{{Short description|none}} <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]] --> {{more citations needed|date=November 2023}} {{Infobox Christian denomination | icon = Emblem_of_the_Papacy_SE.svg | icon_width = 25px | icon_alt = | name = Catholic Church in Italy | native_name = {{langx|it|Chiesa cattolica in Italia}} | native_name_lang = it | image = San Giovanni in Laterano 2021.jpg | imagewidth = 250px | alt = | caption = [[Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran]] in [[Rome]], the ''[[cathedra]]'' seat of the [[Pope]] as [[Primate of Italy]]. | abbreviation = | type = [[National polity]] | main_classification = [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] | orientation = [[Latin Church|Latin]] | scripture = [[Bible]] | theology = [[Catholic theology]] | polity = [[Episcopal polity|Episcopal]] | governance = [[Episcopal Conference of Italy]] | structure = | leader_title = [[Pope]] | leader_name = {{incumbent pope}} | leader_title1 = [[Episcopal Conference of Italy|President]] | leader_name1 = [[Matteo Maria Zuppi]] | leader_title2 = [[Primate of Italy|Primate]] | leader_name2 = {{incumbent pope 2}} | leader_title3 = [[Apostolic Nuncio to Italy|Apostolic Nuncio]] | leader_name3 = [[Petar Rajič]] | fellowships_type = | fellowships = | fellowships_type1 = | fellowships1 = | division_type = | division = | division_type1 = | division1 = | division_type2 = | division2 = | division_type3 = | division3 = | associations = | area = [[Italy]], [[Vatican City]] | language = [[Italian language|Italian]], [[Ecclesiastical Latin|Latin]] | headquarters = [[Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran]] | origin_link = | founder = Apostles [[Saint Peter|Peter]] and [[Saint Paul|Paul]] | founded_date = 1st century | founded_place = [[Rome]], [[Roman Empire]] | separated_from = | parent = | merger = | absorbed = | separations = [[Protestantism in Italy]] (16th century) | merged_into = | defunct = | congregations_type = | congregations = | members = <!-- or |number_of_followers = -->57,000,000 | ministers_type = | ministers = | missionaries = | churches = | hospitals = | nursing_homes = | aid = | primary_schools = | secondary_schools = | tax_status = | tertiary = | other_names = | publications = | website = [http://www.chiesacattolica.it/ Episcopal Conference of Italy] | slogan = | logo = | footnotes = }} {{Catholic Church by country}} The '''Italian Catholic Church''', or '''Catholic Church in Italy''', is part of the worldwide [[Catholic Church]] in [[full communion|communion]] with the [[Pope]] in [[Rome]], under the [[Conference of Italian Bishops]]. The pope also serves as [[Primate of Italy]] and Bishop of [[Diocese of Rome|Rome]]. In addition to the [[Italy|Italian Republic]], two other sovereign states are included in Italian dioceses: [[San Marino]] and [[Vatican City]]. There are 225 dioceses in the Catholic Church in Italy; see further in this article and in the article [[List of Catholic dioceses in Italy]].
The pope resides in Vatican City, enclaved in Rome. Having been a major centre for Christian [[pilgrimage]] since the [[Roman Empire]], Rome is commonly regarded as the "home" of the Catholic Church, since it is where [[Saint Peter]] settled, ministered, served as bishop, and died.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11744a.htm|title=Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles|work=newadvent.org|access-date=27 April 2015}}</ref> His [[relic]]s are located in Rome along with [[Saint Paul]]'s, among many other saints of [[Early Christianity]].
Owing to the [[Italian Renaissance]], church art in Italy is extraordinary, including works by [[Leonardo da Vinci]], [[Michelangelo]], [[Fra Carnevale]], [[Gian Lorenzo Bernini]], [[Sandro Botticelli]], [[Tintoretto]], [[Titian]], [[Raphael]], and [[Giotto]], etc.
Italian church architecture is equally spectacular and historically important to [[Western culture]], notably [[St. Peter's Basilica]] in Rome, [[St Mark's Basilica|Cathedral of St. Mark]]'s in [[Venice]], and [[Filippo Brunelleschi|Brunelleschi]]'s [[Florence Cathedral]], which includes the "Gates of Paradise" doors at the Baptistery by [[Lorenzo Ghiberti]].
The status of the Catholic Church as the sole official religion in Italy ended in 1985, with the renegotiation of the [[Lateran Treaty]].
