Catholic archdiocese in France
The Archdiocese of Avignon (
Latin : Archidioecesis Avenionensis ;
French : Archidiocèse d'Avignon ) is a
Latin
archdiocese of the
Catholic Church in
France . The diocese exercises jurisdiction over the territory embraced by the
department of
Vaucluse , in the
Region of
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur . It is named for the prefecture of
Avignon . The diocese has been led since January 2021 by Archbishop
Georges Pontier , whom
Pope Francis called out of retirement to serve as Apostolic Administrator.
[1]
Established in the 4th century as the Diocese of Avignon, the
diocese was elevated to an archdiocese in 1475,
[a] with the
suffragan
sees of the
Diocese of Carpentras , the
Diocese of Vaison , and the
Diocese of Cavaillon . By the
Concordat of 1801 these three dioceses were united to Avignon, together with the
Diocese of Apt , a suffragan of the
Archdiocese of Aix . At the same time, however, Avignon was reduced to the rank of a
bishopric and was made a suffragan see of Aix.
[b]
The Archdiocese of Avignon was re-established in 1822,
[c] and received as suffragan sees the
Diocese of Viviers (restored in 1822);
Diocese of Valence (formerly under Lyon);
Diocese of Nîmes (restored in 1822); and
Diocese of Montpellier (formerly under
Toulouse ).
On 16 December 2002, the see – officially Archdiocese of Avignon (-Apt, Cavaillon, Carpentras, Orange, and Vaison) – lost its
Metropolitan status and became instead a suffragan see of
Marseille . In 2009 its name was changed to Archdiocese of Avignon, the secondary titles being suppressed.
History
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(December 2016 )
There is no evidence that either
Saint Rufus , disciple of
Saint Paul according to certain traditions the son of
Simon of Cyrene , or
Saint Justus , likewise held in high honour throughout the territory of Avignon, was venerated in antiquity as bishop of that see. The first bishop known to history is
Nectarius , who took part in several councils about the middle of the fifth century.
Saint Agricol (Agricolus), bishop between 650 and 700, is the patron saint of Avignon.
In 1475
Pope Sixtus IV raised the diocese of Avignon to the rank of an archbishopric, in favour of his nephew
Giuliano della Rovere who later became Pope Julius II.
Bishops
To 1000
? - 100:
Saint Simon of Cyrene
3rd of 4th century:
Saint Ruf
439–451: Nectarius
465: Saturinus
475–507: Julianus
524–540: Eucherius
541–554: Antonius
585: Johannes
618: Maximus
7th century:
Saint Veredème
7th century (683?):
Saint Agricol
855: Ragenutius
860–876: Hilduinus
876–879: Ratifridus
1000 to 1474
mentioned 1002: Pierre
before 1006–1033: Heldebert
1033–1036: Senioret
1037– after 1047: Benoît I
before 1050– after 1173: Rostaing II
1095– after 1120: Albert
before 1124–1142: Laugerius
1148–after 1148: Geoffroy I
1173–1174: Raymond I
1174–1177: Geoffroy II
1178–1180: Pontius
1180–1197: Rostaing III de Marguerite
1197–1209: Rostaing IV
1209–1216 death: Guillaume I de Montelier
mentioned 1225: Pierre II
before 1226– after 1230: Nicolas de Corbie
mentioned 1238: Benedictus
1242–1261 death:
Zoen Tencarari
1264–1266:
Bertrand de Saint-Martin
1267– c. 1287 death: Robert d'Uzès
mentioned 1288: Benoît III
1290– after 1294: André de Languiscel
1300–1310: Bertrandus Aymini
1310–1312: Jacques Duèze, later
Pope John XXII
1313–1317:
Jacques de Via (nephew of John XXII)
1317–1334:
John XXII (again)
1336–1349: Jean de Cojordan
1349–1352 death:
Clement VI
1352–1362 death:
Innocent VI
1362–1366:
Anglicus Grimoard (brother
Pope Urban V )
1366–1367:
Urban V
1367–1368: Philippe de Cabassole
1368–1371 death: Pierre d'Aigrefeuille
1371–1383: Faydit d'Aigrefeuille
1391–1394:
Clement VII (antipope)
1394–1398:
Benedict XIII (antipope)
1398–1406: Gilles de Bellamere
1410–1412: Pierre V de Tourroye
1412–1415:
Simond de Cramaud
1415–1419: Guy I de Roussillon-Bouchage
