Ecclesiastical province L'Aquila Area 1,516 km² Province Province of L'Aquila Archbishop Giuseppe Petrocchi | Parishes 147 Phone +39 0862 355232 | |
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Population- Total- Catholics (as of 2004)108,300106,000 (97.9%) Established 20 February 1257 (760 years ago) Address località, Via Campo di Pile, 67100 L'Aquila, Italy | ||
The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of L'Aquila (Latin: Archidioecesis Aquilanus) is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Italy. It was erected as the Diocese of L'Aquila on 20 February 1257 by Pope Alexander IV and promoted to an archdiocese by Pope Pius IX on 19 January 1876. Pope Paul VI elevated it to the rank of a metropolitan archdiocese on 15 August 1972, with the suffragan sees of Avezzano and Sulmona–Valva.
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The archdiocese's mother church and the seat of its archbishop is L'Aquila Cathedral. L'Aquila also contains the Basilica of San Bernardino da Siena. The current Archbishop of L'Aquila is Giuseppe Petrocchi, since June 8, 2013, and Giovanni D'Ercole, F.D.P. was named auxiliary bishop of L'Aquila on 16 November 2009.
History
The city and diocese of L'Aquila suffered a devastating earthquake in 2009. The dome of the Cathedral collapsed, and the remains of Pope Celestine V were thrown from their tomb in Santa Maria Colmaggio.