Catholic Church in Italy in the context of Saint Paul

Gherardo Gambeli (born 23 June 1969) is an Italian Catholic prelate who has served as Archbishop of Florence since 2024. He devoted more than a decade of his time as a priest to missionary work in Chad.

Jules Mazarin (born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino or Mazarini; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), from 1641 known as Cardinal Mazarin, was an Italian Catholic prelate, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Louis XIII and Louis XIV from 1642 to his death. He was made a cardinal in 1641.

After serving as a papal diplomat for Pope Urban VIII, Mazarin offered his diplomatic services to Cardinal Richelieu and moved to Paris in 1640. After the death of Richelieu in 1642, Mazarin took his place as first minister of Louis XIII, and then of Louis XIV, when he succeeded to the throne in 1643. Mazarin acted as the head of the government for Anne of Austria, the regent for the young Louis XIV, and was also responsible for the king's education until he came of age. The first years of Mazarin in office were marked by military victories in the Thirty Years' War, which he used to make France the main European power and establish the Peace of Westphalia (1646–1648). A major uprising against Anne of Austria and Mazarin, called the Fronde and led by the nobles of the Parlement of Paris, broke out in Paris in 1648, followed by a second Fronde, led by Louis, Grand Condé, who had turned from his chief ally to his chief enemy. Mazarin took Anne of Austria and Louis XIV out of Paris and then shifted his base to Germany for a time. Turenne, a general loyal to Louis XIV and Mazarin, defeated Condé, and Mazarin made a triumphal return to Paris in 1653.

The following is a list of the Catholic dioceses in Italy. As of May 2017, the Catholic Church in Italy is divided into sixteen ecclesiastical regions. While they are similar to the 20 civil regions of the Italian state, there are some differences. Most ecclesiastical regions are in turn divided into a number of ecclesiastical provinces. The provinces are in turn divided into a number of dioceses. The sovereign state of Vatican City is part of the metropolitan province of Rome. A metropolitan bishop exercises a degree of leadership over a group of dioceses that are loosely subject (suffragan) to the care of the metropolitan see. This list excludes those archdioceses, dioceses and ecclesiastical territories that are immediately subject to the Holy See.

There are 227 sees ('particular churches'), most of which are dioceses led by a bishop. A diocese that is led by an archbishop is known as an archdiocese. There are 40 Metropolitan archdioceses which serve as the seat of an ecclesiastical province. This number includes the Holy See and the Patriarchate of Venice. There are also four archdioceses which are non-metropolitan, having been demoted by papal decree. This brings the number of archbishops in Italy and Vatican City to 44 (i.e. 40 + 4).

The Third Order of Saint Francis, or Franciscan Tertiaries, is the third order of the Franciscan tradition of Christianity, founded by the medieval Italian Catholic friar St. Francis of Assisi.

Francis founded the Third Order, originally called the Brothers and Sisters of Penance, in 1221, to accommodate men and women who, either from already being in consecrated life as hermits, or from being married, were ineligible to join the Franciscan First or Second Orders, respectively. In this way, they could live their lives affiliated to the Franciscan vision of the Gospel.

The Archdiocese of Carthage is a Latin Catholic titular see originally established as a diocese in Carthage, Roman Empire, in the 2nd century. Agrippinus was the first named bishop, appointed around 230 AD.

The diocese, in its earlier form, was to the Early African church what the Diocese of Rome was to the Catholic Church in Italy. The archdiocese used the African Rite, a variant of the Western liturgical rites in Latin language, possibly a local use of the primitive Roman Rite. Famous figures include Saint Perpetua, Saint Felicitas, and their Companions (died c. 203), Tertullian (c. 155–240), Cyprian (c. 200–258), Caecilianus (floruit 311), Saint Aurelius (died 429), and Eugenius of Carthage (died 505). Tertullian and Cyprian are both considered Latin Church Fathers of the Latin Church.

Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster, O.S.B. (Italian pronunciation: [alˈfreːdo ildeˈfɔnso ʃˈʃuster], German: [ˈʃuːstɐ]; born Alfredo Ludovico Schuster; 18 January 1880 – 30 August 1954) was an Italian Catholic prelate and professed member of the Benedictines who served as the Archbishop of Milan from 1929 until his death. He took the religious name of Ildefonso as a Benedictine monk and served as an abbot prior to his elevation to the cardinalate.

He led the Milanese archdiocese during World War II and was known to have supported fascism at first. His views changed to opposition after the annexation of Austria and the introduction of Italian racial laws, which prompted vocal criticisms of anti-Christian aspects of Benito Mussolini's regime.

Mario Enrico Delpini (born 29 July 1951) is an Italian Catholic prelate who has served as Archbishop of Milan since 2017. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop and as the vicar general of the archdiocese.

Charles Borromeo (Italian: Carlo Borromeo; Latin: Carolus Borromeus; 2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was an Italian Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584. He was made a cardinal in 1560.

Borromeo founded the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine and was a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation together with Ignatius of Loyola and Philip Neri. In that role, he was responsible for significant reforms in the Catholic Church, including the founding of seminaries for the education of priests. He was canonized in 1610 and his feast day is 4 November.

Matteo Maria Zuppi ([matˈtɛːo maˈriːa tˈtsuppi, - dˈdzuppi]; born 11 October 1955) is an Italian Roman Catholic prelate who has served as Archbishop of Bologna since 2015. He was previously an auxiliary bishop of Rome from 2012 to 2015.

Pope Francis made him a cardinal in 2019. He has been president of the Episcopal Conference of Italy since 2022. During this time, Zuppi opposed right-wing populism, nationalism and anti-immigrant beliefs, emphasizing Europe's moral duty to welcome migrants. These views resulted in clashes with Matteo Salvini, leader of Italy's Lega Party, alongside other individuals of the Italian right. He was a voice of support for the 2018 Vatican-China Agreement, which allows the pope to approve and veto bishops approved by the Chinese Communist Party. He has written three books on Catholicism and additionally contributed an essay to the Italian translation of James Martin's Building a Bridge. As a close associate of Pope Francis, who supported many of his initiatives, Zuppi was seen as a leading contender in the 2025 papal conclave.

Giovanni Battista Re (born 30 January 1934) is an Italian Catholic prelate who has served as Dean of the College of Cardinals since 2020. He was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 2001 and served as prefect of the Congregation for Bishops from 2000 to 2010. As the most senior cardinal-bishop in attendance, he chaired the 2013 papal conclave that elected Pope Francis.

Bernardino of Siena, OFM (Bernardine or Bernadine; 8 September 1380 – 20 May 1444), was an Italian Catholic priest and Franciscan missionary preacher in Italy. He was a systematizer of scholastic economics.

His preaching, his book burnings, and his "bonfires of the vanities" established his reputation in his own lifetime; they were frequently directed against gambling, infanticide, sorcery/witchcraft, sodomy (male homosexuality), Jews, Gypsies, usury, and the like.

The name early African church is given to the Christian communities inhabiting the region known politically as Roman Africa, and comprised geographically somewhat around the area of the Roman Diocese of Africa, namely: the Mediterranean littoral between Cyrenaica on the east and the river Ampsaga (now the Oued Rhumel (fr)) on the west; that part of it that faces the Atlantic Ocean being called Mauretania, in addition to Byzacena. Thus corresponding somewhat to contemporary Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya. The evangelization of Africa followed much the same lines as those traced by Roman civilization. From the late fifth and early sixth century, the region included several Christian Berber kingdoms.

Informal primacy was exercised by the Archdiocese of Carthage, a metropolitan archdiocese also known as "Church of Carthage". The Church of Carthage thus was to the early African church what the Church of Rome was to the Catholic Church in Italy. The archdiocese used the African Rite, a variant of the Western liturgical rites in Latin language, possibly a local use of the primitive Roman Rite.