[3] Because of the schism of the Antipope Clement III, Pope Paschal II released the dioceses of Emilia, including Reggio, from obedience to the church of Ravenna, and made them directly subject to the Holy See (Rome), but twelve years later Pope Gelasius II restored the previous status.

Reggio was made a suffragan of the archdiocese of Bologna, by Pope Gregory XIII in the bull Universi orbis of 10 December 1582.

[citation needed] On 21 April 1141, the metropolitan Archbishop of Ravenna, Gualterius, was obliged to hold a synod at Reggio, for the purpose of composing the differences which existed between the people and their leaders, as well as disputes among the leading clergy of the diocese.

The Archdeacon of Reggio had issues with the canons of the cathedral and with the brothers of S. Prospero as well, over various chapels and pieces of property.

[10] According to the Cronica of Fra Salimbene of Parma, Nicolò was named bishop in 1211, with the approval of both the Emperor Otto IV and Pope Innocent III.

In May and June 1230, Bishop Nicolò dei Maltraversi (1211–1243) accompanied an embassy of the Emperor Frederick II to Pope Gregory IX, in the hope of bringing peace between Empire and Church.

[15] In April 1242, the Emperor Frederick wrote a letter to Bishop Maltraversi, expressing his joy at the bishop's success in bringing his nephews and other relatives (consanguineos et nepotes tuos) back to the imperial side (the Ghibellines) and loyalty to the Emperor; he urged Nicolò to return to him as soon as possible, to assist in some difficult and useful matters.

Since the agents of the Emperor Frederick's son Enzo had possession of the episcopal palace, Bishop-elect Fogliano was forced into exile.

Finally, on 3 April, in a public consistory, the Pope proposed the name of Enrico de Casalorci, who was a Canon of the cathedral of Cremona.

His appointment was published at the Lateran on 30 April, and he was consecrated at Anagni by Cardinal Matteo di Aquasparta, Bishop of Porto, on 22 July 1302.

[24] Reggio accepted the vicars of Emperor Henry VII and Louis the Bavarian, and was subject to the pope under Cardinal Bertrand du Poyet (1322).

Reggio Emilia was stricken particularly hard by the bubonic plague from 1630 to 1632, the result of German troop movements in the war between the French and the Empire.

[25] The Church began its campaign against the plague on 18 April 1630, with a procession ordered by the bishop and magistrates, which featured the carrying of the right foot of Mary Magdalene, the head of Saint Maurizio, arms of S. Reparata and S. Catherine, and the remains of S. Apollonia, S. Abondonio, and S.

This was necessary, the bull states, because numbers of relatives and hangers-on who obtained canonries were appropriating the property belonging to the Chapter.

He consulted with the Cathedral Chapter and with the clergy of the city as to the means to comply, and then, on 3 January 1567, he issued a decree calling for a tax on every benefice in the diocese to raise funds.

In the Synod of 1581, Bishop Benedetto Manzoli (1578–1585) expressed his resolution to create the seminary immediately, but he too died before accomplishing anything.

Bishop Claudio Rangone, too, had good intentions, which he expressed in his Synod of 1595, but his work as a diplomat for Pope Clement VIII took him away from the diocese.

[46] The next three bishops, Rinaldo d'Este (1650–1660), Girolamo Codebò (1661), Giovanni Agostino Marliani (1662–1674) worked with determination, though intermittently, to bring together sufficient property (some of it by the suppression of churches and transfer of assets) to provide operating capital for a new seminary, and even during the Sede vacante following the death of Bishop Marliani the Chapter demonstrated a will to reopen the seminary.

[48] The increase in students, and the fact that the Episcopal Palace had no courtyard that could be used by the seminarians for recreation, meant that a new building was required, which was opened in 1723.

[50] On 8 July 1805, however, the new King of Italy, the Emperor Bonaparte, issued an edict, allowing bishops to reopen their seminaries.

That action was delayed in Reggio, however, due to a dispute between Bishop d'Este and the municipal authorities, who had taken ownership of the seminary building, the Palazzo Busetti, which had been turned into a public grammar school.

[53] On 15 April 2015, the Diocese of Reggio announced that it was putting the Episcopal Seminary up for sale, due to a serious financial emergency.