Territorial Abbey of Montevergine Abbatia Territorialis Montisvirginis | |
|---|---|
 Cathedral | |
| Location | |
| Country | Italy |
| Ecclesiastical province | Benevento |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 48 km2 (19 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics | (as of 2004) 16,000 15,800 (98.8%) |
| Information | |
| Rite | Latin Rite |
| Established | 12th Century |
| Cathedral | Santuario di S. Maria di Montevergine |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Abbot | Riccardo Luca Guariglia, O.S.B. |
| Website | |
| www.santuariodimontevergine.com | |
The Territorial Abbey of Montevergine (Latin: Territorialis Abbatia Montisvirginis) is a Latin Church territorial abbey located in the commune of Montevergine in the ecclesiastical province of Benevento in Italy.
About 1120 William of Vercelli founded an abbey of eremitic inspiration dedicated to the Holy Virgin. It was consecrated in 1124 on Mons Sacer, so called because of the ruins of a temple of Cybele.[1] Catherine of Valois and her son, Louis I of Naples, are buried in the abbey. The new basilica, built in 1961, is home to a 13th-century Byzantine icon of a black Madonna.[2] In 1926 it was established as the Territorial Abbacy of Montevergine.
- ^ Catholic Encyclopedia: "Monte Vergine"; the legend, told to an English traveler, was reported in Sketch Book of the South, (pub. Edward Churton) London, 1835.
- ^ Described in Sketch Book of the South, 1835.