The Diocese of Aleria (Latin Dioecesis Aleriensis) is, since 2002, a titular see of the Catholic Church. It was formerly a diocese of the Latin Church in the center of the eastern coast of the island of Corsica in the Department of Haute-Corse. The town of Aleria was subject to repeated raids by Arab fleets in the eighth and ninth centuries, and, eventually, abandoned. The bishop moved to a secure stronghold to the north. From at least the eleventh century, the diocese was a suffragan of the metropolitan archdiocese of Pisa. The diocese was suppressed by the Civil Constitution of the Clergy in 1790, and was not revived by the Concordat of 1801 between the French Consulate and the Papacy."Titular Episcopal See of Aléria" GCatholic.org. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved February 29, 2016
History There is evidence that Corsica was being converted to Christianity in the late 6th century. Pope Gregory I wrote in 597 to Bishop Peter of Aleria to recover lapsed converts and to convert more pagans from the worship of trees and sacred stones (menhir). He sent him money for baptismal robes. In 601, however, Aleria was without a bishop. Gregory had sent a certain Bishop Leo as Apostolic Visitor to deal with the situation in Corsica, where there had been no bishop for some time. Pope Gregory addresses Leo as episcopus in Corsica, bishop in Corsica, not bishop of Corsica, and authorizes him to perform ordinations of priests and deacons.Gregory I, Epistolarum Liber I, no. 78 (sometimes numbered 76), in: J. P. Migne (ed.), Patrologiae Latinae Tomus LXXVII (Paris 1862), pp. 532-533. While Leo was still in Corsica, Pope Gregory sent a second bishop, Martinus to join in the Visitation.Gregory (Epistles I, no. 80; Migne, p. 533) writes to the clergy and nobility of Corsica: Gregorius clero et nobilibus Corsicae a paribus. Etsi vos multo iam tempore sine pontifice esse Dei ecclesiae non doletis, nos tamen de eius regimine cogitare et suscepti cura compellit officii.... He announces that he is sending a second bishop to work with Bishop Leo, Martinum fratrem et coepiscopum nostrum ibidem cardinalem constituere sacerdotem, Leoni vero fratri et coepiscopo nostro operam eius visitationis iniungere. The special authority of the Pope was necessary since both bishops were working in dioceses which were not their own.
With the Arab invasions, the town of Aleria was destroyed and abandoned. The bishop and cathedral retreated to the hillside town of Cervione, above the beach of Campoloro, some 25 km north of Aleria. In 846, Adelbert the tutor Corsicanae insulae informed Pope Sergius II that a force of 11,000 Saracens, with 73 ships and 500 cavalry, had come.Kehr, p. 467, no. 13. Pope Leo IV (849–855) allowed the people of Corsica, who were fleeing from the Saracens, to settle in the town of PortoKehr, p. 468, no. 14, from the "Life of Leo IV" in the Liber Pontificalis (ed. Duchesne, II, p. 126).
By the time of Pope Alexander II (1061–1073) there were several bishops functioning in Corsica again.Kehr, p. 469, no. 18. In 1077, Pope Gregory VII (1073–1085) entrusted the dioceses of the island to the Bishop of Pisa as his Vicar.Kehr, p. 469, no. 19-20. The Pope expresses happiness that the people of Corsica, after having for such a long time been subjected to the justice of the invaders, wish to return to the justice of the Holy Roman Church.Kehr, p. 469, no. 21.
In 1713 there were some 200 people living in Aleria, under the government of the Genoese, though ecclesiastically they belonged to the Metropolitan of Pisa. There were 18 towns and villages in the diocese.Ritzler, V, p. 76, note 1. In 1770, at the beginning of the French domination of Corsica, the bishop no longer lived in Aléria, but in Cervione. The Cathedral Chapter had one dignity and twelve Canons. The diocese had 160 parishes.Ritzler, VI, p. 74, note 1.
On 29 November 1801, in accordance with the Napoleontic Concordat of 1801, it was suppressed as the territory of the diocese of Ajaccio was extended to the whole of Corsica.
