The Diocese of Mazara del Vallo () is a Latin church diocese of the Catholic Church in far western Sicily. Founded in 1093, it is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Palermo. David M. Cheney, Catholic-Hierarchy.org, "Diocese of Mazara del Vallo"; retrieved February 17, 2016. Gabriel Chow., GCatholic.org, "Diocese of Mazara del Vallo"; retrieved February 17, 2016.
History
The area had previously been part of the Diocese of Lilybaeum (Marsala), a port 27 mi (22.0 km) to the northwest, which was captured by the Muslims in 827.Cappelletti, Vol. 21, pp. 548-549. At that time it was a suffragan diocese of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, having earlier been dependent on Rome.Of the bishops of Lilybaeum, the best known is Paschasinus, legate of Pope Leo I at the Council of Chalcedon (451). . Under the Normans, Lilybaeum was not reestablished.
In the struggle of the Saracens against the Normans for the possession of Sicily, Mazara was hotly contested, especially in 1075 when Roger I of Sicily emerged victorious. In 1077, the port city of Trapani was captured. Mazara was captured in 1092, and, with the permission of Pope Urban II, a new diocese of Mazara del Vallo was established at the seaport of Mazara (Mazzara) in 1093.
Norman Sicily In 1093, Count Roger granted the territories forming the diocese of Mazara to Bishop Stephen of Rouen, his consanguineus (blood relative), and his successors. The territory of Trapani was included in the territory Mazara del Vallo.Donald Matthew, The Norman Kingdom of Sicily (Cambridge: CUP 1992), p. 17, with typographical error for the date of capture of "1072" for the actual "1092". Cappelletti, Vol. 21, pp. 549-550. Salvatore Corso, "Trapani," , in: Storia delle chiese di Sicilia (Città del Vaticano: Libreria editrice Vaticano 2009), pp. 749–752. Roger was insistent that the dioceses he established should belong to the Roman rite, and that the bishops should be consecrated by the pope. He applied the same policy with the foundation of the diocese of Squillace in Calabria in 1096.F. Ughelli, Italia Sacra Vol. 9 (Venice: S. Caleti 1721), pp. 426-427. Bishop Stefano de Ferro of Mazara was present at the assembly at which the document of foundation was issued, as was the papal vicar Saxo of Cassano.
The privileges of Mazara were confirmed by Pope Paschal II in the bull "Omnipotentis Dei nutu" of 15 October 1100.Pirro, II, pp. 840-842; text of the bull on p. 843. Kehr, p. 252, no. 2. Pope Paschal was at Melfi at the time, accompanied by Bishop Roger of Syracuse.
In 1130, at the request of King Roger II of Sicily, the antipope Anacletus II granted the archbishops of Palermo the right to consecrate three bishops of Sicily: Syracuse, Agrigento and Mazara. This made the three dioceses suffragans of the metropolitan of Palermo. This arrangement was confirmed by Pope Adrian IV in 1156.Kehr, pp. 250; 262, no. 3, no. 4.
In 1176, a part of the diocesan territory was transferred to the abbey of Monreale.Kehr, pp. 251, 276.
The diocese was obligated to pay an annual pension to the Chapter of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome.Cappelletti, p. 549.
It is noted that in 1101, Basilian monks were in possession of the monastery of Santa Maria de Alto and at Santi Niccolo e Giovanni. Benedictine monks had a monastery at San Michele Archangelo.Cappelletti, p. 550. There was also a Basilian monastery of San Michele, founded 1127 by George of Antioch, the admiral of King Roger II.Jaffé, p. 251. Some, at least, of its documents have been labelled forgeries. The monastery of Sainte-Marie de l'Abita was founded in 1383, by Enrico Vintimille, the lord if Abita.
Cathedral The cathedral, founded by Count Roger and Bishop Stefano, was later embellished by Bishop Tustino (1157–1180). Dedicated to the Holy Savior, it had a ChapterC.D. Fonseca, "La cattedrale e il suo Capitolo. Analisi comparata in prospettiva storica, ecclesiologica e canonistica," , in: Annali di Studi Religiosi Vol. 4 (2003), pp. 215-235. composed of four dignities and eighteen Canons.Ritzler-Sefrin, VI, p. 282 note 1. Cappelletti, vol. 21, p. 549. The dignities are: the Cantor, the Archdeacon, the Dean, and the Treasurer. the right of appointment of the Cantor belongs to the Pope. If a vacancy in one of the other dignities or a canonicate occurs between January and June, the right of appointment belongs to the Pope, and if the vacancy occurs between July and December, to the Bishop .
