Roman Catholic Diocese of Casale Monferrato

Casale Monferrato, the ancient Bodincomagus, is a city in the province of Alessandria, Piedmont (Italy), on the River Po, and has been a stronghold since the time of the Lombards. Liutprand, King of the Lombards enlarged it, and Emperor Otto II made it the chief town of a marquisate, giving it to the sons of Aleran, Duke of Saxony; later it was inherited by Emperor Michael VIII, Palaeologus, who sent thither his son Theodore. In 1533, the dynasty of the Palaeologi being extinct, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor gave Casale to the House of Gonzaga. From 1681 to 1706 it was in the hands of the French, from whom, in 1713, it passed to the House of Savoy.

Casale was created a see in 1474 by Sixtus IV; previously it belonged to the Diocese of Asti. Its first bishop was Bernardino de Tebaldeschi; his successor was Gian Giorgio Paleologo (1517), who also governed the marquisate for his nephew, a minor. Among its noteworthy bishops were: the Dominican Benedetto Erba (1570), most zealous for the Christian instruction of children and the introduction of the Tridentine reforms, in which good work he was associated with St. Charles Borromeo; he was also the founder of the monti di pietà; Giulio Careta (1614), who imitated other contemporary bishops and founded an oratory for priests, and when the plague was ravaging Casale (1630) himself nursed the sick; Scipione Pasquali (1645), author of a history of the campaign of Charles Emmanuel of Savoy against Montferrat. Among the churches of Casale are the cathedral, one of the finest monuments of Lombard architecture, and that of Sant’Ilario (Hilary of Poitiers).[3]

• Bernardino de Tebaldeschi (21 May 1474 – 1517 Died)
• Gian Giorgio Paleologo (1517 – 12 Jan 1525 Resigned)
• Bernardino Castellari (13 Jan 1525 – 15 Nov 1529 Resigned)
• Ippolito de' Medici (15 Nov 1529 – 6 Mar 1531 Resigned)
• Bernardino Castellari (6 Mar 1531 – 27 Jun 1546 Died)
• Bernardino della Croce, B. (7 Jun 1546 – 27 Apr 1547 Appointed, Bishop of Asti)
• Francesco Micheli (13 Jul 1548 – 1555 Resigned)
• Scipione d'Este (5 Jun 1555 – 12 Jul 1567 Died)
• Ambrogio Aldegati, O.P. (3 Sep 1567 – 18 Apr 1570 Died)
• Benedetto Erba, O.P. (16 Jun 1570 – 28 Dec 1576 Died)
• Alessandro Andreasi (11 Mar 1577 – 14 Nov 1583 Appointed, Bishop of Mantova)
• Lelio Zimbramonti (14 Nov 1583 – 1589 Died)
• Marcantonio Gonzaga (30 Aug 1589 – 7 May 1592 Died)
• Settimio Borsari (12 Jun 1592 – 29 Apr 1594 Died)[4]
• Jullio del Carretto (13 Jul 1594 – 13 Oct 1614 Died)[5]
• Scipione Pasquali (12 Jan 1615 – 1624 Died)[6]
• Scipione Agnelli (12 Feb 1586 – 1 Oct 1653 Died)
• Gerolamo Francesco Miroglio (29 Nov 1655 – 14 Sep 1679 Died)
• Lelio Ardizzone (13 May 1680 – Nov 1699 Died)
• Pier Secondo Radicati de Cocconato (9 May 1701 – 12 Apr 1728 Appointed, Bishop of Osimo e Cingoli)
• Pier Gerolamo Caravadossi, O.P. (10 May 1728 – 25 May 1746 Died)
• Ignazio della Chiesa de Rodi (28 Nov 1746 – 29 Jul 1758 Died)
• Giuseppe Luigi Avogadro, C.R.L. (19 Nov 1759 – 22 May 1792 Died)
• Teresio Maria Carlo Vittorio Ferrero della Marmora (27 Jun 1796 – 18 May 1803 Resigned)
• Jean-Chrysostome de Villaret (23 Dec 1805 – 3 Oct 1814 Retired)
• Francesco Alciati (1 Oct 1817 – 26 Oct 1828 Died)
• Francesco Maria Icheri di Malabaila (5 Jul 1830 Confirmed – Jul 1846 Died)
• Luigi Giuseppe Nazari di Calabiana (12 Apr 1847 – 27 Mar 1867 Appointed, Archbishop of Milan)
• Pietro Maria Ferré (27 Mar 1867 – 13 Apr 1886 Died)
• Filippo Chiesa (7 Jun 1886 – 3 Nov 1886 Died)
• Edoardo Pulciano (14 Mar 1887 – 11 Jul 1892 Appointed, Bishop of Novara)
• Paolo Maria Barone (11 Jul 1892 – 17 Mar 1903 Resigned)
• Ludovico Gavotti (22 Jun 1903 – 22 Jan 1915 Appointed, Archbishop of Genova)
• Albino Pella (12 Apr 1915 – 17 May 1940 Died)
• Giuseppe Angrisani (1 Jul 1940 – 1 Mar 1971 Retired)
• Carlo Cavalla (1 Mar 1971 – 3 Jun 1995 Retired)
• Germano Zaccheo (3 Jun 1995 – 20 Nov 2007 Died)
• Alceste Catella (15 May 2008 – )

The diocese, which covers an area of 970 km², is divided into 115 parishes.[7] The majority, like Casale itself, are in the Province of Alessandria, while the rest are divided between the provinces of Asti and Turin. A list of parishes by province and commune follows; locations (villages or neighbourhoods) within a commune are shown in brackets.

Map of the Diocese

At the end of 2006 the diocese had a population of 103,900 of whom 97.7% had been baptised as Catholics.[20]

• "Diocesi di CASALE MONFERRATO - Chiesa Cattolica Italiana" (in Italian). Official site of the Diocese of Casale Monferrato
• La Vita Casalese (in Italian) Weekly newspaper with web supplement offering news and comment on the Diocese of Casale Monferrato, published by Editrice Fondazione Sant'Evasio - Casale Monf. (AL)
• MonferratoArte (in Italian) A historical and bibliographical directory of artists active in the extra-urban churches of the Diocese of Casale Monferrato.