==History== [[File:Watykan Bazylika sw Piotra.JPG|thumb|[[St Peter's Basilica]] and [[Vatican City]], in [[Rome]]]] Christianity arrived on the Italian peninsula in the first century, probably by unknown travellers, traders or soldiers. The [[Letter to the Romans]] of [[Paul the Apostle]] is addressed and attests to the presence of Roman Christians in the first century. Christians in [[Rome]] were also in touch with [[St. Peter]] and St. Paul the Apostle, both of whom went to Rome on mission and were eventually martyred there. One of the first Italian bishops and popes was [[Clement of Rome]], who wrote a letter to the Christian community in [[Ancient Corinth|Corinth]] (''[[1 Clement]]'') around AD 96.
Over its two thousand-year history, the Church of Italy grew in size and influence producing and harboring (sometimes before [[martyrdom]]) some of the greatest leaders and movers of Catholic Christianity including [[Priscilla and Aquila]]; [[Ignatius of Antioch]], martyred in Rome; [[Polycarp]], martyred in Rome and a disciple of [[John the Evangelist]]; [[Saint Agnes|Agnes]], Roman martyr; [[Lawrence of Rome|Lawrence]], martyr; [[Justin Martyr]], teacher and martyr; [[Hippolytus of Rome|Hippolytus]], priest and martyr; [[Saint Cecilia|Cecilia]], Roman martyr; [[Ambrose of Milan]], bishop and [[Doctor of the Church]]; [[Jerome]], theologian and Doctor of the Church; [[Benedict of Nursia]], founder of the [[Benedictine order]] and of Western [[monasticism]]; [[Pope Leo I|Leo the Great]], bishop of Rome and Doctor of the Church; [[Gregory the Great]], bishop of Rome and Doctor of the Church; [[Augustine of Canterbury]], Roman monk, Benedictine missionary to England, later English bishop; [[Urban II]], pope or Bishop of Rome who called for the [[First Crusade]]; [[Anselm of Canterbury]], Italian-born philosopher, Doctor of the Church and later English bishop; [[Francis of Assisi]], mystic and founder of the [[Franciscans]]; [[Bonaventure]] of Bagnorea, Franciscan theologian and Doctor of the Church; [[Thomas Aquinas]], [[Dominican Order|Dominican]] theologian, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church; Dante, poet; [[Catherine of Siena]], mystic, reformer, and Doctor of the Church; [[Monteverdi]], composer; [[Robert Bellarmine]] of [[Tuscany]], [[Jesuit]] theologian and Doctor of the Church; [[Antonio Vivaldi]], priest and composer; [[Leo XIII]], bishop of Rome and social reformer; [[Pius XII]], bishop of Rome; [[John XXIII]], bishop of Rome and initiator of [[Second Vatican Council]], among many others. One could add to this list the founders of various contemporary lay ecclesial movements, notably [[Luigi Giussani]], founder of Communion and Liberation, and [[Chiara Lubich]], founder of the [[Focolare Movement]]. Also, [[Andrea Riccardi]], founder of the [[Community of Sant'Egidio]], is now one of the great faith-based organizations in the world.
==Data== In 2021 approximately 79.2% of the Italian population identifies as Catholic.<ref name="2021 Eurobarometer">{{cite web|url=https://data.europa.eu/data/datasets/s2237_95_2_516_eng?locale=en|via=[[European Data Portal]] (see Volume C: Country/socio-demographics: IT: Question D90.2.)|title=Special Eurobarometer 516|publisher=[[European Union]]: [[European Commission]]|date=September 2021|access-date=24 September 2021}}</ref> Italy has 225 [[dioceses]] and [[archdioceses]], more than any other country in the world with the exception of [[Catholic Church in Brazil|Brazil]]. It also has the largest number of parishes (25,694), female (102,089) and male (23,719) religious, and priests (31,000, including secular (i.e. [[Diocesan priest|diocesan]]) and [[religious (Catholicism)|religious]] (those belonging to a male [[religious institute]])).<ref>[https://www.fides.org/en/news/77412-EUROPE_ITALY_The_number_of_Italian_Fidei_Donum_priests_who_leave_on_mission_continues_to_decline]</ref>
In 1986, [[Pope John Paul II]] suppressed 101 Italian dioceses. As of 2024, Italy has a total of 41 dioceses united in persona episcopi, or “in the person of the bishop.” <ref>[https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/is-italys-in-persona-episcopi-experiment Is Italy’s ‘in persona episcopi’ experiment for diocesan mergers ending?]</ref>
The bishops in Italy make up the [[Conferenza Episcopale Italiana]] as a collaborative body to perform certain functions specified by Canon Law. Unlike most [[episcopal conference]]s, the president of the Italian conference is appointed by the [[pope]], in his capacity as [[Primate (bishop)|Primate]] of Italy. Since May 2022, the president of the episcopal conference has been Cardinal [[Matteo Maria Zuppi]].
