in 1174 the abbey of monreale was declared a "prælatura nullius"; two years later its abbot was vested with the title and jurisdiction of a bishop. on 2 february 1183, thanks to the bull "licet dominus" of pope lucius iii, monreale became the metropolitan see for the diocese of catania and the diocese of siracusa. at first the archbishops were elected by the monks, but were not always benedictines; since 1275 the election has been reserved to itself by the holy see.