Diocese of Bacău

History

• Since the 13th century, missionaries of the mendicant orders, Franciscans and Dominicans, created several Latin Catholic communities in present Romania, for whom the Holy See decided to created bishoprics, south and east of the Carpathians, generally short-lived; the most durable was to be Bacău. The diocese was created in 1590 by Pope Sixtus V. It was first situated in Curtea de Argeş.
• Due to the Ottoman occupation of the region in the early 17th century, the see was moved in 1607 to Bacău in Moldavia, which region had earlier had at least three Latin bishoprics: Diocese of Milcovia, Diocese of Siret and Diocese of Baia). Initially the see of Bacău was a suffragan of the Hungarian Archdiocese of Kalocsa.
• In 1611, its territory was extended vastly, comprising in Walachia three 3 parishes, a Franciscan monastery and a Dominican one, and in Moldavia 35 parishes. Also in the 1610s, Bacău fell into the sway of the Catholic Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. From 1621, its new Metropolitan was the Archdiocese of Lwów in Poland and Polish Friars Minor were nominated to the see requiring the assent of the King of Poland, who could reside in Lwów provided they visited the bishopric annually, while delegating daily administration to an apostolic vicar, who resided at Iași. From 1621 it also had jurisdiction in the eastern part of Moldavia. Its cathedral was dedicated the Visitation of Mary.
• In the 18th century, the episcopal residence was shifted to Iași or to Śniatyn, Poland. In 1774 the diocese had 10 parochial churches and circa 8.000 baptized Catholics. Around 1800, the see was vacant for decades after the Partitions of Poland, then a few bishops were appointed again.
• It was suppressed in 1818, its territory being reassigned to establish the Apostolic Vicariate of Moldavia, yet it was still mentioned in the Annuario Pontificio till 1840.

Episcopal ordinaries

• Bernardino Quirini, Friars Minor
• Gerolamo Arsengo, Conventual Franciscans
• Walerian Lubieniecki, O.F.M.
• Adam Górski, O.F.M. Conv.
• Mikołaj Gabriel Fredro, O.F.M. Conv.
• Jan Chryzostom Zamoyski, Dominican Order, next Bishop of Przemyśl, Bishop of Łuck
• Maciej Marian Kurski, O.F.M., next Titular Bishop of Ænos as Auxiliary Bishop of Diocese of Poznań
• Anastazy Rudnicki, O.F.M.
• Jakub Górecki, O.P.
• Jakub Franciszek Dłuski
• Armand Wiktoryn Cieszejko, O.P.
• Franciszek Biegański, O.F.M. Conv.
• Jan Damascen Lubieniecki, O.P.
• Adrian Skrzetuski, O.F.M. Conv.
• Jozafat Parysowicz, O.F.M. Conv.
• Stanisław Rajmund Jezierski, O.P.
• * Coadjutor Bishop: Ignacy Franciszek Ossoliński, O.F.M. Conv., Titular Bishop of Dardanus, next Coadjutor Bishop of Kyiv–Černihiv, succeeding as Bishop of Kyiv–Černihiv
• Dominik Piotr Karwosiecki, O.F.M. Conv., succeeding as previous Titular Bishop of Byblus and Coadjutor Bishop of Bacău
• long vacancy
• Bonaventura Carenzi, O.F.M. Conv., next Bishop of Città della Pieve
• Giuseppe Bonaventura Berardi, O.F.M. Conv.).