Conversano is the ancient Cupersanum. After the invasion of the Normans, it was for a while the seat of a duchy; later, however, it became a fief of the dukes of Atri.
Local tradition preserves the name of a bishop, Simplicius, who attended the Roman synod of 487 and died in 492, but he belongs to legend, not history. Ferdinando Ughelli prints the narrative of Francesco Giuliano of Conversano concerning Simplicius, but states that it seems to him to be highly suspect, and maybe deliberately invented falsehoods or corrupt, since there are some things found in it which cannot be true.
The first alleged bishop of Conversano was Hilarius, present at the Roman synod of 501. His name however is a false reading of the acts of the synod; he actually belonged to Tempsa in the Abruzzi, not to Conversano in Apulia.
No other names are recorded up to the episcopate of Leo, mentioned in a document of 1088.
In 1670 (and 1744) the Chapter of the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Body of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven was composed of four dignities (the Archdeacon, the Archpriest, the Cantor and the Primicerius) and twenty-six Canons. In the city of approximately 7,000 inhabitants (1744) there were five religious houses for men and three monasteries for men.
Bishops
Diocese of Conversano
to 1400
...
Leo (attested 1088)
...
Cafisius (attested 1179, 1180)
Guilelmus (attested 1188 – April 1202)
Ignotus (attested 1207)
Concilius (attested April 1212 – 9 October 1231)
Stefano, O.Cist. (attested 1267 – 1274)
...
Giovanni de Gropi (c. 1283)
...
Guillelmus (attested 1318, 1321)
Petrus Baccari (attested 1335, 1342)
Stefano (7 January 1351 – 1355?)
Petrus de Ytro (19 February 1356 – )
Guilelmus (Avignon Obedience)
Angelo de Cupersano, O.Min. (12 July 1393 – ) (Avignon Obedience)
Amicus (Antonius) (Roman Obedience)
Jacobus ( – 22 December 1399) (Roman Obedience)
1400 to 1600
Franciscus
Stefano de Alfano (9 March 1403 – 1423)
Antonio Guidotti (9 Sep 1423 – 1432 Died)
Marino Orsini (4 November 1432 – 29 April 1437) (Administrator)
^Ritzler-Sefrin, V, p. 171 note 1; VI, p. 181 note 1. Ughelli says there were twelve Canons.
^Leo granted the spiritual jurisdiction of Castrum Puteneanum to the monastery of S. Stefano in Monopoli. Ughelli, p. 704. Graevius-Burmann, pp. 39, 69.
^Umberto Benigni. "Conversano." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. Retrieved: 2016-10-02. Ughelli, VII, pp. 705-708. Kamp, pp. 628-629.
^Antonio was the son of Guidotti, a notary of Conversano. He was Archdeacon of Conversano when appointed bishop by Pope Martin IV. Ughelli, p. 412. Cappelletti, XXI, p. 42. Eubel, I, p. 218.
^Orsini, son of Francesco Orsini, was a member of the aristocratic Roman family of the Orsini. He was a Doctor of Canon Law and a Protonotary Apostolic. On 4 July 1444 he was named Archbishop of Palermo, and then Archbishop of Taranto on 30 July 1445. He served as papal Nuncio in England. Jean Guiraud (1896). L'état pontifical après le grand schisme: étude de géographie politique (in French). Paris: A. Fontemoing. p. 116. Eubel, II, p. 136 with note 1; 211; 246.
^Veroli was appointed Bishop of Boiano on 25 September 1439. Eubel, II, pp. 108, 135.
^A Neapolitan, Bishop Donato was transferred to the diocese of Valva on 4 September 1448. He was later Bishop of Urbino (1452), and Camerino (1464). Eubel, II, pp. 135, 262.
^Pietro was a Spaniard, and had been papal Penitentiary Minor. Ughelli, VII, p. 713.
^Torcoli was Capitular Vicar during the vacancy following the death of Bishop Pietro de Miggola. He was appointed bishop by Pope Paul II at the request of Count Giulio Acquaviva and Countess Catherine. Ughelli, p. 713. Eubel, II, p. 135.
^Donato was the brother of the Marquis de Bitonto and of Bishop Sulpicio Acquaviva. Donato d'Aragona was appointed Bishop of Conversano at the age of 24, and thus was only Administrator of the diocese for three years, until he reached the age of 27, when he could be consecrated in accordance with Canon Law. He held the rank of Protonotary Apostolic. Eubel, II, p. 135, with note 3.