===Organization=== [[File:Regioni ecclesiastiche italia.gif|thumb|upright|Map of the 16 Italian ecclesiastical regions]] The [[Primate (bishop)|Primate]] of Italy is the [[Bishop of Rome]], who is also ''[[ex officio]]'' Pope of the Catholic Church. The [[Apostolic Nuncio to Italy]] is also the nuncio to San Marino; the incumbent is Archbishop [[Petar Rajič]], who has held the office since March 2024.
There are two Catholic [[particular church]]es in Italy: * The [[Latin Church]] (absolute majority, uses [[Roman rite]] except in the [[Archdiocese of Milan]] where [[Ambrosian rite]] is used). * The very small [[Italo-Albanian Catholic Church]] (one of the [[Eastern Catholic Churches]], uses [[Byzantine rite]]) divided into [[Territorial Abbacy of Saint Mary of Grottaferrata]], [[Eparchy of Lungro]] and [[Eparchy of Piana degli Albanesi]].
The [[Latin Church]] in Italy is organized into: * 16 [[ecclesiastical region]]s (corresponding to the [[regions of Italy]], with some consolidations). ** 42 [[ecclesiastical province]]s divided into: *** 1 [[apostolic see]] ([[Diocese of Rome]]). *** 1 [[patriarchal see]] ([[Patriarchate of Venice]]). *** 40 [[metropolitan archdiocese]]s. *** 20 [[archdiocese]]s. *** 155 [[diocese]]s (see: [[List of Catholic dioceses in Italy]]). *** 2 [[territorial prelature]]s: [[Territorial Prelature of Loreto]] and [[Territorial Prelature of Pompei]]. *** 6 [[territorial abbey]]s: [[Territorial Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore|Monte Oliveto Maggiore]], [[Abbey of Montecassino|Montecassino]], [[Montevergine]], [[Abbey of Santa Maria di Grottaferrata|Santa Maria di Grottaferrata]], [[La Trinità della Cava]] and [[Abbey of Saint Scholastica, Subiaco|Subiaco]]. *** 1 [[military ordinariate]]: [[Military Ordinariate in Italy]].
=== Catholic lay organizations === * [[Azione Cattolica]] (organization of the [[Catholic Action]] in Italy) * [[Forum Oratori Italiani]] (umbrella of Catholic youth organizations and youth ministry)
==See also== * [[Religion in Italy]] * [[Christianity in Italy]] * [[Protestantism in Italy]] * [[Public funding of the Catholic Church in Italy]] * [[Eastern Orthodox Church in Italy]] * [[Oriental Orthodox Church in Italy]] * [[List of Catholic dioceses in Italy]] * [[Catholic Church in San Marino]]
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== * {{commons category-inline}} * Allum, Percy. “Uniformity Undone: Aspects of Catholic Culture in Postwar Italy,” in Zygmunt Guido Baranski, Robert Lumley, eds. ''Culture and Conflict in Postwar Italy: Essays on Mass and Popular Culture'' (1990) pp. 79–96. * Allum, Percy. "From Two into One' The Faces of the Italian Christian Democratic Party." ''Party Politics'' 3.1 (1997): 23–52. * Binchy, Daniel A. ''Church and State in Fascist Italy'' (Oxford UP 1941) 774pp * Ignazi, Piero, and Spencer Wellhofer. "Territory, religion, and vote: nationalization of politics and the Catholic party in Italy." ''Italian Political Science Review/Rivista Italiana di Scienza Politica'' 47.1 (2017): 21–43. * [[Kenneth Scott Latourette|Latourette, Kenneth Scott]]. ''Christianity in a Revolutionary Age, IV: The Twentieth Century in Europe: The Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Eastern Churches.'' (1958) pp 153–58. * Pollard, John. ''Catholicism in Modern Italy: Religion, Society and Politics, 1861 to the Present'' (Routledge, 2008). a major scholarly history * Pollard, John. "Pius XI's Promotion of the Italian Model of Catholic Action in the World-Wide Church." ''Journal of Ecclesiastical History'' 63.4 (2012): 758–784. * Warner, Carolyn M. "Christian Democracy in Italy: An alternative path to religious party moderation." ''Party Politics'' 19.2 (2013): 256–276.
{{Roman Catholic dioceses in Italy}} {{Catholicism in Europe}} {{Religion in Italy}} {{Christianity in Italy}} {{Authority control}} {{Portal bar|Catholicism|Italy}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Catholicism In Italy}} [[Category:Catholic Church in Italy| ]] [[Category:Catholic Church by country|Italy]] [[Category:Catholicism in Italy]] [[Category:Culture of Italy]]