Roman Catholic Diocese of Trieste

The Italian Roman Catholic diocese of Trieste, in the Triveneto, has existed since no later than 524, and in its current form since 1977. The bishop's seat is in Trieste Cathedral. It is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Gorizia.^[1]

History

Saint Frugifer, consecrated in 524, was the first bishop of Trieste; the diocese was then a suffragan of the archdiocese of Aquileia.

Among the bishops were:

• Enea Silvio de' Piccolomini, later Pope Pius II;
• Pietro Bonomo, a secretary of Emperor Frederick III and Emperor Maximilian I, bishop in 1502, and known as pater concilii in the Fifth Lateran Council (1512);
• Giovanni Bogarino, teacher of Archduke Charles of Styria, bishop from 1591.

From 1787 a series of administrative changes took place, beginning with the suppression of the diocese of Pedena, which was added to that of Trieste. Emperor Joseph II then abolished the diocese of Trieste in 1788, merging it into the archdiocese of Gradisca. In 1791 Joseph's brother, Emperor Leopold II, divided the archdiocese of Gradisca into the newly-created diocese of Gorizia-Gradisca, or Görz-Gradisca, and a re-created diocese of Trieste, appointing as its bishop the tutor of his children Sigismund Anton, Count of Hohenwart. Later attempts were made to suppress the see again, but the emperor decreed its preservation, appointing Ignatius Cajetanus von Buset zu Faistenberg bishop.^[2] After his death in 1803 the see remained vacant for eighteen years, because of the disorders caused by Napoleon.

Emperor Franz II finally appointed Antonio Leonardis da Lucinico as the new bishop of Trieste in 1821. In 1828 the Slovenian diocese of Koper, or Capodistria-Koper, was united with Trieste, after which it was known as the Diocese of Trieste-Koper (Capodistria),^[3] or Triest-Capo d'Istria (in the German spelling).

Bishop Bartholomew Legat was present at the Synod of Vienna in 1849, where he defended the views of the minority in the First Vatican Council. In 1909 Bishop Franz Xaver Nagl was appointed coadjutor cum jure successionis to the ninety-year-old Cardinal Prince-Archbishop Anton Gruscha of Vienna.

In 1977 Koper / Capodistria became an independent diocese once more, leaving the diocese of Trieste in its present state.^[4]

Bishops of Trieste since 1821

• Antonio Leonardis da Lucinico (1821 - 1831)
• Matteo Raunicher (30 Sep 1831 - 1845)
• Bartolomeo Legat (12 Dec 1846 - 1875)
• Juraj (Giorgio) Dobrila (5 Jul 1875 - 1882)
• Giovanni Nepomuceno Glavina (3 Jul 1882 - 1895)
• Andrea Maria Sterk (25 Jun 1896 - 1901)
• Franz Xaver Nagl (26 Mar 1902 - 1 Jan 1910)
• Andrea Karlin (6 Feb 1911 - 15 Dec 1919)
• Angelo Bartolomasi (15 Dec 1919 - 11 Dec 1922)
• Luigi Fogar (9 Jul 1923 - 30 Oct 1936)
• Antonio Santin (16 May 1938 - 28 Jun 1975)
• Lorenzo Bellomi (17 Oct 1977 - 23 Aug 1996)
• Eugenio Ravignani (4 Jan 1997 - 4 Jul 2009)
• Giampaolo Crepaldi (4 Jul 2009 - )

Notes

1. ^ Catholic Hierarchy page
2. ^ Bishop Ignatius Cajetanus von Buset zu Faistenberg [Catholic-Hierarchy]
3. ^ also including the titular diocese of Aemona (Cittanova)
4. ^ Catholic Encyclopedia article

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