The diocese of Penne was always immediately subject to the Holy See (Papacy), except for the period 1526 to 1539, when it was subject to the archbishop of Chieti. The diocese of Atri (Adriensis) was established by Cardinal Petrus Capoccius, Cardinal Deacon of S. Giorgio ad velum aureum, Legate of the Marches, under authority of
Pope Innocent IV, on 1 April 1251 by the Bull
Solet S. Mater. He appointed the church of S. Maria to be the new cathedral. In a letter to the people of Atri of 21 August 1251, Pope Innocent thanked them for their support against the attacks of the
Emperor Frederick II. On 15 March 1252, the Pope united the diocese of Atri and the diocese of Penne in the person of one and the same bishop,
aequaliter et personaliter. In 1927,
Pescara became the capital of a new province of the Italian state. On 2 June 1946, a
plebiscite of the Italian peoples abolished the monarchy and established a republic. On 1 January 1948, the new constitution of the
Italian Republic went into effect. The political changes had a notable effect on the arrangement of the ecclesiastical provinces in the Abruzzi, as
Pope Pius XII was well aware. He was especially concerned about the substantial movement of population to Pescara in the first half of the 20th century, and the decision of the Italian government, partially due to destruction of parts of the area during the military operations of
World War II, to direct its resources toward the rebuilding and improvement of Pescara. As the capital of a province, Pescara might be expected to become the seat of a bishop; but the city extended over two different dioceses, Chieti and Penne. The Pope, therefore decided on the rearrangement of the diocesan system, which he effected in the Bull
Dioecesium subscriptiones of 1 July 1949. First of all, the Bull brought together all of the parishes of the city of Pescara, by transferring five parishes from the diocese of Chieti to the diocese of Penne. Second, the seat of the diocese of Penne was transferred from Penne. to the city of Pescara, and its name changed to
Pinnensis-Piscarensis. Third, the parish of S. Cetteo in Pescara was elevated to the status of a cathedral, and the Chapter of the cathedral of Penne was transferred to
S. Cetteo; the Archpriest of the Chapter was to be the parish priest of the cathedral. The cathedral in Penne was named a co-cathedral. The diocesan seminary was transferred to Pescara. Since the diocese of Atri was entirely in the civil
province of Teramo, Atri was united
aequaliter principaliter with the diocese of Teramo, forming the diocese of Teramo e Atri.
Pope John Paul II made additional changes in the ecclesiastical structure of the Abruzzi. In the Bull
Ad majorem quidam of 2 March 1982, he created a new ecclesiastical province, and named the bishop of Penne-Pescara as the metropolitan archbishop. He assigned the diocese of Teramo e Altri, which had been immediately subject to the Holy See (Papacy), as a suffragan of the new archdiocese. He also changed the name of the archdiocese from Penne-Pescara to Pescara-Penne. These changes divested the Papacy of the direct control of two more dioceses.
Cathedral and Chapter When the diocese of Atri was established in 1251, the number of Canons in the Chapter of the cathedral was fixed at twenty secular Canons. In electing a new bishop, the two Chapters of Canons were to vote together as one body. The number of electors from each Chapter was to be the same, even if one Chapter had more members than the other. For the first round of voting, they could meet in one or the other cathedral, or in some mutually agreed upon place; in subsequent votes they were to meet alternately in Atri and Penne. A document of 4 January 1252 mentions that among the dignities of the Chapter of Penne were the Primicerius and the Archpriest. Another, of 26 January 1260, names the Archdeacon, the Archpriest of civitas S. Angeli, the Archpriest of Monte Silvano, and two Primicerii; it also states that there were sixteen Canons of Penne. The city of Atri had a population of c. 6000 persons, and its Cathedral Chapter was composed of four dignities and twenty Canons. In 1755, there were three dignities and twelve Canons in Penne, and four dignities and sixteen Canons in Atri. Bishop Tommaso Balbani (1599–1621) held a diocesan synod in 1599. Bishop Giuseppe Spinucci (1668–1695) held a diocesan synod in the cathedral of Penne in November 1681. ==Bishops==