Roman Catholic Diocese of Bergamo

Diocese of Bergamo
Dioecesis Bergomensis

Bergamo Cathedral
Location
Country Italy
Ecclesiastical province Milan
Statistics
Area 4,243 km2 (1,638 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics		 (as of 2015)
995,323
930,000 (est.) (96.3%)
Parishes 389
Information
Denomination Roman Catholic
Rite Latin Rite
Established 4th Century
Cathedral Basilica Cattedrale di S. Alessandro in Colonna
Secular priests 727 (diocesan)
193 (Religious Orders)
Current leadership
Pope Francis
Bishop Francesco Beschi
Emeritus Bishops Lino Bortolo Belotti
Map
Website
diocesi.bergamo.it

The Diocese of Bergamo (Latin: Dioecesis Bergomensis) is a see of the Catholic Church in Italy, and is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Milan.[1][2] It was founded in the fourth century AD, and its first bishop was Saint Narno, who was succeeded by Viator.

Patron saint

August 26 is the feast day of Bergamo's patron, Saint Alexander, who is believed to have been a Roman centurion of the Theban legion imprisoned for his Christian beliefs. He escaped, was recaptured, and was executed as a martyr around 297 AD. There is a church, San Alessandro da Bergamo, had been dedicated to him since the earliest days of the diocese. It is currently administered by Benedictine priests.

Parishes

The 390 parishes all fall within the Lombardy region. 375 are within the civil Province of Bergamo, 14 in the civil Province of Lecco, and one in the civil Province of Brescia.[3] In the diocese of Bergamo in 2015 there was one priest for every 1,010 Catholics.

Liturgical Rite

An unusual feature of diocesan life is that for historical reasons a number of the parishes in the diocese, even if a minority, celebrate the liturgy not according to the Roman Rite, but according to the Ambrosian Rite. The areas in question are the vicariate of Calolzio-Caprino (Calolziocorte, Caprino Bergamasco, Carenno, Cisano Bergamasco, Erve, Monte Marenzo, Torre de' Busi and Vercurago) and the parishes of Averara, Brumano, Cassiglio, Cusio, Ornica, Santa Brigida, Taleggio, Valtorta and Vedeseta.


Bishops

Missionary activities

The diocese maintains strong relations with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cochabamba in Bolivia. Priests of the diocese work in parishes in Cuba and Côte d'Ivoire

Diocesan synod

In 2007, the diocese opened its 37th Diocesan Synod, a gathering dedicated to problems and opportunities confronting parishes in the twenty-first century.

Notable people in the history of the diocese


References

  1. ↑ "Diocese of Bergamo" Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. retrieved March 24, 2016
  2. ↑ "Diocese of Bergamo" GCatholic.org. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved March 24, 2016
  3. ↑ Source for parishes: CCI (2008), Parrocchie, Chiesa Cattolica Italiana, retrieved 2008-03-14

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