Bishop Carlos Impellizzeri (1650 – 1654) and Bishop Giovanni Lonzano had the bell tower and most of the façade constructed.Castelli, p. 321, col. 2.
A fair was held annually on 6 August, in honor of the Savior, the dedicant of the cathedral.H. Bresc, 'Les territoires de la grâce: l'évêché de Mazara (1430–1450," in: D. Coulon; C. Otten-Froux, P. Pagès, and D. Valérian (edd.), Chemins d'outre-mer (Paris: Editions de a Sorbonne 2016), p. 78.
Post-Tridentine events A diocesan synod was held under Bishop Antonio Lombardo (1573 – 1579) in 1575.Constitutiones et decreta condita in plena Synodo Diocesana sub ill.mo et rev.mo D. A.Lombardo, episc. mazariensis (Panormi: apud J.M. Maydam 1575). Ephemerides iuris canonici, Volume 47 (Rome-Venice: Officium libri catholici, 1991), p. 6.
Bishop Bernardo Gascó (1579–1586) founded the diocesan clerical seminary in accordance with the decrees of the Council of Trent in 1580.Cappelletti, vol. 21, p. 552-553. He held a diocesan synod in 1584.Gams, p. 949.
Cardinal Giovanni Domenico Spinola, bishop of Mazara (1636–1646), visited the diocese twice, in 1640 and in 1646. He held a diocesan synod in 1641, and published its decrees in a volume of 291 pages.Cappelletti, p. 554. Mazariensis Ecclesiae Synodus ab eminent.mo et reuerend.mo domino d. Ioanne Dominico Spinola, , Panormo: apud Petrum Coppulam, 1641. Bishop Franciscus Maria Graffeo (1685–1695) held a diocesan synod in 1694.Cappelletti, p. 555. Bishop Bartolomeo Castelli (1695–1730) presided over a diocesan synod on 15 July 1698, and published the revised and amplified diocesan statutes.Decreta synodalia mazariensis ecclesiæ ab eminentiss. et reverendiss. dom. D. Ioanne Dominico Spinola ... edita. Ab illustriss. ... D. Bartholomæo Castelli episcopo mazariensi confirmata addictionibus, et variationibus aucta ann. Dom. 1698, Trapani: per Bartholom. de Franco, 1699.
In 1670, the city of Mazara had approximately 9,000 inhabitants.Ritzler & Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica V, p. 261, note 1. In 1742, the town of Mazara had approximately 6000 citizens.Ritzler & Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica VII, p. 282, note 1.
On 8 June 1844, the diocese of Trapani was established by Pope Gregory XVI, with the bull "Ut Animarum Pastores." Six towns and their territories were withdrawn from the northern part of the diocese of Mazara.Acta Gregorii Papae XVI: Pars prima canonica, Volumen III, pp. 346–351. Collezione degli atti emanati dopo la pubblicazione del Concordato dell'anno 1818: I brevi e le lettere apostoliche, i reali decreti e rescritti, le circolari ed istruzioni pubblicate da gennajo 1842 a tutto dicembre 1844; non che una copiosa appendice a' precedenti volumi, , Volume 10 (Napoli: Stamperia dell'Iride, 1847), pp. 191–210.
By a decree of the Consistorial Congregation of the Roman Curia, and with the approval of Pope Pius XII, on 15 September 1950 the communities of Alcamo, Calatafimi, Castellammare del Golfo, and the territory of Borgo Fazio were removed from the diocese of Mazara and transferred to the diocese of Trapani. At the same time, the island of Pantelleria (Cossura) was transferred from Trapani to Mazara.Acta Apostolicae Sedis Vol. 42 (Città del Vaticano 1950), pp. 888-889.
By virtue of the Apostolic Letter, "Ianua Coeli", of 10 March 1962, Pope John XXIII officially recognized the Virgin Mary (under the title of Madonna del Paradiso), and Saints Vito, Modesto, and Crescentia as the patrons of the diocese of Mazara.Acta Apostolicae Sedis Vol. 54 (Città del Vaticano 1962), pp. 774-775.
