D'AFFLITTO, ANNIAL. — Archbishop of Reggio Calabria, born in Naples in 1560 to a most noble family originally from the Duchy of Amalfi, died in Reggio Calabria in 1638.
Already chaplain to the King of Spain, he was consecrated bishop of Reggio Calabria in 1593, where he remained until his death, repeatedly refusing larger and wealthier sees. He was a man of great religious zeal and profound charity. He had occasion to demonstrate his pastoral virtues early in his episcopate, when the city was attacked in 1594 by the fleet of Amurat III under the command of the renegade Cigala, and again five years later in the desolation caused by a terrible earthquake. In the civil strife that raged among the families of Reggio, d'A. displayed great skill, ultimately succeeding in restoring peace. He convened the diocesan synod five times and in 1611 abolished the Greek rite and the jurisdiction of the prototypal see in the church of S. Maria della Cattolica. Two of his publications survive, relating to the Councils of 1595 and 1614, along with a collection of manuscript letters preserved by the Jesuits of Palermo. He died in a reputation for holiness.