Following the Moldo-Wallachian union of 1859, and the 1881 creation of the Kingdom of Romania, the seat in Bucharest became an archdiocese (April 7, 1883) and the one in Iaşi a diocese, replacing the Franciscan-led diocese of Bacău (June 27, 1884). This came as a consequence of repeated protests from locals, who called for Romanian clerics not to be under the strict control of foreign bishops. Upgrading the local ecclesiastical hierarchy, the move also led to the disestablishment of the Cioplea bishopric. The first Archbishop of Bucharest was Ignazio Paoli.