The Archdiocese of Lucca ( la, Archidioecesis Lucensis) is a

Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...

ecclesiastical territory or

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. The diocese dates back as a diocese to the 1st century; it became an archdiocese in 1726. The episcopal see is

Lucca Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957. Lucca is known as one ...

. It is not a

metropolitan see Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a ...

, has no suffragan dioceses, and is exempt directly to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

History

During the

Gothic Wars The Gothic Wars were a long series of conflicts between the Goths and the Roman Empire between the years 249 and 554. The main wars are detailed below. Gothic War (249–253) (Goths under Cniva against the Roman Empire) The War was probably in ...

the city of

was besieged and taken by

Totila Totila, original name Baduila (died 1 July 552), was the penultimate King of the Ostrogoths, reigning from 541 to 552 AD. A skilled military and political leader, Totila reversed the tide of the Gothic War, recovering by 543 almost all the t ...

in 550. Hoping for assistance from the

Franks The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...

, the Lucchesi obstinately resisted the attack of

Narses , image=Narses.jpg , image_size=250 , caption=Man traditionally identified as Narses, from the mosaic depicting Justinian and his entourage in the Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna , birth_date=478 or 480 , death_date=566 or 573 (aged 86/95) , allegi ...

, surrendering only after a siege of seven months (553). It later fell into the hands of the

Lombards The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the '' History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 an ...

, was thenceforward a place of great importance, and became the favourite seat of the Marquesses of Tuscany. In 981 Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor bestowed on its bishop civil jurisdiction over the entire diocesan territory; but in 1081 Emperor Henry IV made it a free city and conferred other favours upon it, especially in the way of trade. This was the origin of the

Republic of Lucca The Republic of Lucca ( it, Repubblica di Lucca) was a medieval and early modern state that was centered on the Italian city of Lucca in Tuscany, which lasted from 1160 to 1805. Its territory extended beyond the city of Lucca, reaching the surr ...

. Lucca was generally on the side of the pope against the emperor, and hence joined the League of S. Ginesio (1197). There is a legend that the

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

was preached at Lucca by St. Paulinus, a disciple of St. Peter, and the discovery in 1197 of a stone, recording the deposition of the relics of Paulinus, a holy martyr, apparently confirmed this belief. On the stone, however, St. Paulinus is not called Bishop of Lucca, nor is there any allusion to his having lived in Apostolic times. The first bishop of certain date is Maximus, present at the

Council of Sardica The Council of Serdica, or Synod of Serdica (also Sardica located in modern day Sofia, Bulgaria), was a synod convened in 343 at Serdica in the civil diocese of Dacia, by Emperors Constans I, augustus in the West, and Constantius II, augustus in the ...

(343). At the

Council of Rimini The Council of Ariminum, also known after the city's modern name as the Council of Rimini, was an early Christian church synod. In 358, the Roman Emperor Constantius II requested two councils, one of the western bishops at Ariminum and one of th ...

(359), Paulinus, Bishop of Lucca, was present. Perhaps the above-mentioned legend arose through a repetition of this Paulinus. Remarkable for sanctity and miracles was St. Fridianus (Frediano) (560–588), son of Ultonius, King of Ireland, or perhaps of a king of

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

(Ultonia), of whom in his "Dialogues" (III, 10)

Gregory the Great Pope Gregory I ( la, Gregorius I; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregoria ...

relates a miracle. In 739, during the episcopate of Walprandus, Richard, King of the Angles and father of the Saints

Willibald Willibald (; c. 700 – c.787) was an 8th-century bishop of Eichstätt in Bavaria. Information about his life is largely drawn from the Hodoeporicon (itinerary) of Willibald, a text written in the 8th century by Huneberc, an Anglo-Saxon nun fr ...

, Wunibald, and

Walburga Walpurga or Walburga ( ang, Wealdburg, la, Valpurga, Walpurga, Walpurgis, sv, Valborg; c. AD 71025 February 777 or 779), also spelled Valderburg or Guibor, was an Anglo-Saxon missionary to the Frankish Empire. She was canonized on 1 May c. 870 ...

