Catholic Church in France

Frankish Christianity Gaul, Roman Empire
Separations	Huguenots (16th century)
Members	27,000,000–58,000,000
Official website	Episcopal Conference of France

The French Catholic Church, or Catholic Church in France is part of the worldwide

: fille aînée de l'Église).

The first written records of Christians in France date from the 2nd century when

French Republic

.

Estimates of the proportion of Catholics in 2020 range between 47% and 88% of France's population, with the higher figure including

, is a major pilgrimage site for Catholics as well.

In recent decades, France has emerged as a stronghold for the small but growing

Some of the most famous French saints and blesseds include

St. Bernard of Clairvaux

.

History

Roman Gauls and early Christianity

According to long-standing tradition,

, not far away, is dedicated to Lazarus as Saint Lazaire.

The first written records of Christians in France date from the 2nd century when Irenaeus detailed the deaths of ninety-year-old bishop Pothinus of Lugdunum (Lyon) and other martyrs of the 177 persecution in Lyon.

The emperor

in 380.

Conversion of the Franks

In 496, Remigius baptized Clovis I, who was converted from paganism to Catholicism. Clovis I, considered the founder of France, made himself the ally and protector of the papacy and his predominantly Catholic subjects.

Medieval Christendom and Crusades

On Christmas Day 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, forming the political and religious foundations of Christendom and establishing in earnest the French government's longstanding historical association with the Catholic Church.^[4]

The Council of Clermont, a mixed synod of ecclesiastics and laymen led by Pope Urban II in November 1095 at Clermont-Ferrand triggered the First Crusade.

The Kingdom of France and its aristocracy were prominent players in the

; Philip was in deep financial dept to the Templars.

The

.

Renaissance Church and Protestantism

Prior to the

.

Catholicism under the Revolution

Cardinal Caprara at the Coronation of Napoleon in France. Rather than doing the coronation, the Pope is depicted merely blessing the proceedings. Detail from Jacques-Louis David's Coronation of Napoleon

.

The

(1830–1848).

Sexual abuse

On 5 October 2021, a report was published by the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church (CIASE) which showed that 330,000 children had become victims of sexual abuse within the church in France over a period spanning 7 decades (1950-2020). This constitutes 6% of total sexual abuse in France, since the same report notes that there are a total of 5.5 million cases of sexual abuse of people under 18 in France. These crimes were committed by between 2900 and 3200 priests and community members.^[15][16]

Marian apparitions

A number of alleged

are associated with France. The best known are the following:

• Prouille
• Our Lady of Lourdes, associated with Bernadette Soubirous at Lourdes
• Our Lady of La Salette, associated with Maximin Giraud and Mélanie Calvat at La Salette-Fallavaux
• Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, associated with Catherine Labouré at Rue du Bac, Paris
• Our Lady of Laus, associated with Benoîte Rencurel at Saint-Étienne-le-Laus
• Our Lady of Pontmain, associated with Joseph and Eugène Barbedette at Pontmain
• Our Lady of Pellevoisin, associated with Estelle Faguette at Pellevoisin

Organisation

Legal status

St. Denis

is the patron saint of France.

The

removed the privileged status of the state religion (Catholic Church) and of the three other state-recognised religions (Lutheranism, Calvinism, Judaism), but left to them the use without fee, and the maintenance at government expense, of the churches that they used prior to 1905.

A notable exception is

. They are approved by the Pope and in practice selected by him, but formally nominated by the French president following diplomatic exchanges with the Holy See through the nunciature.

During the application of the 1905 law, prime minister

associations have allied themselves with conservative Catholics to reject the law. One consequences of the law was that some Muslim middle and high school students who refused to remove their veils or "conspicuous religious symbols" withdrew from the public school system in favour of the private, but publicly funded, Catholic schools (where the law does not apply, being restricted to the public education system).

In any case, since the 1905 law on the separation of the Church and State, the prevailing public doctrine on religion is

]

Statistics

2006 Statistics from the Catholic Church in France:[17]

Source: Catholic Church^[18]

	1996	2001	2006	Change in absolute numbers 1996–2006	Change in % 1996–2006
Total baptisms	421,295	391,665	344,852	-76,443	-19.1%
Total confirmations	80,245	55,916	51,595	-28,650	-35.3%
Total Catholic marriages	124,362	118,087	89,014	-35,348	-28.4%
Total priests	27,781	24,251	20,523	-7,530	-26.1%
Total deacons	1,072	1,593	2,061	+989	+92.2%
Total nuns	Approx. 53,000	49,466	40,577	-13,000	-23.4%
Total religious institute members including monks	Approx. 15,000	Approx. 10,000	8,388	-7,000	-44%

74% of French Catholics support same-sex marriage and 24% oppose it. 87% of French Catholics believe society should accept homosexuality, while 10% believe society should not accept homosexuality.^[19]

Divisions

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Within France the hierarchy consists of:

• Metropolitan archbishop
  • Suffragan

Immediately subject to the Holy See:

• Strasbourg
• Metz
• Diocese of the French Armed Forces

Other:

• Apostolic Exarchate in France, Benelux and Switzerland for the Ukrainians
• Armenian Catholic Eparchy of Sainte-Croix-de-Paris
• Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Paris

France is the location of one of the world's major Catholic pilgrim centres at Lourdes.

Politics

Growing discontent with respect to the influence of the Catholic Church in education and politics led to a series of reforms during the

's influence.

(1882), which Catholics felt was a gross violation of their rights. The 1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and the State established state secularism in France, led to the closing of most Church-run schools.

Since the Fifth Republic, most of the participating Catholics in France support

parties.

See also