Roman Catholic Territorial Prelature of Loreto

The Territorial Prelature of Loreto (Latin: Praelatura Territorialis ab Alma Domo Lauretana) is a Latin Church territorial prelature of the Catholic Church which was elevated to this status on 24 June 1965. The Holy House of Loreto is located in it. The metropolitan see is the Archdiocese of Ancona-Osimo and the rite is Latin (or Roman). It covers 17 square kilometers (6.6 sq mi) with an address at: Piazza della Madonna 1, 60025 Loreto [Ancona], Italia. The total population is 11,537 of which 96.2% are Catholic. Serving Loreto are two secular priests, 48 religious priests for a total 50. There is approximately one priest for every 222 persons.

Territorial Prelature of Loreto

Praelatura Territorialis ab Alma Domo Lauretana
Basilica in Loreto
Location
CountryItaly
Ecclesiastical provinceAncona-Osimo
Statistics
Area17 km2 (6.6 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics
(as of 2006)
11,694
11,150 (95.3%)
Parishes5
Information
DenominationCatholic Church
RiteRoman Rite
Established11 October 1935 (89 years ago)
CathedralSantuario Basilica Pontificia di S. Casa
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
PrelateFabio Dal Cin
Map
Website
www.santuarioloreto.it

History

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Since the fifteenth century, and possibly even earlier, the "Holy House" of Loreto has been numbered among the most famous shrines of Italy. Loreto is a small town a few miles south of Ancona and near the sea. Its most conspicuous building is the basilica. This dome-crowned edifice, which with its various annexes took more than a century to build and adorn under the direction of many famous artists, serves merely as the setting of a tiny cottage standing within the basilica itself. Though the rough walls of the little building have been raised in height and are cased externally in richly sculptured marble, the interior measures only 31 feet by 13. An altar stands at one end beneath a statue, blackened with age, of the Virgin Mother and her Divine Infant. As the inscription, Hic Verbum caro factum est, reminds us, this building is honoured by Christians as the veritable cottage at Nazareth in which the Holy Family lived, and the Word became incarnate.[1]

Ordinaries

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  • Gaetano Malchiodi (25 January 1935 – 26 January 1960 Retired)
  • Angelo Prinetto (18 October 1961 – 25 April 1965 Resigned)
  • Aurelio Sabattani (24 June 1965 – 30 September 1971 Appointed Secretary of the Apostolic Signatura)
  • Loris Francesco Capovilla (25 Sep 1971 – 10 December 1988 Resigned)
  • Pasquale Macchi (10 December 1988 – 7 October 1996 Retired)
  • Angelo Comastri (9 November 1996 – 5 February 2005 Appointed Coadjutor Archpriest of Saint Peter's Basilica)
  • Gianni Danzi (22 February 2005 – 2 October 2007 Died)
  • Giovanni Tonucci (18 October 2007[2] – 20 May 2017)[3]
  • Fabio Dal Cin (20 May 2017[3] – present)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Santa Casa di Loreto (Holy House of Loreto)
  2. ^ "Rinunce e Nomine, 18.10.2007" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 18 October 2007. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Resignations and Appointments, 20.05.2017" (Press release). Holy See Press Office. 20 May 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2022.

43°26′25″N 13°36′26″E / 43.44028°N 13.60722°E / 43.44028; 13.60722