, died at Lucca and was buried in the church of S. Frediano. Under Blessed Giovanni (787) it is said the Volto Santo was brought to Lucca. Other bishops were: * Anselmo Badagio (1073), later Pope Alexander II; *succeeded as bishop by his nephew Anselm of Lucca, a noted writer; * Apizio (1227), under whom Lucca was deprived of its episcopal see for six years by

Pope Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX ( la, Gregorius IX; born Ugolino di Conti; c. 1145 or before 1170 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decre ...

; *the Franciscan Giovanni Salvuzzi (1383), who built the episcopal palace; * Nicolò Guinigi (1394), exiled by his relative

Paolo Guinigi Paolo Guinigi (c. 1372 - 1432) was a lord of Lucca from 1400 until 1430. Biography Paolo was born in Lucca in 1372. He was the youngest son of Francesco Guinigi, member of one of the most outstanding families of Lucca. He was sent to London in 13 ...

, Lord of Lucca. In 1408

Pope Gregory XII Pope Gregory XII ( la, Gregorius XII; it, Gregorio XII; – 18 October 1417), born Angelo Corraro, Corario," or Correr, was head of the Catholic Church from 30 November 1406 to 4 July 1415. Reigning during the Western Schism, he was oppos ...

went to Lucca to come to a personal agreement with the

antipope Benedict XIII Pedro Martínez de Luna y Pérez de Gotor (25 November 1328 – 23 May 1423), known as in Spanish and Pope Luna in English, was an Aragonese nobleman who, as Benedict XIII, is considered an antipope (see Western Schism) by the Catholic Church ...

, and was there abandoned by his cardinals. Also: * the writer Felino Maria Sandeo (1499), nephew of

Ariosto Ludovico Ariosto (; 8 September 1474 – 6 July 1533) was an Italian poet. He is best known as the author of the romance epic ''Orlando Furioso'' (1516). The poem, a continuation of Matteo Maria Boiardo's ''Orlando Innamorato'', describes the ...

; *Cardinal Sisto della Rovere (1508); *Cardinal Francesco Sforza Riario (1517) *Cardinal Bartolommeo Guidiccioni (1605), under whom the Diocese of San Miniato was formed and separated from Lucca; *Cardinal Girolamo Bonvisi (1657); * Bernardino Guinigi (1723), the first archbishop (1726); *the scholar Gian Domenico Mansi (1764–1769); * Benedetto Lorenzelli (1904-1910), last nuncio to Paris before the separation (resigned as nuncio to France in 1904) (Cardinal in 1907).

Parishes

The archdiocese has a total of 362 parishes, all of which fall within the (civil)

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

of Tuscany. 354 are in the

Province of Lucca The province of Lucca ( it, provincia di Lucca) is a province in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Lucca. It has an area of and a total population of about 390,000. There are 33 '' comuni'' (singular: ''comune'') in the pr ...

and 8 in the

Province of Pistoia The province of Pistoia ( it, provincia di Pistoia) is a province in the Tuscany region of central Italy. Its capital is the city of Pistoia and the province is landlocked. It has an area of and a total population of 291,788 inhabitants (as of 2 ...

.Source for parishes: . For a listing of parishes by province and commune see List of parishes of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lucca.

Notes and references

Bibliography

* Guidi, P. "Serie cronologica dei vescovi e degli arcivescovi di Lucca," ''Schola Clericorum et Cura Animarum'', Vol. V, 1905, to Vol. XI, 1911. Lucca. * Nicolai, U. (1966). ''I vescovi di Lucca.'' Lucca, 1966.

External links

* Benigni, Umberto
"Lucca."
The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. Retrieved: 23 November 2019.
List of bishops
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roman Catholic Archdiocese Of Lucca

Province of Lucca Province of Pistoia

Lucca

History

Parishes

See also

Notes and references

Bibliography

External links