Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Siena-Colle di Val d'Elsa-Montalcino


The Archdiocese of Siena-Colle di Val d'Elsa-Montalcino is a Roman Catholic archdiocese in Tuscany. The seat of the archbishop is the Cathedral of the Assumption in Siena. Until 1459, the diocese was immediately subject to the Holy See, and its bishops attended the Roman synods. In 1459, Pope Pius II made Siena a metropolitan archbishopric.

History

From September 1407 to January 1408, Siena played host to the papal Court of Pope Gregory XII of the Roman Obedience.
In 1423, Siena was host to what was announced as a general council of the Church. Such meetings had been mandated by the Council of Constance, and, though Pope Martin V was most reluctant to have another council like Pisa or Constance, he authorized the assembly to meet in Pavia in the Spring of 1423. On 22 June, however, alleging the presence of the pestilence in Pavia, the Pope transferred the council to Siena. On 21 July 1423 the Council reopened in Siena, though there was only one general session, on 8 November. Work continued until the papal legates dissolved the council on 26 February 1424, though the papal bull of dissolution was not published until 12 March.
On 22 April 1459, Pope Pius II issued the bull "Triumphans Pastor", in which he raised the diocese of Siena to metropolitan status, and assigned to it as suffragans the dioceses of Soano, Chiusi, Massa, and Grosseto.

Consolidation

The Second Vatican Council, in order to ensure that all Catholics received proper spiritual attention, decreed the reorganization of the diocesan structure of Italy and the consolidation of small and struggling dioceses.
In 1980, the diocese of Montalcino claimed a Catholic population of 24,500 persons. Colle di Val d'Elsa had slightly over 60,000.
On 18 February 1984, the Vatican and the Italian State signed a new and revised concordat. Based on the revisions, a set of Normae was issued on 15 November 1984, which was accompanied in the next year, on 3 June 1985, by enabling legislation. According to the agreement, the practice of having one bishop govern two separate dioceses at the same time, aeque personaliter, was abolished. This made the combining of Montalcino and Colle di Val d'Elsa under one bishop infeasable. Instead, the Vatican continued consultations which had begun under Pope John XXIII for the merging of small dioceses, especially those with personnel and financial problems, into one combined diocese. On 30 September 1986, Pope John Paul II ordered that the dioceses of Montalcino and Colle be merged with the diocese of Siena, into one diocese with one bishop, with the Latin title Archidioecesis Senensis-Collensis-Ilcinensis. The seat of the diocese was to be in Siena, and the cathedral of Siena was to serve as the cathedral of the merged dioceses. The cathedrals in Montepulciano and Colle were to become co-cathedrals, and the cathedral Chapters were to be a Capitulum Concathedralis. There was to be only one diocesan Tribunal, in Siena, and likewise one seminary, one College of Consultors, and one Priests' Council. The territory of the new diocese was to include the territory of the former dioceses of Montepulciano and of Colle.

Synods

A provincial synod was an irregularly summoned meeting of the Metropolitan Archbishop of an ecclesiastical province with his suffragan bishops and other prelates, for the purpose of legislating for and reforming the collection of dioceses which belonged to the synod. A diocesan synod was an irregularly held, but important, meeting of the bishop of a diocese and his clergy. Its purpose was to proclaim generally the various decrees already issued by the bishop; to discuss and ratify measures on which the bishop chose to consult with his clergy; to publish statutes and decrees of the diocesan synod, of the provincial synod, and of the Holy See.
Cardinal Francesco Maria Tarugi, Archbishop of Siena, presided over a provincial synod in Siena in 1599, and published the decrees of the assembly.
Archbishop Giuseppe Mancini held a provincial synod in Siena from 30 June to 7 July 1850. The sessions were attended by four suffragan bishops as well as two bishops directly dependent upon the Holy See. The decrees of the synod were published.

Bishops of Siena

to 1000

Archdiocese of Siena-Colle di Val d'Elsa-Montalcino

30 September 1986 united with the Diocese of Colle di Val d'Elsa and the Diocese of Montalcino
Latin Name: Senensis-Collensis-Ilcinensis