The Italian Catholic archdiocese of Benevento has a long history; it now has as suffragan diocese

Suffragan Diocese

A suffragan diocese is a diocese in the Catholic Church that is overseen not only by its own diocesan bishop but also by a metropolitan bishop. The metropolitan is always an archbishop who governs his own archdiocese...

s the diocese of Ariano Irpino-Lacedonia, the diocese of Avellino, the diocese of Cerreto Sannita-Telese-Sant'Agata de' Goti, the Territorial Abbey of Montevergine

Territorial Abbey of Montevergine

The Territorial Abbey of Montevergine is a Roman Catholic territorial abbey located in the city of Montevergine in the Ecclesiastical province of Benevento in Italy.-History:...

, and the archdiocese of Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi-Conza-Nusco-Bisaccia.

History

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Benevento was founded in the first century. During the persecution of Diocletian

Diocletian

Diocletian |latinized]] upon his accession to Diocletian . c. 22 December 244  – 3 December 311), was a Roman Emperor from 284 to 305....

 we find mentioned a bishop of this city Januarius who together with Proculus his deacon and two laymen was imprisoned and beheaded at Pozzuoli

Pozzuoli

Pozzuoli is a city and comune of the province of Naples, in the Italian region of Campania. It is the main city of the Phlegrean peninsula.-History:Pozzuoli began as the Greek colony of Dicaearchia...

 in 305. The see of Benevento was elevated in status to an archdiocese on 26 May 969. The cathedral of Maria SS. Assunta in Cielo was founded in Lombard times, but was destroyed by Allied bombings in World War II; it has kept the medieval Romanesque façade and bell tower, and the 8th century crypt.

Leadership

Bishops

• Januarius
  Januarius
  Januarius, Bishop of Naples, is a martyr saint of the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Churches. While no contemporary sources on his life are preserved, later sources and legends claim that he died during the Diocletianic Persecution, which ended with Diocletian's retirement in...
  
   I (until 305)
• Theophilus (313)
• Januarius II (343)
• Emilius (405)
• Marcianus (533)
• Barbatus I (602)
• Hildebrand (until 663)
• Barbatus II
  Barbatus of Benevento
  Saint Barbatus of Benevento , also known as Barbas, was a bishop of Benevento from 663 to 682. He succeeded Hildebrand in this capacity...
  
  (663–682)
• Beatus Joannes (684–716)
• Toto (until 743)
• Monoald (743)
• Ursus (830)
• Petrus I (887)
• Joannes I (910–914)
• Joannes II (943–956)