ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHDIOCESE OF TURIN

The 'Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Turin' is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Italy. Founded in the 4th century and elevated to the dignity of an archdiocese on 21 May 1515, by Pope Leo X. Its mother church is the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist. Since 1999 the Archbishop of Turin has been His Eminence Severino Cardinal Poletto, while the Archbishop Emeritus is currently Giovanni Cardinal Saldarini.

Contents

History

List of Archbishops of Turin since 1871

References

History

The first 'bishop of Turin' whose name has survived was St Maximus. He can hardly be considered the first bishop of Turin, even though no other bishop is known before him. Maximus, many of whose homilies are extant, died between 408 and 423. It was another Maximus who lived in 451 and 465. In 494 Victor went with St Epiphanius to France for the ransom of prisoners of war. St Ursicinus (569-609) suffered at the hands of the Franks. It was then that the Diocese of Moriana (Maurienne) was detached from that of Turin. Other bishops were Rusticus (d. 691); Claudius of Turin (817-27), a copious and controversial writer, famous for his opposition to the veneration of images;^[1] Regimirus (of uncertain date, in the 9th century), who established a rule of common life among his canons; Amolone (880-98), who incurred the ill-will of the Turinese and was driven out by them; Gezone (1000), who founded the monastery of the holy martyrs Solutor, Adventor, and Candida; Landolfo (1037), who founded the Abbey of Cavour and repaired the damage inflicted on his Church by the Saracen incursions; Cuniberto (1046-81), to whom St Peter Damian wrote a letter exhorting him to repress the laxity of his clergy; Uguccione (1231-43), who abdicated the bishopric and became a Cistercian; Guido Canale enlarged the cathedral. Under Gianfrancesco della Rovere (1510), Turin was detached from the metropolitan obedience of Milan and became an archiepiscopal see with Mondovì and Ivrea for suffragans, other sees being added later on. In the time of Cesare Cibo the diocese saw the rise of Calvinism, and his successors were also called upon to attempt to restore Roman Catholic orthodoxy. Cardinal Gerolamo della Rovere, in 1564, brought to Turin the Holy Shroud and the body of St Maurice, the martyr.
From 1713 to 1727, owing to difficulties with the Holy See, the See of Turin remained vacant. After 1848, Luigi Cardinal Fransoni (1832-62) became notable for his opposition to the Piedmontese Government's reform of the rights of the Church, and in consequence he went into in exile. Notable among his successors are Cardinal Alimonda (1883-91), a polished writer, and Cardinal Richelmy (1897).

List of Archbishops of Turin since 1871

★ Lorenzo Gastaldi (1871 - 1883)

★ Gaetano Cardinal Alimonda (9 Aug 1883 - 30 May 1891)

★ Davide Riccardi (14 Dec 1891 - 20 May 1897)

★ Agostino Cardinal Richelmy (18 Sep 1897 - 10 Aug 1923)

★ Giuseppe Cardinal Gamba (20 Dec 1923 - 26 Dec 1929)

★ Maurilio Cardinal Fossati (11 Dec 1930 - 30 Mar 1965)

★ Michele Cardinal Pellegrino (18 Sep 1965 - 27 Jul 1977)

★ Anastasio Cardinal Ballestrero, O.C.D. † (1 Aug 1977 - 31 Jan 1989)

★ Giovanni Cardinal Saldarini (31 Jan 1989 - 19 Jun 1999)

★ Severino Cardinal Poletto (19 Jun 1999 - )

References

1. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd edition, , , , Oxford University Press, ,