The Archdiocese of Lecce (Latin: Archidioecesis Lyciensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Apulia, southern Italy. The diocese has existed since the 11th century. On 28 September 1960, in the bull Cum a nobis, Pope John XXIII separated the diocese of Lecce from the ecclesiastical province of Otranto and made it directly subject to the Holy See. In the bull Conferentia Episcopalis Apuliae issued on 20 October 1980, Pope John Paul II created the ecclesiastical province of Lecce, with the Archdiocese of Otranto becoming a suffragan diocese.

History

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Many years ago, Lecce was known as Lupiæ, Lupia, Lycia, and Aletium. Beginning around the year 1060, Lecce became the seat of a Norman count. One of its notable counts, Tancred of Lecce, contested Emperor Henry VI for the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Another count was Gautier de Brienne, a cousin of Tancred.

Chapter and cathedral

The cathedral of Lecce, which was, like nearly all the cathedrals in the Kingdom of Naples, dedicated in honor of the assumption of the body of the Virgin Mary into heaven, was administered and served by a Chapter. The cathedral Chapter was composed of three dignities (the Archdeacon, the Cantor, and the Treasurer) and twenty-four Canons. In 1671, there were twenty Canons. In 1741, there were again twenty-four Canons. In 1885, after the unification of Italy, there were four dignities (the Archdeacon, the Treasurer, the Parocco and the Theologus); there were sixteen other Canons. In 2019, there were ten Canons (Canonici effetivi), and eight honorary Canons.

There was also a collegiate church, the Collegiata di Campi Salentino, which had twenty-seven Canons, headed by an Archpriest and four dignities.

The seminary building was built between 1694 and 1709, by Bishop Michele Pignatelli and Bishop Fabrizio Pignatelli, to designs by Giuseppe Cino. In 1885, the seminary had thirteen teachers and thirty clerics studying for the priesthood; in the previous five years there had been four ordinations and sixty deaths of priests.

Subject to the Holy See

Up until 1960, Lecce had been a suffragan (subordinate) of the archbishopric of Otranto. Reacting to the large increase in population, and to the fact that Lecce had been made a provincial capital by the Italian government, Pope John XXIII issued the bull "Cum a Nobis" on 28 September 1960, separating Lecce from its relationship with the diocese of Otranto and making it directly subject to the Holy See.

Metropolitan archdiocese

Following the Second Vatican Council, and in accordance with the norms laid out in the council's decree, Christus Dominus chapter 40, the Episcopal Conference of Apulia petitioned the Holy See (Pope) that Lecce be made a metropolitan and that a new ecclesiastical province be created. After wide consultations among all affected parties, Pope John Paul II issued a decree on 20 October 1980, elevating Lecce to the status of metropolitan see. He also created the new ecclesiastical province of Lecce, whose constituent bishoprics (suffragans) were to be: Brindisi (no longer a metropolitanate, though the archbishop allowed to retain the title of archbishop), Otranto (no longer a metropolitanate, though the archbishop allowed to retain the title of archbishop), Gallipoli, Nardò, Ostuno, and Uxentina-S. Mariae Leucadensis (Ugento).

Bishops and Archbishops of Lecce

to 1500

1500 to 1800

1800 to present

Giuseppe Maria Giovene (1807–1818) Vicar Apostolic

• Nicola Caputo de' Marchesi di Cerreto (21 Dec 1818 – 6 Nov 1862 died)

Sede vacante (1862–1872)

• Valerio Laspro (1872–1877)
• Salvatore Luigi Zola, CRL (22 Jun 1877 – 27 Apr 1898 died)
• Evangelista (Michael Antonio) di Milia, OFM Cap. (10 Nov 1898 – 17 Sep 1901 died)
• Gennaro Trama (14 Feb 1902 – 9 Nov 1927 died)
• Alberto Costa (7 Dec 1928 – 2 Aug 1950 died)
• Francesco Minerva (17 December 1950 – 27 January 1981 retired)
• Michele Mincuzzi (27 January 1981 – 7 December 1988 retired)
• Cosmo Francesco Ruppi (7 December 1988 – 16 April 2009 retired)
• Domenico Umberto D'Ambrosio (16 April 2009 - 29 September 2017 retired)
• Michele Seccia (29 September 2017 – present)