Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vercelli

The Archdiocese of Vercelli (in Latin, Archidioecesis Vercellensis) is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in northern Italy, one of the two archdioceses which form the ecclesiastical region of Piedmont. The archbishop's seat is in Vercelli Cathedral. The dioceses suffragan to Vercelli are: Alessandria (della Paglia), Biella, Casale Monferrato and Novara.

History

According to an ancient lectionary the Gospel was first preached in Vercelli in the second half of the third century by Saints Sabinianus and Martialis, bishops from Gaul, when they were returning to their dioceses. The episcopal see was not established till after the Peace of Constantine. The first bishop was Saint Eusebius, a Sardinian, a lector of the Roman Church and a strenuous opponent of Arianism. From Vercelli the Gospel spread through the valley of the Po and its environs; towards the end of the fourth century, perhaps even during the episcopate of Saint Eusebius, new dioceses were erected. From Eusebius to Nottingo (830) there were forty bishops, whose images were preserved in the Eusebian basilica, predecessor of the present cathedral, so called because Saint Eusebius, who dedicated it to the martyr Saint Theonestus, was interred in it. He introduced the common and monastic life among his clergy, from whom bishops for the surrounding territory were often selected.

Among his successors were: Saint Simenus (370), who baptized and consecrated Saint Ambrose; Saint Honoratus (396), who administered the Viaticum to Saint Ambrose; Saint Justinianus (living in 451); Saint AEmilianus (about 500) built an aqueduct for the city at his own expense; Saint Flavianus (541); Saint Celsus (665); Norgaudus (844) restored common life among the canons; Liutuardus (880), who had been archchancellor of Charles the Fat (deposed later) and was slain during the invasion of the Huns (899), like Regenbertus (904- 24); Atto of Vercelli, (d. 960), reformer of ecclesiastical discipline; Petrus (978), imprisoned in the Holy Land by the Egyptian Muslims; Leo (999), chancellor of Holy Roman Emperors Otto III and Henry II; Gisulfus (1133) re-established common life among the canons in 1144; Saint Albertus (1185–1204), founder of the chair of theology, later Patriarch of Jerusalem; Renerio Avogadro (1296) opposed the partisans of Fra Dolcino; Guglielmo Didier (1437), an elector of the antipope Felix V; Giuliano della Rovere (1502), later Pope Julius II (1503); Cardinal Guido Ferrero (1562), founder of the seminary, embellished the cathedral and introduced the Tridentine reform; Gianfrancesco Bonomo (1572) continued the reform and replaced (1573) the Eusebian Rite by the Roman.

In 1817 the Diocese of Vercelli, then suffragan of the archbishopric of Turin (but previously of the archbishopric of Milan) was made an archdiocese, the first archbishop being Giuseppe di Grimaldi.

Parishes

The 118 parishes are divided between the Lombard province of Pavia and the Piedmontese provinces of Alessandria, Biella, Novara and Vercelli.^[1]

Lombardy

Province of Pavia

Candia Lomellina

S. Maria delle Grazie

Castelnovetto

S. Maria delle Grazie

Confienza

S. Lorenzo

Cozzo

Santi Vittorino Pietro e Michele

Langosco

S. Martino

Palestro

S. Martino

Robbio

S. Stefano

Piedmont

Province of Alessandria

Morano sul Po

S. Nicola (Pobietto)

Province of Biella

Ailoche

S. Bernardo

Brusnengo

Santi Pietro e Paolo

S. Bernardo (Caraceto)

Caprile

S. Carlo

Castelletto Cervo

Santi Pietro, Paolo e Tommaso

Crevacuore

Beata Vergine Assunta

Curino

S. Maria e Santi Martino Bonomio e Nicolao

Masserano

SS. Annunziata

Santi Orso e Antonino (Rongio Inferiore)