1419–1422: Guy II Spifame
1422–1432: Guy III de Roussillon-Bouchage
1432–1433: Marco Condulmer
1437–1474:
Alain de Coëtivy
Archbishops
1474–1503:
Giuliano della Rovere (Archbishop from 1475)
1503–1512: Antoine Florès
1512–1517: Orlando Carretto della Rovere (Orland de Roure)
1517–1535:
Hippolyte de' Medici
1535–1551:
Alessandro Farnese the Younger
1551–1562:
Annibale Bozzuti (Annibal Buzzutto)
1566–1576: Félicien Capitone
1577–1585:
Georges d'Armagnac
1585–1592: Domenico Grimaldi
1592–1598: François-Marie Thaurusi (
Francesco Maria Tarugi )
1598–1609: Jean-François Bordini
1609–1624:
Etienne II Dulci
1624–1644: Marius Philonardi
1644–1647: Bernard III Pinelli
1647–1649:
César Argelli
1649–1669:
Domenico de' Marini
1669–1672: Azzo Ariosto
1673–1686:
Hyacinthe Libelli
1686–1689: Alexandre II Montecatini
1690–1705: Lorenzo Fieschi
1705–1717: François Maurice Gonteri
1742–1757: Joseph Guyon de Crochans
1757–1775: François Maria Manzi
1775–1790: Carlo Vincenzo Giovio
1793–1794: François-Régis Rovère
1798: François Etienne
1802–1817: Jean-François Périer
1821–1830: Etienne-Parfait-Martin Maurel de Mons
1831–1834: Louis-Joseph d'Humières
1834–1842: Célestin Dupont (Jacques-Marie-Antoine-Célestin du Pont) (also
Archbishop of Bourges )
1842–1848: Paul Naudo
1848–1863: Jean-Marie-Mathias Debelay
1863–1880: Louis-Anne Dubreuil
Archbishop Jean-Pierre Cattenoz (left) and Dominique Rey
1880–1884: François-Edouard Hasley (also
Archbishop of Cambrai )
1885–1895: Louis-Joseph-Marie-Ange Vigne
1896–1907: Louis-François Sueur
1907–1928: Gaspard-Marie-Michel-André Latty
1928–1957: Gabriel-Roch de Llobet
1957–1970: Joseph-Martin Urtasun
1970–1978: Eugène-Jean-Marie Polge
1978–2002:
Raymond Bouchex
2002–2021: Jean-Pierre Marie Cattenoz
2021–present:
François Fonlupt
See also
Notes
^ On 21 November 1475
^ On 29 November 1801
^ On 6 October 1822
References
Sources
Delaunay, Cécile (20 June 2016).
"L'Épiscopat francais depuis 1919" (PDF) . Centre national des Archives de l'Église de France. Archived from
the original (PDF) on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2020 .
Duprat, E. (1908).
"Les origines de l'église d'Avignon" . Mémoires de l'Académie de Vaucluse (in French). 8 : 373–405.
Duprat, E. (1909a).
"Les origines de l'église d'Avignon (suite)" . Mémoires de l'Académie de Vaucluse (in French). 9 : 1–50.
Duprat, E. (1909b).
"Les origines de l'église d'Avignon (suite et fin)" . Mémoires de l'Académie de Vaucluse (in French). 9 : 105–168.
Eubel, Conradus, ed. (1913).
Hierarchia catholica (in Latin). Vol. 1 (1198–1431) (2nd ed.). Münster: Libreria Regensbergiana. pp. 123–124.
Eubel, Conradus, ed. (1914).
Hierarchia catholica (in Latin). Vol. 2 (1431–1503) (2nd ed.). Münster: Libreria Regensbergiana. p. 100.
Eubel, Conradus, ed. (1923).
Hierarchia catholica (in Latin). Vol. 3 (1503–1592) (2nd ed.). Münster: Libreria Regensbergiana. pp. 126–127.
Gagnière, Sylvain; et al. (1979). Histoire d'Avignon (in French). Aix-en-Provence, France: Édisud.
ISBN
2-85744-056-1 .
Gams, Pius Bonifacius (1857).
Series episcoporum Ecclesiae catholicae (in Latin). Graz: Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt. pp. 503–505.
Gauchat, Patritius (Patrice) (1935).
Hierarchia catholica (in Latin). Vol. 4 (1592–1667). Münster: Libraria Regensbergiana. pp. 105–106.
Girard, Joseph (1958). Évocation du Vieil Avignon (in French). Paris: Les Éditions de Minuit.
OCLC
5391399 .
Palanque, Jean-Rémy (1951).
"Les évêchés provençaux à l'époque romaine" (PDF) . Provence Historique (in French). 1 (3): 105–143.
Ritzler, Remigium; Sefrin, Pirinum, eds. (1952).
Hierarchia catholica (in Latin). Vol. 5 (1667–1730). Münster: Monasterii Sumptibus. p. 109.
Ritzler, Remigium; Sefrin, Pirinum, eds. (1958).
Hierarchia catholica (in Latin). Vol. 6 (1730–1799). Münster: Monasterii Sumptibus. p. 111.
Further reading
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