Bishops of Avellino
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Diocese of Avellino Dioecesis Abellinensis |
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Cathedral in Avellino
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| Location | |
| Country | Italy |
| Ecclesiastical province | Benevento |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 394 km2 (152 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics |
(as of 2015) 166,000 (est.) 159,400 (est.) (96.0%) |
| Parishes | 64 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Catholic Church |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Established | 2nd Century |
| Cathedral | Cattedrale di S. Maria Assunta |
| Secular priests | 70 (diocesan) 21 (Religious Orders) 12 Permanent Deacons |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Bishop | Arturo Aiello |
| Map | |
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| Website | |
| www.diocesi.avellino.it | |
The Catholic Diocese of Avellino (Latin: Dioecesis Abellinensis) is in the territory of the Irpini, some 55 km (30 mi) east of Naples and 23 km (14 mi) south of Benevento, in the modern Republic of Italy. It is suffragan to the archdiocese of Benevento. The bishop of Avellino, along with the bishop of S. Agata de' Goti, had the privilege, recognized at the provincial synod of 1654, of being summoned to attend upon the death and obsequies of the archbishop of Benevento.
Bishop Lorenzo Pollicini (1653–1656) attended the provincial synod in Benevento in 1654, and also held a diocesan synod in May 1654.
Avellino was traditionally said to have been founded by St. Sabinus, a disciple of Saint Peter the Apostle, at the beginning of the 2nd century. The list of bishops, however, begins in the 12th century.
On 5 December 1456, Campania and the former duchy of Benevento were hit with a major earthquake, with over 40,000 dead. It may have been the largest on record for all of southern Italy. It was followed by another on 30 December. Benevento was for the most part destroyed, suffering between 350 and 500 dead. Brindisi, with nearly all of its inhabitants, was destroyed. Apice, in the diocese of Benevento, was completely destroyed, as was Casalduni. 2.000 died at Ariano in the territory of Avellino, and the town was in ruins; Lacedonia was reduced to dust and abandoned completely. Sant' Agata dei Goti was assai conquassata ('practically crushed;). The extensive damage and death may account, at least in part, for the diocesan reorganization of the metropolitanate of Benevento.
The Diocese of Frigento, whose list of bishops extends from 1080 to 1455, was united with that of Avellino from 9 May 1466, until 27 June 1818, when it was suppressed. During that time, however, on two occasions, the dioceses were again separated, in both cases to benefit an uncle-nephew pair, one of whom became bishop of Avellino and the other bishop of Frigento, on the understanding that, on the death of either one, the survivor would reunite the two dioceses.
In the summer of 1561 the area of Avellino was struck by a series of natural disasters. Trouble began with a major earthquake, centered on the Vallo di Diano in the Basilicata, on 24 July. On the last day of July Avellino was the victim of an extraordinary windstorm with clouds of dust so thick that the sky was obscured, which was followed by a rain of pebbles and lightning flashes, the result of an aftershock of the quake of the 24th. Damages to buildings was severe, and the people abandoned their houses and lived in the open, outside the city. On 2 August at midday a third earthquake hit, less violent than the two preceding ones. The worst of all, whose epicenter was apparently near Avellino, occurred on the afternoon of 19 August. It was felt at Naples, and at Palo near Sale 20 people died; at Sicicgnano 40 died, at Vietro another 20, 40 at Pola, and at Caggiano 30. At Avellino nearly all the houses suffered from serious cracks, especially at the Torri del Castro and the Episcopal Palace.
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Wikipedia