Mesarfelta
Mesarfelta was a Roman–Berber town in the province of Numidia. It was also a bishopric that is included in the Catholic Church's list of titular sees.[1]
History
The historic Mesarfelta is believed to be what are now the ruins of El-Outaïa or those of Tolga, Henchir-El-Ksar,[1] or may be Qastilya in Algeria[2] (according to "Three North-African Topographical Notes (Islamic-Roman)").
The city is believed to have been constructed as a fortification by the Romans (with annexed "vicus"), in the second half of the first century near the Aures Mountains. It had an amphitheatre during Hadrians reign.[3]
A barrier called Fossatum Africae, which marked the frontier between the territory of the Roman Empire and other lands, ran through Mesarfelta.[4]
The city disappeared after the Muslim conquest in the second half of the 7th century.
Bishopric
The city of Mesarfelta was the seat of an ancient bishopric[5] There are two Mesarfelta bishops historically remembered both in the Council of Carthage (411).
Ancient bishops
Titular bishops of Mesarfelta
- William Edward McManus 1967–1976
- Louis-Albert Vachon 1977–1981
- Basile Tapsoba 1981–1984
- Joseph Paul Pierre Morissette 1987–1990
- Michael Angelo Saltarelli[7] 1990–1995
- Antonio Menegazzo, M.C.C.I. 1995-2019
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