AJACCIO, Diocese of. - In Corsica, suffragan of Aix. The principal city of the island, A. is the capital of Corsica.
From a testimony of Pope Gregory the Great (590-604) the existence of the diocese in the year 601 is known; before that date no positive document is found concerning its origins, as with those of the other coexisting bishoprics. Until the 11th century A., like all the dioceses of Corsica, depended directly on the Holy See. But in 1077 Gregory VII named the bishop of Pisa governor of the island, and Urban II elevated him to the dignity of archbishop of Corsica with the bull dated 22 Apr. 1092. Moreover, with the aim of re-establishing peace between the republics of Genoa and Pisa, Innocent II, with the bull Iustus Dominus of 19 March 1133, gave to the former, as suffragans, the bishoprics of Mariana, of Nebbio and of Accia; as for A., he left it dependent on Pisa, together with Aleria and Sagona. It seems that this arrangement underwent no modification from the ecclesiastical standpoint when the entire island passed under the dominion of Genoa. But after this republic had ceded Corsica to France (1769), the Pope in turn gave to the most Christian king, at least from 1772 onward, the faculty of naming the bishops of the island.
The concordat of 1801 reduced the bishoprics to a single one, with its seat at A., which became a suffragan of Aix; for this reason the present diocese of A. comprises the territory of the six ancient bishoprics of Corsica, namely: Accia (v.), Aleria, Mariana or Bastia, Nebbio or S. Fiorenzo, Sagona or Vico, and ancient A.
It counts 220 diocesan priests and 75 regulars, among whom Dominicans, Franciscans, Capuchins, Oblates of Mary Immaculate and others, for a population of 180,000 inhabitants, distributed among 450 parishes. At Lavasina, near Bastia, is found the most important sanctuary of the island, dedicated to Our Lady of Graces and declared a national monument. The sanctuary, administered by the Franciscans, is every year, especially on 8 Sept., the destination of numerous pilgrimages that come from every part of Corsica.
Bibliography6 works
Corrado Morin