Today, Aleria is no longer a residential bishopric, but the name was revived as a titular see in April 2002.Annuario Pontificio 2013 (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ), p. 829
Bishops of Aleria
to 1300
Peter (596, 597)Bishop Petrus of Aleria in Corsica was ordered by Pope Gregory I in AD 596 to consecrate a basilica church with its baptistery in the village of Nigeuno. J.P. Migne (ed.), Patrologiae latinae Tomus LXXVII (Paris 1862), p. 813 (Epistolarum Liber VI no. xxii.) Ughelli, p. 502. Cappelletti, p. 328. P. Jaffé, Regesta pontificum Romanorum I editio altera (Leipzig 1885), p. 171 no. 1402. A second letter, of September 597: Jaffe, no. 1488. Bonosus (attested 649)Bishop Bonosus subscribed his name at the Lateran Synod of Pope Martin I in 649, immediately after Opportunus of Pisa and Donatus of Mariana. Ughelli, p. 502. J. D. Mansi (ed.) Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio edito novissima, Tomus decimus (10) (Florence: A. Zatta 1764), p. 867. Cappelletti, p. 329. Ughelli, followed blindly by Cappelletti, put the Synod in 646, but Pope Martin was not pope until 649. Landulphus (Landolf) (1093 – after 1119) Pope Gelasius II was just dead when the Council of Mariana took place. Cappelletti, pp. 329-330. Kehr, pp. 472-473. [Ignotus] (708) (consecrated by Pope Sisinnius)Kehr, p. 467, no. 12, from the "Vita Sisinii" in the Liber Pontificalis (ed. Duchesne, I, p. 388). It is conjectured that there was only one bishop in Corsica at that time. Hieronymus (1122 – ?) Marco de Volaterres (1139 – ?) Blaise (1172 – ?) Flavius (1179 – ?) Anthony (1190 – ?) Clement (1217 – ?) Nicholas (1228 – ?) Lombardo Cuneo (1239 – ?) Orlandu Cortincu della Petrallarretta (1249 – ?) Landolf (1257 – ?) Lombard (1258 – ?) Nicolao Fortiguerra, O.P. (1270 – ? )Nicolaus Fortiguerra was a native of Siena. Ughelli, p. 502. Cappelletti, p. 331. Gams, p. 765. Bartolomeo de Benevento, O.P. (1274 – ? )Fr. Bartolomeo was a Dominican, according to Ughelli, p. 502. Orlandu Cortincu (1289 – ? )
1300 to 1500
Salvin (1300 – ?) Guglielmo (1309 – ?) Gerardo Orlandini (1322 – 1330)Orlandini was removed from office because he was a follower of Louis the Bavarian, who had been excommunicated by Pope John XXII in 1324. In 1328 Louis had been crowned Emperor in Rome (Ughelli says it was by Orlandini), and had appointed an anti-pope "Nicholas V". Ughelli, p. 503. Eubel, I, p. 82, with n. 2. Galgano Bocca di Bue, O.Min. (1330 – 1342)Galgano was a Florentine, provided in place of Orlandini by Pope John XXII. He was transferred to the diocese of Cefalonia in 1342, where he died in 1351. Cappelletti, p. 331-332. Eubel, I, p. 82. Guglielmo Arcumbaldi (1342 – 1345)In 1345 Arcumbaldi was transferred to the diocese of Segni. Cappelletti, p. 332. Eubel, I, p. 82. Arnald, Dominican Order (O.P.) (1345.07.30 – ?), previously Bishop of Segni (Italy) (1333.10.30 – 1345.07.30)Eubel, I, p. 82. Raimond (1354 – ?) Johannes (1360 – 1362) Biagio (Blaise), O.P. (1362 – ?)Cappelletti, p. 332. Eubel, I, p. 82. Salvino da Nebbio (1366 – 1405)Salvinus had been a Canon (of Nebbio?) Ughelli, p. 503. Cappelletti, p. 332. Eubel, I, p. 82. Bartholomaeus (1406 – 1410)Bartholomaeus had been Archdeacon of Volterra. His episcopal appointment came from Pope Innocent VII of the Roman Obedience. He participated in the Council of Pisa in 1409. Cappelletti, p. 332. Eubel, I, p. 82. Ottobonus Lomellino (18 Feb 1411 – ?)Ottobrino was a native of Genoa. His episcopal appointment came from Pope John XXIII of the Pisitan-Avignon Obedience. Eubel, I, p. 82. Ioannes Leonis, O.P. (1440)Ioannes Leonis: Ughelli, p. 503. Cappelletti, p. 333, who reports that he was elected Bishop of Larino a month after he was appointed to Aleria. He is ignored in Eubel, I, p. 82; in Eubel, II, p. 172, it is reported that he was approved by the Pope as Bishop of Larino on 16 September 1440. Ambrughju d’Omessa (1440 – 1464)Ambrogio was a nephew of Bishop Giovanni d'Omessa of Mariana, Corsica. Cappelletti, p. 332. Giovanni Andrea Bussi (1469 – death 1475) Cardinal Ardicino della Porta, iuniore (22 Feb 1465 – death 4 Feb 1493) Della Porta was created Cardinal-Priest of Santi Giovanni e Paolo by Pope Innocent VIII on 9 March 1489; he was also Apostolic Administrator of Olomouc (Bohemia) (1489–1493). Eubel, II, pp. 20, 85, 206 with note 5. Girolamo Pallavicini (1493 – 1512> )A native of Genoa, Girolamo Pallavicini was the nephew of Cardinal Antoniotto Pallavicini. He did not attend the Lateran Council of 1512, but appointed a procurator, his brother Giovanni Battista Pallavicini, Bishop of Cavaillon. Cappelletti, p. 336. Eubel, II, p. 85.