Bishops of Mazara del Vallo to 1300
(1093 – ca. 1125) : Stephanus de FerroIn 1093 Count Roger granted the territories forming the diocese of Mazara to Bishop Stephen and his successors, with permission of Pope Urban II. The privileges were confirmed by Pope Paschal II in a bull of 15 October 1100. Pirro, II, pp. 840-842. Gams, p. 948 Ubertus (by 1157 – 1180) : Tustinus (Tristanus)Tustinus, or Tristinus, or Justinus, apparently subscribed a document: Ego Tustinus, Dei gratia Mazarensis qui et Lilybitanus. In 1157 he subscribed a grant of King William I of Sicily (1154–1166). He was a friend and Councilor of William II (1166–1189). In October 1176, at the request of William II and with the consent of the Chapter of Marzara, Tustin ceded the town(s) of Giati and Calatrasi to the Abbot of Monreale and new Bishop, Theobald. In 1177 he attended the coronation of Queen Joanna, daughter of Henry II of England. The name Tustinus Episcopus appears on the new pulpit of the cathedral. He died on 23 October 1180. Pirro, pp. 844-845. Gams, p. 949. Benvenutus, O.Min.Benvenutus: Eubel, I, 331. (attested 1182, 1183) : MatthaeusKamp, p. 1173. (attested 1188) : Laurentius (attested 1193) : IgnotusKamp, p. 1174, with note 11, concerning uncertainty whether this reference belongs to Mazara. (attested 1198, 1199) : Ignotus (attested 1198, 1199)This may have been Bishop Petrus. Kamp, p. 1174. Pirro, II, p. 845, reports a Bishop Trojanus, though Kemp, at note 14, reports that a copyist notes that the name is illegible; the copyist is not the one used by Pirro. (attested 1200, 1201) : PetrusKamp, pp. 1174-1176. (attested 1208) : IgnotusKamp, p. 1176. Julianus (attested 1226)Kamp, p. 1176. Pirro reports the name as possibly being Ioannes, on the authority of Archbishop Torres. (attested 10 October 1239) : Ignotus notes that the See was vacant in March 1239. That it was occupied on 10 October is an inference: see Kamp, p. 1177, note 38. Pirro, II, p. 845, col. 1: "Quintilius Episcopus Lilybaeus fecit librum de donationibus factis Ecclesiae Romananae. 1259. an sit Mazarensis?". (18 January 1256 – 10 August 1270) : Nicolaus, O.Cist.Nicholas was in exile from 1256–1266. Kamp, pp. 1178-1179. Kamp conjectures that Lucas was Administrator in the name of Manfred. (attested 1260) : LucasKamp, p. 1179. (1270) : Benvenutus, O.Cist. (1271 – 6 April 1283) : Ioannes Fulvius (Fulcus)Joannes de Ferro de Marsalia: Kamp, pp. 1179-1182. The name depends on the identification of Bishop Ioannes as the brother of the Justiciar Berardus de Ferro: Kamp, p. 1179 note 64. (c. 1288) : GuilelmusGuilelmus was the successor of Joannes. His name occurs in the episcopal list, and there are documents of 1288. Pirro, p. 845, col. 2. Cappelletti, vol. 21, p. 549. Eubel I, p. 331.
from 1300 to 1500
(1305 – 1313) : Gothofredus Roncioni (1313 – 1327) : Peregrinus de Pactis O.P. (1327 – 1330) : Petrus Roganus, O.P. (1330 – 1334) : Ferrarius de Abella, O.P.Ferrarius had been Inquisitor in Sicily. He had been Bishop of Neopatras (Greece) (1323–1330). On 28 September 1330, he was appointed bishop of Mazara by Pope John XXII, who had reserved the appointment to the Papacy, and was allowed to keep the diocese of Neopatras as administrator. He was transferred to the diocese of Barcelona on 30 August 1334, the election of Canon Guillaume having been rejected. He died on 21 December 1344. Pirro, II, p. 846. G. Mollat, Jean XXII. Lettres communes. Anni XV , Vol. 10 (Paris: Fontemoing 1930), p. 17, nos. 50991-50992. Eubel, I, p. 128 with note 4; 332; 362. (14 June 1335 – 1342) : Hugo de Pistoria, O.P.Hugo was a native of Vicenza, and had been the Dominican Prior Provincial of the Province of Lower Lombardy. He was named Bishop of Justiniopolis (Capodistria) (1328–1335). Pirro, II, p. 846. Eubel, I, p. 288, 332. (20 November 1342 – 1347) : BernardusBernardus: Pirro, II, p. 846. Eubel, I, p. 332. (22 June 1347 – 1349) : RaimundusRaimundus: Pirro, II, p. 846. Eubel, I, p. 332.