Diocese of Rome
The Diocese of Rome (Latin: Dioecesis Urbis seu Romana;[2] Italian: Diocesi di Roma), also called the Vicariate of Rome,[3] is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church under the direct jurisdiction of the Pope, who is Bishop of Rome and hence the supreme pontiff and head of the worldwide Catholic Church. As the Holy See, the papacy is a sovereign entity with diplomatic relations,[4] and civil jurisdiction over the Vatican City State located geographically within Rome. The Diocese of Rome is the metropolitan diocese of the province of Rome, an ecclesiastical province in Italy. According to Catholic tradition, the first bishop of Rome was Saint Peter in the first century.[5][6][7] The incumbent since 13 March 2013 is Pope Francis.
This article is about the Catholic Church ecclesiastical diocese. For the administrative entities in the Roman Empire, see Roman diocese.
Diocese of Rome
Dioecesis Urbis seu Romana
Diocesi di Roma
881 km2 (340 sq mi)
(as of 2013)
2,885,2722,365,923 (82%)
334
711
1st century
1,589
- Angelo De Donatis (Cardinal Vicar for the Vicariate of Rome)
- Mauro Gambetti (Cardinal Vicar for the Vatican City State)
- Baldassare Reina (Vicegerent)
- Paolo Ricciardi
- Daniele Libanori
- Dario Gervasi
- Benoni Ambăruş
- Daniele Salera
- Riccardo Lamba
- Michele Di Tolve
Historically, many Rome-born men, as well as others born elsewhere on the Italian Peninsula have served as bishops of Rome. Since 1900, however, there has been only one Rome-born bishop of Rome, Pius XII (1939–1958). In addition, throughout history non-Italians have served as bishops of Rome, beginning with the first of them according to Catholic tradition, Saint Peter.
It is the metropolitan archdiocese of the Roman ecclesiastical province and primatial see of Italy. The cathedral is the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran. The primate of Italy is the pope, holding primacy of honor over the Italian sees and also primacy of jurisdiction over all other episcopal sees by Catholic tradition.
The pope is the bishop of Rome. Some of his titles derive from his role as head of the diocese of Rome. Those officially listed for him in the Annuario Pontificio are:[8]
The title "pope" does not appear in the official list, but is commonly used in the titles of documents, and appears, in abbreviated form, in the signatures of the popes.
Ecclesiastical Province of Rome[edit]
Suburbicarian sees[edit]
Six of the dioceses of the Roman Province are described as suburbicarian.[20] Each suburbicarian diocese has a cardinal bishop at its titular head.
Numerous ordinaries and personal prelatures outside the province of Rome, worldwide, are "Exempt", i.e. "directly subject to the Holy See", not part of any ecclesiastical province, including: