History
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Cesena was the ancient Cæsena.
The very first catalog of the bishops of Cesena was drawn up by Antonio Casari of Cesena in the middle of the 16th century. The work is lost, but its contents, and a good deal more, were published by Fra Bernardino Manzoni, O.Min., of Cesena, the Inquisitor of Pisa, in his Caesenae chronologia (1643).[2] The claim used to be made that the founder of Christianity in Cesena, and its first bishop, was Philemon, to whom Paul of Tarsus addressed an epistle.[3] Another 1st century bishop, Isidorus, is said to have lived in the time of Pope Anacletus (c.79–c.91) and to have been a martyr; his existence depends on a single document, which no one has seen, and Isidore is therefore generally rejected.[4] A bishop is posited in the second half of the 2nd century, since Pope Eleutherius (c. 174–189) consecrated his cathedral; but until the Edict of Milan, Christianity was an illegal assembly, and was not allowed to own property or build churches; the story is rightly rejected as an "impudent forgery".[5]
After the overthrow of the Ostrogoths it became a part of the Exarchate of Ravenna. By the Donation of Pepin (752),[6] it became a fief of the Holy See, which was confirmed in its possession by King Rudolph I of Germany (1275, 1278).[7]
In medieval times Cesena was governed by various families, among them the Ordelaffi di Forli and the Malatesta, the latter being remembered for their justice and good government.
On 27 May 1357, a major fire destroyed many of the buildings in the episcopal compound.[8]
On 1 February 1377, Cesena was the witness to, and the victim of, an assault by Breton mercenary troops in the service of Pope Gregory XI and the Papacy. The massacre was ordered by Cardinal Robert of Geneva, the papal legate in northern Italy.[9]
In 1500, Cesare Borgia, having resigned the cardinalate and been given the title of "Gonfaloniere of the Holy Roman Church" and Captain General of the papal armies, began the conquest of the Romagna.[10] In late 1500 he seized Pesaro and Rimini, and, on 25 April 1501, Faenza as well.[11] His father Pope Alexander VI awarded him the title of Duke of Romagna, and Cesena became his capital. The Borgia pope, however, died on 18 August 1503, and the new pope, Julius II (della Rovere) was not interested in maintaining a semi-independent duchy in the Romagna. After the surrender of his castles to Pope Julius II, Cesare Borgia, no longer Duke of Romagna, fled Rome, seeking refuge in Naples. Cesena, though loyal to Duke Cesare,[12] with the rest of Romagna again acknowledged the immediate authority of the Holy See (1504).[13]
Chapter and cathedral
A new cathedral was built upon the petition of the Provost and Chapter and the citizens of Cesena, with the permission of Pope Urban VI, and named in honor of S. Giovanni Battista. Construction began in 1408.[14] The cathedral was staffed and administered by a corporation called the Chapter, which consisted of two dignities (not dignitaries), the Provost and the Archdeacon, and fifteen Canons. In addition there was a Theological Prebend and a Penitential Prebend.[15] In the mid-19th century, the Chapter was composed of three dignities (Provost, Archdeacon, Archpriest) and ten Canons.[16]
Synods
A diocesan synod was an irregularly held, but important, meeting of the bishop of a diocese and his clergy. Its purpose was (1) to proclaim generally the various decrees already issued by the bishop; (2) to discuss and ratify measures on which the bishop chose to consult with his clergy; (3) to publish statutes and decrees of the diocesan synod, of the provincial synod, and of the Holy See.[17]
Bishop Odoardo Gualandi (1557–1588) presided over two diocesan synods, in 1565 and 1566.[18] His nephew, Bishop Camillo Gualandi (1588 – 11 Feb 1609) held a diocesan synod on 15 October 1590.[19]
Cardinal Jan Kazimierz Denhoff (1687–1697) held a diocesan synod in the cathedral of Cesena from 30 June to 2 July 1693.[20]
On 16–18 June 1777, Bishop Francesco Agoselli (1763–1791) presided at a diocesan synod.[21]
Consolidation of dioceses
The Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), 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.[22] These considerations applied to Cesena and Sarsina. In 1980, Cesena claimed an estimated Catholic population of 152,000, with 201 priests. Sarsina, in 1980 had only 13,200 Catholics, and 34 priests.
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. Bishop Luigi Amaducci had governed both Cesena and Sarsina since 1977.
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 Cesena and Sarsina be merged into one diocese with one bishop, with the Latin title Dioecesis Caesenatensis-Sarsinatensis . The seat of the diocese was to be in Cesena, and the cathedral of Cesena was to serve as the cathedral of the merged dioceses. The cathedral in Sarsina was to become a co-cathedral, and the cathedral Chapter was to be a Capitulum Concathedralis. There was to be only one diocesan Tribunal, in Cesena, 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 diocese of Sarsina.[23]
