Boiano-Campobasso, Diocese of

BOIANO-CAMPOBASSO, DIOCESE OF. - B., a small town at the foot of a northern spur of the Matese, in the center of ancient Samnium and of present-day Molise, in the province of C. It is mentioned by Livy as a flourishing Samnite city; occupied by the Romans in 314, it became a colony and a municipium (Bovianum Undecimanorum). Christianity in B. is attested by an undated Christian inscription (CIL, IX, 2584). With the Lombard invasion it became part of the duchy of Benevento as a gastaldate. In the 11th century it passed under the rule of the Normans. Frequent earthquakes and a violent fire, at the hands of Frederick II in 1221, brought about its ruin; because of this, from the 13th century onward, the population began to decline to the advantage of nearby C. The origin of the bishopric is uncertain. It is probable that the Laurentius who took part in the Roman Synods of 501 and 503 was bishop of B. The regular list of prelates begins only with the 12th century. The present diocese, a suffragan of Benevento, comprises municipalities in the province of C. and of Benevento. It has 100,000 inhabitants, all Catholics, 46 parishes served by 68 diocesan priests and 24 regulars (1948). The Cathedral, erected by a Rodolfo, count of Boviano, consecrated in 1215 by bishop Poliziano, is dedicated to St. Bartholomew. It was restored and adorned in 1572 by the bishop card. Carlo Carafa, but it has been damaged by the last war.

The episcopal see was transferred, on 29 June 1927, to C., given the greater importance of this city, where the oldest churches are those of the Most Holy Trinity, now the cathedral, and of St. Leonard, both of them from the 13th century.

Normi Croscavosa Scipioni