DIOCESE OF NOCERA (NUCERINENSIS)

Diocese in Perugia, Umbria, Italy, near the sources of the Tina, famous for its mineral waters, especially the Fonte Angelica. According to a legend, the first Bishop of Nocera was St. Crispoldus, a disciple of the Apostles, but his Germanic name renders this doubtful; more credible is the tradition of the martyrdom of SS. Felix, Constance, and Felicissimus. The Bishops Felix, to whom {ln:Pope} Innocent addressed a letter in 402, and Coelius Laurentius, the competitor of {ln:Pope} Symmachus (498), were not Umbrian prelates, but bishops of Nocera, near Naples (Savio, "Civ. Cattol.", 1907). The first Authentic Bishop was Liutardus (824); other prelates were Blessed Rinaldo d'Antignano (1258) and Blessed Filippo Oderisi (1285), monks of Fonte Avellana; Blessed Alessandro Vincioli, O.M. (1363); Antonio Bolognini (1438) restored the cathedral; Varino Favorino (1514), a noted humanist; Gerolano Maunelli (1545), founder of the seminary; Mario Battaglini (1690), diocesan historian; Francesco Luigi Piervisani (1800), exiled in 1809 because he refused the oath of allegiance to Napoleon. It is immediately dependent on Rome, with 82 parishes; 59,731 inhabitants; 7 religious houses of men and 9 of women.