^Francesco Sforza was a native of Monopoli and a doctor of theology. Ughelli, VII, p. 715. Eubel, III, p. 177.
^Capulli was a native of Cortone. He was regent of the school at the convent of the Franciscans at the Basilica XII Apostolorum in Rome. He was named bishop of Conversano by Pope Paul V on 31 August 1605, and consecrated by Cardinal Evangelista Palotto on 14 September 1605. He died on 24 June 1625. Ughelli, p. 715. Gauchat, IV, p. 163 with note 2.
^Bishop Martinelli was transferred to the diocese of Venafro on 20 September 1632. He died in August 1635. Gauchat, IV, pp. 163 with note 3; 361 with note 3.
^Palermo was transferred to the diocese of Santa Severina on 1 September 1670. He died in 1673. Gauchat, IV, p. 163 with note 7. Ritzler-Sefrin, V, p. 355 with note 2.
^Senarega was born in Albaro (diocese of Genoa). He held a doctorate in theology (Parma 1663). He was consecrated in Rome on 8 March 1671 by Cardinal Carlo Roberti. Ritzler-Sefrin, V, p. 171 with note 2.
^Appointed Archbishop of Cosenza. Ritzler-Sefrin, V, pp. 171 with note 3; 179 with note 4.
^Del Prete: Ritzler-Sefrin, VI, p. 181 with note 3.
^Born in 1696, Tarsia was a native of Conversano, and was Doctor in utroque iure (La Sapienza, Rome, 1752) at the age of 48. He was consecrated a bishop in Rome on 30 January 1752 by the titular Patriarch of Constantinople, Ferdinando Maria Rossi. Ritzler-Sefrin, VI, p. 181 with note 4.
^Palumbo was born in 1708 at Lecce. He taught theology in several houses of his Congregation. He was Vicar of the house of his Congregation at S. Andrea della Valle in Rome. He was consecrated in Rome by Cardinal Ferdinando Maria Rossi on 13 September 1772. Ritzler-Sefrin, VI, p. 181 with note 5.
^Vecchi was appointed Bishop of Teano by Ferdinand I, King of the Two Sicilies, on 24 October 1797, and confirmed by Pope Pius VI on 18 December 1797. Ritzler-Sefrin, pp. 181 with note 6; 399 with note 8.
^Carelli was a native of Conversano. He held the degree of Doctor in utroque iure (Naples 1771). He was Canon, then Primicerius, and finally Archpriest of the Chapter of the Cathedral of Conversano. He was nominated bishop on 31 October 1797 by King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, and approved by Pope Pius VI on 18 December 1797. Carelli was consecrated in Rome on 24 December 1797 by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Caprara. Luigi Valvalle, in D'Avino, p. 221. Ritzler-Sefrin, VI, p. 181 with note 7.
^Nicola Carelli was the brother of Bishop Gennaro Carelli.
^Vicentini was born in L'Aquila in 1829. He was appointed Archbishop of L’Aquila on 13 May 1881. La Gerarchia cattolica 1882 (Rome: Monaldi 1882), p. 108.
^Gennari was a native of Maratea (diocese of Policastro). He was the founder of the monthly journal Il Monitore ecclesiastico, and was a noted author of books on ecclesiastical topics. He was consecrated a bishop in Rome on 15 May 1881 by Cardinal Edward Howard. He was appointed Titular Archbishop of Naupactus on 6 February 1897, and was named a Cardinal by Pope Leo XIII on 15 April 1901. Gennari was a collaborator in the creation of the 1917 Pio-Benedictine Code of Canon Law. As a Cardinal, and particularly as Prefect of the SC of the Council, he pressed for frequent reception of communion. He died on 31 January 1914. Joseph Dougherty (2010). From Altar-Throne to Table: The Campaign for Frequent Holy Communion in the Catholic Church. Lanham MD USA: Scarecrow Press. pp. 82–83. ISBN978-0-8108-7092-5. Harris M. Lentz III (2001). Popes and Cardinals of the 20th Century: A Biographical Dictionary. Jefferson, NC USA: McFarland. p. 79. ISBN978-0-7864-4101-3. G. di Ruocco, Il Cardinale Casimiro Gennari. Pastore e giurista (1839–1914) (Naples: Laurentiana 1995).
Ughelli, Ferdinando; Coleti, Niccolò (1721). Italia sacra, sive De Episcopis Italiae (in Latin). Vol. Tomus septimus (VII). Venice: apud Sebastianum Coleti. pp. 700–720.
Acknowledgment
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Conversano". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Conversano". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
