Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manfredonia-Vieste-S. Giovanni Rotondo


The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manfredonia-Vieste-San Giovanni Rotondo is a Latin Catholic non-Metropolitan Archdiocese in Foggia province, in Apulia, south-eastern Italy, which is part the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Foggia-Bovino
The historic Archdiocese of Siponto was elevated from the status of diocese in 1074. At that time it was known after its see, Siponto, and Sipontina persisted as its Latin name. The present complex title reflects several mergers, part of a complex history before and after the see transfer in 1230.
On July 15, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI named Bishop Michele Castoro of the Diocese of Oria as Archbishop.
The cathedral of the archiepiscopal see is the Manfredonia Cathedral, dedicated to St Laurence of Siponto, in Foggia, Apulia. It also has
As of 2014, the archdiocese pastorally served 152,000 Catholics on 1,665 km² in 51 parishes with 124 priests, three deacons, 247 lay religious, and there were seven seminarians.

History

In 1230, Manfredonia, a new city founded by Manfred of Sicily, who decided to rebuild Siponto in a new nearby location, the archiepiscopal see was transferred and renamed after it as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Manfredonia, yet kept its Latin adjective Sipontin.
Among the bishops were Matteo Orsini, later cardinal; Cardinal Bessarione, administrator; Niccolò Perotti, a Greek scholar and theologian; Giovanni del Monte, later Pope Julius III; Domenico Ginnasio, who suppressed the use of the Greek Rite at the high altar of the cathedral of Sipontum, a custom which had been observed until his time; Antonio Marcello, who founded the seminary and restored the cathedral destroyed by the Ottoman Turks in 1620; Vincenzo Orsini, afterwards Pope under the name of Benedict XIII.
On 1979.04.30 it was demoted as non-Metropolitan Archdiocese of Manfredonia / Sipontin
On 1986.09.30 it was renamed as Archdiocese of Manfredonia–Vieste / Sipontin–Vestan, having gained territory from the suppressed Diocese of Vieste, and having lost territories, both to its Metropolitan, the Archdiocese of Foggia-Bovino, and to the Diocese of San Severo.
On 2002.12.06 it was again renamed as Archdiocese of Manfredonia–Vieste–San Giovanni Rotondo / Sipontin–Vestan–Sancti Ioannis Rotundi.

Archbishops

Metropolitan Archbishops of Manfredonia

30 September 1986: Name Changed
6 December 2002: Name Changed