Roman Catholic Diocese of Lamezia Terme

Diocese of Lamezia Terme
Dioecesis Neocastrensis

Cathedral of Lamezia Terme
Location
Country Italy
Ecclesiastical province Catanzaro-Squillace
Statistics
Area 915 km2 (353 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics
(as of 2004)
140,000
139,400 (99.6%)
Parishes 60
Information
Denomination Catholic Church
Rite Roman Rite
Established 6th Century
Cathedral Cattedrale di Ss. Pietro e Paolo
Current leadership
Pope Francis
Bishop Luigi Antonio Cantafora
Emeritus Bishops Vincenzo Rimedio
Map

The Italian Catholic Diocese of Lamezia Terme (Latin: Dioecesis Neocastrensis) is in Calabria. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Catanzaro-Squillace.

Before 1986, it was the historic Diocese of Nicastro, the name change reflecting the incorporation of the comune of Nicastro into Lamezia Terme, an administrative change from 1968.[1]

History

For a long time, the Greek Rite was in use at Nicastro. The first bishop of this city of whom there is any record was Henry (1090); Bishop Tancredo da Monte Foscolo (1279) was deposed by Pope Honorius IV for having consecrated James II of Sicily, but he was reinstated by Pope Boniface VIII.

Bishop Paolo Capisucco (1533) was one of the judges in the case of the marriage of Henry VIII of England; Marcello Cervino (1539) became Pope Marcellus II; Giovanni Tommaso Perrone (1639) built the new cathedral.

In 1818 the ancient see of Martorano, the former Mamertum (the first bishop of which was Domnus, in 761), was united to the diocese of Nicastro. The diocese was a suffragan of the archdiocese of Reggio in Calabria.[2]

Notes

  1. Catholic Hierarchy page
  2. Catholic Encyclopedia article

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