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List of Catholic dioceses in France

(redirected from List of the Roman Catholic dioceses of France)

The Catholic Church in France mainly comprises a Metropolitan Latin Church hierarchy, joint in a national episcopal conference, consisting of

  • fifteen ecclesiastical provinces, each under a Metropolitan Archdioceses (15)
    • with a total of 80 suffragans: seven non-Metropolitan Archdioceses, 72 bishoprics and a Territorial Prelature
  • two exempt non-Metropolitan Archdioceses
  • the (exempt) Military Ordinariate.

Furthermore, it has four exempt Eastern Catholic jurisdictions : three rite-specific (of which two are transnational) and a national Ordinariate for the Faithful of Eastern Rite for all others without rite-proper Ordinary.

The French overseas departments and territories, although administratively and constitutionally part of the French republic, are not part of the French church under canon law but exempt and/or part of an episcopal conference in their respective continent.

There is also an Apostolic Nunciature (as papal diplomatic representation at embassy-level) to France in the national capital Paris. the country also hosts three multilateral Holy See Representations: to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), to the Council of Europe in Strasburg and to the International Commission on Civil Status (ICCS).

The following contains the list of the French Catholic Roman Catholic dioceses of France as since 2002. See also the List of Ancien Régime dioceses of France and the List of French dioceses in the 19th and 20th century for information prior to 2002.

Dioceses of metropolitan France. Provinces are demarcated by bold lines and their sees (Metropolitan archdioceses) written in bold letters.

Pope John Paul II completely redrew the map of French ecclesiastical provinces in December 2002, in order to coincide more closely with the map of French administrative regions, but losing in several instances remaining boundaries surviving from late Roman times. This meant the creation of a few new Metropolitan archbishoprics and ecclesiastical provinces. This also entailed, for several archbishoprics, the loss of their metropolitan status (symbolised by the wearing of the pallium): their bishops nevertheless retained the title of archbishop.

As a result of history, many former episcopal sees were united, mainly as a consequence of the French Revolution; hence many dioceses bear the names of several cities, in which case, only the first one is the cathedral see where the bishop still actually resides.

In France, most dioceses coincide with a Departments of France(administrative province), but there are a few exceptions, where some arrondissements are attached to a diocese outside the department, or form a separate diocese within the department (this happens mainly in departments with numerous populations, such as Nord or Bouches-du-Rhône). Along with the list of the new ecclesiastical provinces and their suffragan dioceses, this list also gives the equivalent of the diocesan jurisdiction in departmental terms.

Current European French Dioceses

Exempt, i.e. directly subject to the Holy See

Exempt Latin

Eastern Catholic (exempt) jurisdictions

  • Ordinariate for Eastern Catholics in France, vested in the Metropolitan Archbishop of capital Paris
Armenian Rite:
  • Armenian Catholic Eparchy of Sainte-Croix-de-Paris, with cathedral see in Paris, in and for France, immediately subject to the Patriarch of Cilicia, but not part of his province
Antiochian Rite:
West Syriac Rite:
  • Maronite Eparchy of Notre-Dame du Liban de Paris, with cathedral see Cathédrale Notre-Dame du Liban, Paris, immediately subject to the Patriarch of Cilicia, but not part of his province; also Apostolic Visitor in Western and Northern Europe of the Maronites
Byzantine Rite:
  • Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saint Vladimir the Great of Paris, with cathedral see in Paris, directly subject to the Major Archbishop, for France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

Episcopal Conference of ('Metropolitan', European) France

Ecclesiastical Province of Besançon

(Franche-Comté and part of Lorraine)

Ecclesiastical Province of Bordeaux

(Aquitaine)

Ecclesiastical Province of Clermont

(Auvergne)

  • Metropolitan Archdiocese of Clermont (Puy-de-Dôme — New archdiocese (2002))

Ecclesiastical Province of Dijon

(Burgundy)

  • Metropolitan Archdiocese of Dijon (Côte-d'Or — New archdiocese (2002))

Ecclesiastical Province of Lille

(Nord-Pas-de-Calais)

  • Metropolitan Archdiocese of Lille[1] (Nord, arrondissements of Dunkerque and Lille — New archdiocese (2008))
    • Archdiocese of Cambrai (Nord, arrondissements of Avesnes-sur-Helpe, Cambrai, Douai, Valenciennes)
    • Diocese of Arras (Pas-de-Calais)

Ecclesiastical Province of Lyon

(Rhône-Alpes)

  • Metropolitan Archdiocese of Lyon (Rhône and the arrondissement of Roanne in the département of the Loire)
    • Archdiocese of Chambéry, Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, and Tarentaise (Savoie)
    • Diocese of Annecy (Haute-Savoie)
    • Diocese of Belley–Ars (Ain)
    • Diocese of Grenoble–Vienne-les-Allobroges (Isère)
    • Diocese of Saint-Étienne (Loire, minus the arrondissement of Roanne)
    • Diocese of Valence (Drôme)
    • Diocese of Viviers (Ardèche)

