Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Trento


The Italian Catholic Archdiocese of Trento, in the Triveneto, is a Latin Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese n amed after its see in Alpine Italy, Trento, in Trentino-Alto Adige region. On 31 May 1027, the Emperor Conrad II granted the bishops of Trent the County of Trent, making the bishops part of the German Empire, and thereby beginning the history of the prince-bishopric. As a prince-bishopric, the bishop's temporal possessions also constituted a state of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1803, the prince-bishopric was secularized and assigned to the Kingdom of Bavaria, but in 1810 Napoleon claimed it for his kingdom of Italy. On Napoleon's fall, the Tyrol became part of the Austrian Empire.
The seat of the archbishop is in the Minor basilica Cattedrale di S. Vigilio Vescovo in Trento. The diocese has two other minor basilicas: the Basilica S. Maria Maggiore, and the Basilica di Ss. Sisinio, Martirio e Alessandro.

History

It is said that Christianity was introduced in the Val d'Adige circa 200 AD, where the Diocese of Trento was later established. The diocese, however, was a creation of the 4th century.It became a suffragan of the Patriarchs of Aquileia-Grado.
The original cathedral of S. Vigilius was founded c. 400, and restored and rebuilt several times during the Middle Ages. It was rededicated under Bishop Altmannus by the Patriarch of Aquileia, Peregrinus, in 1145.
In 1786, it gained territory from the Diocese of Feltre.
In August 1797, French invasion troops under General Masséna occupied Trent. They were forced to retreat in the winter, due to the Austrian advance. But they returned in January 1801, and after the Treaty of Lunéville on 9 February 1801, the prince-bishopric of Trent was abolished and its government secularized ; its territory was handed over to Austria and made a part of the province of the Tirol. In 1805, Trent, The Tirol, and the city and territory of Roveredo were transferred to the Kingdom of Bavaria. In 1810, the Emperor N. Bonaparte, King of Italy, transferred Trent to his new Kingdom of Italy, declaring Trent to be the departmental capital of the Alto Adige, and requiring it to be administered entirely by Italians.
From 1809 until 1814, Pope Pius VII was a prisoner in France, and unable to deal with the changes being made by Napoleon. On his fall, however, the pope faced a chaos in the Churches which had suffered the intrusion of the French. New diplomatic and ecclesiastical arrangements with the various restored powers were necessary. On 9 May 1818, therefore, Pius VII issued the bull "Ex Imposito", formalizing the agreements which had been reached with the Austrian Emperor Francis I concerning the provinces of Tyrol and Voralberg. The Pope noted that in a very large area there were only three dioceses

Diocesan synods

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.
Bishop Fredericus von Wangen presided over a diocesan synod in Trent in 1208, and issued Synodal Statutes concerning the election of church dignities. The Teutonic Knight, Fr. Henricus, O.T., held a diocesan synod on 6 November 1276. Bishop Enrico di Metz held a diocesan synod on 14 January 1336, the complete proceedings of which were published by Benedetto Bonelli. In 1344, Bishop Nicolò da Bruna held a diocesan synod.
A diocesan synod was held in the cathedral of Trent by Bishop Udalrich Frundsberg on 17–18 March 1489. Bishop Uldarich von Liechtenstein held a synod on 4–5 April 1497.
Bishop Georg von Neideck held a diocesan synod. Cardinal Bernhard von Cles held a diocesan synod, in 1538. Cardinal Ludovico Madruzzo held a diocesan synod in 1575, in which it was decreed that clerics should not grow mustaches, since it might interfere with drinking the blood of Christ from the communion cup. Madruzzo held another synod in 1593.

Bishops and Archbishops

Bishops of Trento

to 900

Episcopal lists