Roman Catholic Diocese of Venafro
The Diocese of Venafro was a Roman Catholic diocese in Italy, located in Venafro, province of Isernia, region of Molise in the ecclesiastical province of Capua. In 1852, the dioceses of Isernia and Venafro were united under the governance of one and the same bishop, aeque personaliter. The diocese of Venafro was permanently suppressed on 30 September 1986. History On 17 October 1032, Gerardus was consecrated bishop of Isernia at the request of the clergy of Isernia by Archbishop Adenulphus of Capua. The archbishop delineated the borders of the diocese as including the territory of the county of Isernia, the county of Venafro, and the County of Bovino. In 1100, the Diocese of Venafro (Dioecesis Venafrensis) was established. In 1621, the city of Venafro in the Terra Laboris had a population of c. 2000. The diocese was a suffragan of the Metropolitan archbishopric of Capua. Bishop Matthias Joccia (1718–1733) opened the diocesan seminary in 1728. On 27 June 1818, Pius VII issued the bull De Ulteriore, in which he reestablished the metropolitan archbishopric of Capua, and assigned as suffragan (subordinate) dioceses: Isernia, Calvi, Suessa, and Caserta. The diocese of Venafro was permanently suppressed, and united to the diocese of Isernia.