Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Gaeta

Archdiocese of Gaeta Archidioecesis Caietana
File:Gaeta, Basilica Cattedrale, scorcio della facciata.jpg Gaeta Cathedral
Location
Country	Italy
Ecclesiastical province	Immediately subject to the Holy See
Statistics
Area
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2006) 160,150 152,350 (95.1%)
Parishes	57
Information
Denomination	Catholic Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	8th century
Cathedral	Cattedrale-Basilica di Santi Erasmo e Marciano e Maria SS. Assunta
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Archbishop	Bernardo Fabio D’Onorio, O.S.B.
Website
www.arcidiocesigaeta.it

The Archdiocese of Gaeta (Latin: Archidioecesis Caietana) is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in southern Italy, with its episcopal see in the city of Gaeta, in the Lazio region. The diocese is suffragan of the Diocese of Rome.

History

It dates from 846, when Constantine, Bishop of Formiæ, fled there and established his residence. The see of Formia, abandoned since the end of the sixth century, was thereafter united to diocese of Minturno (Minturnæ). In or soon after 999 Bishop Bernard annexed the see of Traetto.

In 1818 Pius VII merged the diocese of Gaeta with the very ancient see of Fondi. Once a suffragan of the archdiocese of Capua, the diocese was subsequently exempted (i.e. directly subjected to the Pope).

On December 31, 1848, Pius IX raised it to archiepiscopal rank, but without suffragans.

Among its bishops of note were: Francesco Patrizio (1460), friend of Pius II, author of a work in nine books, De Regno et De Institutione Regis, dedicated to Alfonso, Duke of Calabria; and Tommaso de Vio, better known as the famous Thomas Cajetan, a Dominican theologian and Papal diplomat.

The current archbishop is monsignor Pier Luigi Mazzoni.

Territory and parishes

The diocese, which includes the Pontine Islands, as well as a part of mainland Lazio, covers a surface of 603 km², with a population of 159,315 (as of 2004).

Presently it is divided into four districts called foranie which are centred on Gaeta itself, and the former sees of Fondi, Formia and Minturno.

Sources and external links

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain:  [1]
• Official website (Italian)
• List of bishops and archbishops