The Diocese of Chiavari () is a

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, 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 Roman province, prov ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Liguria Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...

, northern

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. It was created on 3 December 1892 by

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

in the Bull ''Romani Pontifices''. It is a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...

of the Archdiocese of Genoa.

History

Chiavari Chiavari (; ) is a seaside comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa, in Italy. It has about 28,000 inhabitants. It has a beachside promenade and a marina and is situated near the river Entella (river), Entella. History Pre-Rom ...

became an episcopal see in 1892, but until 1896 it was administered by Tommaso Reggio, the Archbishop of Genoa, to which diocese it originally belonged, through his auxiliary bishop and vicar general, Fortunato Vinelli, titular bishop of Epiphania (Cilicia, Ottoman Empire). The first bishop of Chiavari was Fortunato Vinelli. He was officially transferred from Genoa to the diocese of Chiavari by Pope Leo XIII on 29 March 1896. The creation of a new diocese, a rare event in the modern Church in Italy, was a solution to the rapid growth of population in Genoa due to industrialization. In the bull ''Romani Pontifices'' Pope Leo notes that the city of Chiavari had a population surpassing 12,000, and that requests for the creation of a diocese also came from Rapalla, Lavania, and Santa Margharita. In fact, pressure had been building for more than a decade. A not inconsequential factor, as the Pope admits, came from the testamentary bequest in 1884 of one-third of the estate of Francesco Bancalari, a priest of Chiavari, which was earmarked for the creation of a diocese of Chiavari, if and when the Holy See acted positively. A final consideration, as far as timing was concerned, was the death of the Archbishop of Genoa, Salvatore Magnasco, on 12 January 1892. Arrangements could be made for the new diocese with a new archbishop, who was appointed on 11 July, without insult or diminution of the status and powers of the recently deceased Archbishop. The first diocesan synod was held by Bishop Vinelli in 1899, with 240 priests participating. The second synod was held by Bishop Casabona in 1921, and the third on 17–19 October 1933. The Fourth Diocesan Synod was held by Bishop Daniele Ferrari in 1987. On 5 July 1899 the new seminary, named in honor of Leo XIII, was blessed by Archbishop Reggio of Genoa. The old seminary had been established by the Archbishop of Genoa, Cardinal Luigi Lambruschini (1819–1830).

Cathedral and Chapter

The church which was designated as the new cathedral was built between 1613 and 1633 as a shrine for the image of the Virgin Mary which was given credit for stopping the pestilence of 1493. Administration of the church was put in the hands of the Discalced Carmelites, until all religious orders were suppressed under orders of the French occupation authorities in 1797. A reconstruction was begun in 1823, with a façade designed by an architect called Luigi Poletti. The new façade and ''pronaos'' of the Cathedral was blessed by Cardinal Andrea Ferrari in 1907. In accordance with the bull of erection of Leo XIII, the Cathedral Chapter was to consist of ten Canons. It was to be presided over by a Provost, and there was to be a Canon Theological and a Canon Penitentiary. The cathedral was granted the status of a

minor basilica Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectura ...

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X (; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing Modernism in the Catholic Church, modern ...

on 27 November 1904. The current bishop is Giampio Luigi Devasini, appointed on 10 April 2021 by

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

Bishops

*1893–1910: Fortunato Vinelli *1911–1916: Giovanni Gamberoni *1917–1917: Natale Serafino *1917–1948: Amedeo Casabona *1948–1971: Francesco Marchesani *1971–1973: Luigi Maverna *1973–1995: Daniele Ferrari *1995–2004: Alberto Maria Careggio *2004–2021: Alberto Tanasini *2021–........: Giampio Luigi Devasini