Pray

S. Ambrogio

S. Grato (Pianceri)

Sostegno

S. Lorenzo

S. Caterina (Casa del Bosco)

Villa del Bosco

S. Lorenzo

Province of Novara

Biandrate

S. Colombano

Casalbeltrame

S. Martino

Casaleggio Novara

S. Ambrogio

Landiona

Santi Pietro e Paolo

Recetto

S. Domenico

San Nazzaro Sesia

Santi Nazario e Celso

Vicolungo

Natività di Maria e Santi Giorgio e Martino

Vinzaglio

Beata Vergine Assunta

S. Bernardino (Torrione)

Province of Vercelli

Albano Vercellese

Beata Vergine Assunta

Arborio

S. Martino

Asigliano Vercellese

Beata Vergine Assunta

Balocco

Santi Michele e Antonio

Bianzè

S. Eusebio

Borgo Vercelli

Beata Vergine Assunta

Borgo d’Ale

S. Michele

Buronzo

S. Abbondio

Caresana

S. Matteo

Caresanablot

S. Cecilia

Casanova Elvo

S. Martino

Cigliano

S. Emiliano

Collobiano

Beata Vergine del Rosario e S. Giorgio

Costanzana

S. Martino

Crescentino

Beata Vergine Assunta

Santi Genuario e Silvestro (San Genuario)

S. Grisante (San Grisante)

Crova

Santi Pietro ed Eusebio

Desana

Santi Pietro e Maurizio

Fontanetto Po

S. Maria e S. Martino

Formigliana

Beata Vergine Assunta

Nostra Signora del Sacratissimo Rosario di Fatima

Gattinara

S. Bernardo

S. Pietro

Ghislarengo

Beata Vergine Assunta

Greggio

Santi Quirico e Giulitta

Guardabosone

S. Agata

Lamporo

S. Bernardo

Lenta

S. Pietro

Lignana

SS. Salvatore e Santi Germano e Cristoforo

Livorno Ferraris

S. Lorenzo

Santi Rocco e Giovanni Battista (Castell’Apertole)

S. Giacomo (San Giacomo)

Lozzolo

S. Giorgio

Moncrivello

S. Eusebio

Motta de’ Conti

SS. Annunziata

Olcenengo

Santi Quirico e Giulitta

Oldenico

S. Lorenzo

Palazzolo Vercellese

S. Germano

Pertengo

S. Germano

Pezzana

S. Eusebio

Postua

Beata Vergine Assunta

Prarolo

Beata Vergine Assunta

Quinto Vercellese

Santi Nazario e Celso

Rive

Beata Vergine Assunta

Roasio

S. Maria

Santi Maurizio e Rocco

S. Giorgio (San Giorgio)

S. Eusebio (Sant’Eusebio)

Ronsecco

S. Lorenzo

Rovasenda

Maria SS. Assunta

Salasco

Beata Vergine Assunta e S. Giacomo

Sali Vercellese

Santi Desiderio Giacomo e Clemente

Saluggia

S. Antonino

S. Grato

San Germano Vercellese

S. Germano

San Giacomo Vercellese

S. Giacomo

Santhià

Santi Agata e Giorgio

Serravalle Sesia

S. Giovanni Battista

Beata Vergine Assunta (Bornate Sesia)

Santi Eusebio e Giacomo (Vintebbio)

Stroppiana

S. Michele

Tricerro

S. Giorgio

Trino

S. Bartolomeo

Beata Vergine Assunta (Lucedio)

Beata Vergine Assunta (Robella)

Tronzano Vercellese

Santi Pietro e Paolo

Santi Grato e Valentino (Salomino)

Vercelli

Beata Vergine di Lourdes

Regina Pacis

S. Agnese in S. Francesco

S. Antonio Da Padova

S. Bernardo

S. Eusebio

S. Giacomo in S. Cristoforo

S. Giuseppe

S. Maria Maddalena

S. Maria Maggiore

S. Pietro

Sacro Cuore di Gesù

Santi Tommaso e Teonesto in S. Paolo

Spirito Santo

SS. Salvatore

Beata Vergine Assunta (Cappuccini)

Beata Vergine Assunta (Larizzate)

Villarboit

S. Marco

Santi Pietro e Paolo

Notes

1. ^ Source: chiesacattolica.it (retrieved:2008-03-12 19:30:54 +0000)

References

 U. Benigni (1913). "Vercelli". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed (1913). "Vercelli". Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company.