since 1500
Cardinal Innocenzo Cibo (1518.06.19 – 1520.12.19) Apostolic AdministratorCybo was Cardinal-Deacon of S. Maria in Domnica (1517.06.26 – 1550.02.28), also Apostolic Administrator of Marseille (France) (1517.05.11 – 1530.01.12), also Apostolic Administrator of Ventimiglia (Italy) (1519.07.27 – 1519.08.08); and Bourges (France). Francesco Pallavicini (1520 – 1550)Francesco Pallavicini had been a Canon of the Cathedral of Genoa. He was appointed Notarius causarum palatii Apostolici. In 1542 he was made Deputy of the Fabric of St. Peter's. Eubel, III, p. 102 with notes 4 and 5. Pietro Francesco Pallavicini (1551 – death 1570)A native of Genoa, Pietro Pallavicini, a Doctor in utroque iure (Civil and Canon Law) received a dispensation to be ordained because of his youth. He was a Canon of the Vatican Basilica in succession to his uncle Carlo Pallavicini until 1552. He was also Abbot Commendatory of the monastery of S. Andrea de Sexto in Genoa. Eubel, III, p. 102 with note 6. Alessandro Sauli, (B.) (1570.02.10 – 1591.05.10)Sauli had previously been Superior General of Clerics Regular of Saint Paul (Barnabites) (1567.04.09 – 1570.02.10), and was later Bishop of Pavia (Italy) (1591.10.30 – death 1592.10.11). Sauli was named a Saint of the Roman Catholic Church in 1904, as the French parliament was debating the disestablishment of religious organizations in France. See: Mathilde Guilbaud, "La loi de séparation de 1905 ou l’impossible rupture," Revue d'histoire du XIXe siècle 28 (2004) pp. 163-173. Ottavio Belmosto (1591.07.31 – 1608)Belmosto was a priest of the diocese of Genoa, and a Doctor in utroque iure (Civil and Canon Law); he was Abbot Commendatory of the monastery of S. Maria de Matina. He needed a dispensation for consecration, since he had only been in Holy Orders for five months when named bishop. Eubel, III, p. 102 with note 8. Belmosto was later Bishop of Pavia (Italy) (1591.10.30 – death 1592.10.11) and was later created Cardinal-Priest of S. Carlo ai Catinari (1616.10.17 – death 1618.11.16) Domenico Rivarola (1608.12.10 – 1609.03.30) Rivarola was later Metropolitan Archbishop of Nazareth–Canne–Monteverde in Barletta (Italy) (1609.03.30 – death 1627.01.03), created Cardinal-Priest of S. Martino ai Monti (1611.09.12 – death 1627.01.03) Giovanni Sauli (Scali, Sacchi) (1609 – 1611) Giovan Francesco Murta (de Mirto) (1611 – 1612) Dezio Giustiniani (1612 – 1642) Cardinal Ottaviano Raggi (1643) Agostino Donghi (1643 – 1645) Cardinal Ottaviano Raggi, Apostolic Administrator. (1643.01.12 – 1643.12.31)Raggi was already Cardinal-Priest of Sant'Agostino (1642.02.10 – 1643.12.31) Giovanni Battista Imperiali (1645 – 1674) Mario Emmanuelle Durazzo (1674 – 1704)Durazzo was born in Genoa, and obtained a doctorate in utroque iure (Civil and Canon Law) from the University of Pisa (1663). He was Archdeacon of the Church of Genoa. He was approved as bishop of Aleria on 25 June 1674 and consecrated in Rome by Cardinal Camillo Massimi on 1 July 1674. He was transferred to the diocese of Mariana et Acci on 19 May 1704 (1704 – 1706). Ritzler, V, p. 76 with note 3.