarchia catholica (in Latin). Vol. Tomus IV (1592-1667). Münster: Libraria Regensbergiana.
• Ritzler, Remigius; Sefrin, Pirminus (1952). Hierarchia catholica medii et recentis aevi (in Latin). Vol. Tomus V (1667-1730). Patavii: Messagero di S. Antonio.
• Ritzler, Remigius; Sefrin, Pirminus (1958). Hierarchia catholica medii et recentis aevi. Vol. Tomus VI (1730-1799). Patavii: Messagero di S. Antonio.
• Ritzler, Remigius; Sefrin, Pirminus (1968). Hierarchia Catholica medii et recentioris aevi (in Latin). Vol. VII (1800–1846). Monasterii: Libreria Regensburgiana.
• Remigius Ritzler; Pirminus Sefrin (1978). Hierarchia catholica Medii et recentioris aevi (in Latin). Vol. VIII (1846–1903). Il Messaggero di S. Antonio.
• Pięta, Zenon (2002). Hierarchia catholica medii et recentioris aevi (in Latin). Vol. IX (1903–1922). Padua: Messagero di San Antonio. ISBN 978-88-250-1000-8.

Studies

• Bocchini Camianai, Bruna (1992). "I vescovi toscani nel periodo lorenese," in: Istituzioni e società in Toscana nell’età moderna. Atti delle giornate di studio dedicate a Giuseppe Pansini (Firenze, 4–5 dicembre 1992). Roma: Ministero per i beni culturali. Ufficio centrale per i beni archivistici, 1992. pp. 681–715.
• Cappelletti, Giuseppe (1864). Le chiese d'Italia dalla loro origine sino ai nostri giorni (in Italian). Vol. decimoottavo. Venezia: Antonelli. pp. 441–471.
• Repetti, Emanuele (1839). Dizionario geografico, fisico, storico della Toscana: contenente la descrizione di tutti i luoghi del granducato, ducato di Lucca, Garfagnana e Lunigiana (in Italian). Vol. terzo. Firenze: Presso l'autore e editore.
• Ughelli, Ferdinando; Coleti, Niccolò (1717). Italia sacra sive De Episcopis Italiae (in Latin). Vol. Tomus primus (1) (Second ed.). Venice: apud Sebastianum Coleti. pp. 991–998.