• During the 1460s, due to the Ottoman (Turkish) advance in
Dalmatia, the medieval Catholic
Diocese of Corbavia (established in 1185 at
Udbina, in
Krbava region -hence the name-, including the county of Modruš) was formally suppressed by Pope
Pius II, but its territory immediately reassigned to establish as successor see the
Diocese of Modruš (Croatian = Curiate Italian) / Modrussa / (Latin), named after its new see, near
Fiume (Rijeka), at the rock fortress of the Frankopan counts (now in the comune
Josipdol). Again it was a
suffragan of the Metropolitan
Archdiocese of Spalato (Split). • Due to a Croat defeat against the Turks at
Udbina in (1493), the episcopal see was again transferred, now to
Novi Vinodolski (Italian Novi in Valdivino), south-east of Fiume, but kept Modruš as its title. • Turkish raids having devastated the nearly-abandoned bishopric since the 1560s, its administration was vested in the nearby
Diocese of Segna, and in 1630 Pope
Urban VIII united both sees in
personal union, formally remaining separate suffragans of Spalato, as confirmed in 1833 by
papal bulla from
Gregory XVI. They became known (informally, incorrectly) as the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Senj-Modruš. • By the 19th century, besides the cathedral little survived the Turkish rule, except its
Chapter of Canons, divided in three parts residing in the diocese's last
parishes : Novi itself,
Bribir and
Buccari. • In the first half of the 18th century, Segna and Modruš became suffragans in the
ecclesiastical province of the Hungarian
Archdiocese of Kalocsa, then from 8 March 1788 suffragans of the Slovenian
Archdiocese of Ljubljana, but 19 August 1807 returned to Kalocsa, until 11 December 1852 they became part of the
ecclesiastical province of the Croatian
Archdiocese of Zagreb. • On 27 July 1969 by
Paul VI's
papal bulla 'Coetu intante', Modruš was united with the
Diocese of Rijeka–Opatija (Fiume in Italian), which was elevated to Metropolitan archbishopric and renamed
Archdiocese of Rijeka–Senj (Fiume-Segna), by privilege bearing the 'additional' title Bishops of Modruš.
Residential Bishops of Modruš ;
Suffragan Bishops of Modruš • Niccolò di Cattaro (October 1461 – ?) • Cristoforo da Ragusa (1480.05.29 – death 1498?99) • Giacomo Dragazio (12 April 1499 – death 1499.09.07) • Simone de Begno (1509.11.07 – death 1536.03) • Pierpaolo Vergerio (1536.05.05 – 1536.09.06), previously
Apostolic Nuncio (papal ambassador) to
Austria-Hungary (1533 – 1535); later Bishop of
Koper (Capodistria,
Slovenia) (1536.09.06 – retired 1549.07.03), died 1565 • Ermolao Ermolai,
Observant Franciscans (O.F.M. Obs.) (1536.11.06 – death 1537) • Giovanni Evangelista Brachi,
Benedictine Order (O.S.B.) (1537.08.17 – death 1537?38) • Diego de Loaysa,
Recollect Augustinians (O.A.R.) (1538.03.11 – resigned 1549) • Alberto Divini = Gliričić,,
Dominican Order (O.P.) (1549.07.26 – 1550.03.19), next Bishop of
Krk (Veglia, Croatia) (1550.03.19 – 1564) and
Apostolic Administrator of
Diocese of Skradin (1550.03.19 – death 1564) • Lorenzo Gherardi, O.P. (1550.06.20 – ?) •
See administered by Diocese of Veglia (Krk) (?-1560) • Dionigi Pieppi, O.P. (1560.07.17 – 156?) • Jovan Kosisić (mentioned in 1564) •
See administered by Diocese of Segna (Senj) :'' From 1630, due to the sees'
personal union, see
Diocese of Senj (Segna).''
Titular see The diocese was nominally restored in 2000 as Latin
Titular bishopric of Modruš (Croatian = Curiate Italian) /
Modrussa / (Latin). It has had the following incumbents, so far of the fitting Episcopal (lowest) rank : •
Dominick John Lagonegro (2001.10.30 – ...), as
Auxiliary Bishop of
Archdiocese of New York (USA) (2001.10.30 – ...). ==Demographics==