Biblioteca Capitolare

Nice

The diocese of Cremona is a seat of the Catholic Church in Italy suffragan of the archdiocese of Milan belonging to the ecclesiastical region of Lombardy . In 2016 it had 317,208 baptized out of 366,503 inhabitants. It is governed by Bishop Antonio Napolioni. The patrons of the diocese are St. Omobono and Santa Maria del Fonte near Caravaggio , proclaimed in 1962 by bishop Danio Bolognini with the approval of the Apostolic See . Secondary patrons are Saint Imerio and Saint Anthony Maria Zaccaria. The establishment of the diocese dates back to this same period. The first historically documented bishop is Giovanni, who took part in the Milanese provincial council of 451 , an indication that originally Cremona was a suffragan of the archdiocese of Milan . There is little information about the diocese in the following centuries, in which only two other bishops are known, Eustachio ( 501 ) and Desiderio ( 680 ). Only starting from Stefano at the end of the 8th century the Cremonese episcopal series is preserved almost uninterrupted up to our days.The rebirth of the diocese coincides with the end of the Lombard domination and the beginning of the Carolingian period. From the 8th century and again throughout the 9th and 10th centuries, the bishops of Cremona obtained various privileges and exemptions from the emperor . To the bishop Pancoardo (mid- ninth century ) Emperor Lotario I confirmed all the privileges and possessions of the Cremona church, which also extended south of the Po line .Liutprando, in the second half of the 10th century, was probably the most famous bishop of the medieval era. He was a celebrated diplomat and reporter and engaged in a difficult mission in Constantinople . To him we must have imported into Cremona the cult of Saint Imerio , bishop of Amelia , who for a long time was the patron saint of the city, before the cult of Saint Omobono was affirmed .