Ecclesiastical Province of Marseille

(Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur and Corsica)

Ecclesiastical Province of Montpellier

(Languedoc-Roussillon)

  • Metropolitan Archdiocese of Montpellier (Hérault — New archdiocese (2002))

Ecclesiastical Province of Paris

(Ile-de-France)

Ecclesiastical Province of Poitiers

(Poitou-Charentes and Limousin)

Ecclesiastical Province of Reims

(Champagne-Ardenne and Picardy)

  • Metropolitan Archdiocese of Reims (arrondissement of Reims in the Marne and département of the Ardennes)
    • Diocese of Amiens (Somme)
    • Diocese of Beauvais, Noyon, and Senlis (Oise)
    • Diocese of Châlons (Marne, minus the arrondissement of Reims)
    • Diocese of Langres (Haute-Marne)
    • Diocese of Soissons, Laon, and Saint-Quentin (Aisne)
    • Diocese of Troyes (Aube)

Ecclesiastical Province of Rennes

(Brittany and Pays de la Loire)

Ecclesiastical Province of Rouen

(Upper and Lower Normandy)

  • Metropolitan Archdiocese of Rouen (Seine-Maritime, minus the arrondissement of Le Havre)
    • Diocese of Bayeux and Lisieux (Calvados)
    • Diocese of Coutances (Manche)
    • Diocese of Évreux (Eure)
    • Diocese of Le Havre (arrondissement of Le Havre in Seine-Maritime)
    • Diocese of Sées (Orne)

Eccleasiastical Province of Toulouse

(Midi-Pyrénées)

Eccleasiastical Province of Tours

(Centre-Val de Loire)

Defunct jurisdictions in European France

Titular sees

UNITED SEES TO BE SORTED OUT above
  • two Titular Metropolitan Sees (both united): Arles (united), Embrun (united)
  • Titular Episcopal Sees (18, 41 united): Accia, Agde (united), Aléria, Alès (united), Alet, Apt, Arisitum, Auxerre (united), Avranches (united), Bazas (united), Béziers (united), Boulogne (united), Briançonnet, Carpentras, Castres (united), Cavaillon, Châlon-sur-Saône (united), Condom (united), Couserans (united), Die (united), Dol (united), Entrevaux, Laon (united), Lavaur (united), Lectoure (united), Léon (united), Lescar (united), Lisieux (united), Lodève (united), Lombez (united), Mâcon (united), Maillezais, Mariana en Corse, Mirepoix (united), Nebbio, Noyon (united), Oloron (united), Orange, Rieux (united), Riez (united), Sagone, Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges (united), Saint-Malo (united), Saint-Omer (united), Saint-Papoul, Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux (united), Saint-Pons-de-Thomières (united), Saint-Quentin (united), Saintes (united), Sarlat (united), Senez, Senlis (united), Sisteron (united), Thérouanne, Toul (united), Tréguier (united), Uzès (united), Vabres (united), Vaison
  • a single Titular Abbacy (united): Cluny (united)

Other defunct French sees

Excluding those united to current sees TO BE CHECKED

  • Diocese of Aleth, Diocese of Antibes, Diocese of Bethléem à Clamecy (alias Panthenor), Diocese of Bourg-en-Bresse, Diocese of Cimiez, Diocese of Dax (Acqs), Archdiocese of Eauze (Elusa), Diocese of Grasse, Diocese of Javols, Diocese of Limoux, Archdiocese of Narbonne, Diocese of Rezé, Diocese of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, Diocese of Sospel, Archdiocese of Tarentaise, Diocese of Toulon, Diocese of Vence, Diocese of Vernay, Archdiocese of Vienne.

Overseas French dioceses

all Latin (in many cases, in a conference/province(s) with non-French, mainly Anglophone, dioceses)

Exempt, directly subject to the Holy See (Africa)

Episcopal Conference of the Antilles

Ecclesiastical Province of Martinique

(Martinique, Guadeloupe, French Guiana; exclusively Francophone)

Episcopal Conference of the Pacific (Oceania)

Ecclesiastical Province of Papeete

Ecclesiastical Province of Noumea

Gallery of Archdioceses

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Pope Benedict XVI elevated the Diocese of Lille to a Metropolitan Archdiocese. Cambrai (the former Metropolitan) became its suffragan, while retaining the title "Archdiocese" (see "Daily Bulletin - Elevazione di Lille (Francia) a Chiesa Metropolitana e Nomina del Primo Arcivescovo Metropolita" (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 2008-03-29. Archived from the original on 2008-06-07. Retrieved 2008-03-30.).

Sources and external links

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