Parishes

The diocese has 139 parishes, all within the province of

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

, including several parishes transferred from the diocese of La Spezia (and several transferred to La Spezia) on 26 July 1959. The diocesan web site maintains a current list of parishes, divided into five Vicariates.Diocesi di Chiavari
''Parrocchie''
retrieved: 2018-05-12. Borzonasca: ''S. Bartolomeo Apostolo, S. Giovanni Battista, S. Margherita V, S. Maria Assunta, S. Vincenzo e Anastasio, S. Rocco, S. Maria Assunta, S. Andrea Apostolo, S. Lorenzo, S. Martino'' Carasco: ''S. Marziano, S. Pietro, S. Eufemiano, S. Nicolò, S. Quirico, S. Maria'' Casarza Ligure: ''Nostra Signora della Speranza, S. Lorenzo, S. Maria Assunta, S. Martino, S. Michele Arcangelo, S. Bernardo e SS. Concezione'' Castiglione Chiavarese: ''S. Antonino Martire, S. Pietro, S. Rocco e Gaetano, S. Michele, S. Maria Assunta, S. Martino''

: ''N. S. della Pace e di S. Bernardo, S. Andrea, S. Giacomo di Rupinaro, S. Giovanni Battista, S. Giuseppe, S. Maria e S. Biagio di Bacezza, S. Michele, S. Margherita, S. Martino, S. Pietro, San Pier di Canne, S. Antonino Martire'' Cicagna: ''S. Giovanni Battista, S. Rocco, S. Bartolomeo'' Cogorno: ''S. Antonino Martire, S. Lorenzo, S. Maria, S. Colombano, S. Salvatore'' Coreglia Ligure: ''S. Martino, S. Nicolò, S. Giacomo'' Favale di Malvaro: ''S. Vincenzo Martire, S. Martino, S. Bernardo,

Lavagna Lavagna is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa, in the Italian region of Liguria. History and culture The village, unlike nearby Chiavari which has pre-Ancient Rome, Roman evidence, seems to have developed in Ancient ...

, S. Giulia, S. Maria del Ponte, S. Maria Madre della Chiesa, S. Stefano, S. Pietro, S. Concezione, S. Maria Assunta'' Leivi: ''S. Rufino, S. Tommaso, S. Michele'' Lorsica: ''S. Maria, S. Giuseppe, N. S. dell’Orto, S. Andrea'' Lumarzo: ''S. Margherita, S. Maria Maddalena, S. Tommaso, S. Stefano, S. Maurizio'' Mezzanego: ''S. Maria Assunta, S. Maria della Neve, S. Michele Arcangelo, S. Siro'' Moconesi: ''S. Cuore e di S. Margherita, S. Giuseppe e Margherita, S. Ambrogio, S. Giacomo'' Moneglia: ''S. Croce, S. Giorgio, S. Maria Assunta, S. Saturnino'' Ne: ''S. Cipriano e Giustina, S. Lorenzo, S. Biagio, S. Maria Assunta, S. Maria e Michele, S. Bartolomeo, S. Pietro, S. Antonio, S. Apollinare'' Neirone: ''S. Maurizio, S. Marco, S. Rocco, S. Lorenzo'' Orero: ''S. Ambrogio, S. Michele Arcangelo''

Portofino Portofino (; ) is a ''comune'' located in the Metropolitan City of Genoa on the Italian Riviera. The town is clustered around its small harbour, and is known for the colourfully painted buildings that line the shore. Since the late 19th centur ...

: ''S. Martino''

Rapallo Rapallo ( , , ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa, in the Italy, Italian region of Liguria. As of 2017 it had 29,778 inhabitants. It lies on the Ligurian Sea coast, on the Tigullio Gulf, between Portofino and ...

: ''S. Andrea, S. Anna, S. Maria del Campo, S. Martino, S. Massimo, S. Pietro, Quirico'' San Colombano Certenoli: ''S. Maria, S. Maurizio, S. Michele, S. Stefano, S. Trinità, S. Bernardo, S. Maria Assunta, S. Martino del Monte, S. Colombano, S. Giacomo di Corte, S. Margherita, S. Siro, S. Maria Assunta, S. Lorenzo della Costa'' Sestri Levante: ''S. Antonio, S. Bartolomeo della Ginestra, S. Bernardo, Basilica di Santa Maria di Nazareth, Sestri Levante, San Nicolò dell'isola di Sestri Levante, S. Stefano del Ponte, S. Giacomo, S. Paolo, S. Pietro, S. Vittoria, S. Sabina'' Zoagli: ''S. Ambrogio, S. Martino, S. Pietro, S. Giovanni Battista''

Notes and references

Bibliography

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External links

{{authority control

Province of Genoa