"Mother Church"

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Jean Galata
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"Mother Church"

Post by Jean Galata »

[Can anyone tell me how to research what was know as the "Mother Church" for the province of Campobasso for the year 1888? I know my grandmother was baptised there. I would like to find a record of this.
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JohnArmellino
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Re: "Mother Church"

Post by JohnArmellino »

To my knowledge, there is no mother church for the province of Campobasso. The region of Molise, of which the province of Campobasso is a part, has several dioceses that serve it. The Archdiocese of Campobasso was formerly known as the diocese of Boiano-Campobasso prior to its name change in 1927 and its elevation to archdiocese in 1973. There are three dioceses under the control of the archdiocese of Campobasso-Boiano today: Isernia-Venafro, Termoli-Larino, and Trivento. All three of these dioceses were in existence in 1888, as was the diocese of Boiano-Campobasso. Today, the seat of the Archdiocese of Campobasso-Boiano is Parrocchia di S. Maria Maggiore, La Cattedrale della Santissima Trinità, Piazza Prefettura, 86100 Campobasso (CB), Italia.

Religious rites, such as baptisms, marriages and last rites, were all performed at the local level, in the comuni at a local church. However, if a comune had more than one church then it also had a mother church. In the comune of Campobasso, the mother church was Santa Maria Maggiore aka la Cattedrale della Santissima Trinità. All baptisms in Campobasso were performed at this mother church while marriages and death rites were performed at the individual churches (at least pre-1809, the period of my research). Thus, it is critical that you locate the exact comune where your grandmother was born. It is there that you will find her birth record and her baptismal record. The birth record will have probably been microfilmed by the LDS. Church records are usually viewed on site, although some churches are cooperative with respect to written requests.
John Armellino
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Re: "Mother Church"

Post by JohnArmellino »

Sabino wrote:Forse è la chiesa di Sant'Antonio Abate situata nel centro storcico di Campobasso e chiamata chiesa madre.

http://www.provincia.campobasso.it/cult ... tonioabate

http://www.santacroceonline.com/fotogra ... /index.htm
La chiesa di Sant'Antonio Abate was my family's church prior to our emigration to the USA. It is a beautiful church and is considered a jewel of the baroque period. It was built circa 1572 and remains in its original state. It offers gold-gilded altars and ceiling by my 8GGU Giuseppe Petti of Oratino. Giuseppe and his brother, my 8GGF Gioacchino Petti, provided gold-gilding for many of the churches of the region. It also offers a wooden statue of San Francesco by my 1C9R Paulo Saverio di Zinno.

At the time of its construction, Sant'Antonio Abate was the "new" church in town, the first built outside of the medieval walls of the town. It was not the mother church, having been preceded by San Giorgio (the oldest church, circa 9th century), San Bartolomeo, Santa Maria del Monte (originally Santa Maria de Supra), San Leonardo, Santa Maria della Croce, San Nicola, San Paulo, Santa Maria Maggiore (la Cattedrale), Sant'Angelo, and San Mercurio (later combined with Sant'Angelo). For those of you from Campobasso or the surrounding area, a tour of the churches of Campobasso is very worthwhile. However, you need an appointment to see San Giorgio and San Bartolomeo, which are now closed to the public. Furthermore, Sant'Angelo is no longer in existence (once located just below Castello Monforte), San Nicola is now an office building, and San Paulo and San Mercurio appear to be abandoned.

By the time Sant'Antonio Abate was built, la Cattedrale was already considered the mother church and the ecclesiastical records, beginning in 1568, support this. If your grandmother was born in the comune of Campobasso, this is where you would find her baptismal record. If she was born elsewhere in the province of Campobasso, then you have to identify the town of birth in order to locate the record.

PS: I read your post as meaning "mother church" as a relationship to other churches or an area. If you actually mean "Mother Church" as a name or title, then I'm afraid I may have confused the issue. If so, I apologize.
John Armellino
Jean Galata
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Re: "Mother Church"

Post by Jean Galata »

You are correct. I meant "Mother Church" as the church which would have birth records.
Thank you.
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