Roman Catholic Diocese of Verdun

Coordinates: 49°09′34″N 5°22′56″E / 49.15944°N 5.38222°E / 49.15944; 5.38222
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the secular jurisdiction of the bishops in the Holy Roman Empire, see Prince-Bishopric of Verdun.
Diocese of Verdun

Dioecesis Virodunensis

Diocèse de Verdun
Verdun Cathedral and Cloister
Coat of arms of the Diocese of Verdun
Coat of arms
Location
CountryFrance
Ecclesiastical provinceBesançon
MetropolitanArchdiocese of Besançon
Statistics
Area6,211 km2 (2,398 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics		(as of 2014)
197,700
173,300 (87.7%)
Information
DenominationCatholic Church
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
EstablishedRestored on 6 October 1822
CathedralCathedral of Notre Dame de Verdun
Patron saintBlessed Virgin Mary Assumed in Heaven
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
BishopJean-Paul Gusching
Metropolitan ArchbishopJean-Luc Bouilleret
Bishops emeritusFrançois Maupu
Website
catholique-verdun.cef.fr
Part of a series on
Lorraine
Flag of Lorraine since the 13th century
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The Diocese of Verdun (

Lorraine
. The diocese is subdivided into 577 parishes.

History

The diocese dates back to the 4th century. Traditionally the city was first evangelized around 332 by

St. Paul.[1][2]
: pp.22–23 

The first bishop known to history is St. Polychronius (Pulchrone) who lived in the fifth century and was a relative and disciple of St. Lupus de Troyes.[3] "Other bishops worthy of mention are: St. Possessor (470–486); St. Firminus (486–502); St. Vitonus (Vanne) (502–529); St. Désiré (Desideratus) (529–554), St. Agericus (Airy) (554–591), friend of St. Gregory of Tours and of Fortunatus; St. Paul (630–648), formerly Abbot of the Benedictine Monastery of Tholey in the Diocese of Trier; and St. Madalvaeus (Mauve) (753–776)."[4]

From 1624 to 1636, a large bastioned citadel was constructed on the site of the Abbey of Saint Vanne. The Church of Saint-Vanne was destroyed in 1832 and its cloister, which had been converted into barracks, was burned in 1870.[3]

Until 1801 Verdun was part of the

Diocese of Nancy. On October 31, 1822 the diocese was re-established.[3]

During World War I over 200 parishes fell under occupation by the German army and communication with the Bishop of Verdun practically cut off.[5] The administration of the parishes was confided to Thomas Louis Heylen, Bishop of Namur, who had been appointed vicar apostolic to French territory under German occupation.[6]

When the city came under bombardment the diocesan administration relocated to Bar-le-Duc and did not return until 1921. One hundred and fifty-three churches were destroyed and 166 damaged, including the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Verdun, whose towers have never been rebuilt. Of 186 priests who enlisted, 13 were killed, 20 seriously wounded, and 50 taken prisoner. One hundred and sixty citations and diplomas of honor and 120 decorations were awarded to priests of the diocese.[5]

List of bishops

Early bishops

  • ca. 346:
    St. Saintin
  • 356–383: St. Maurus
  • ???–420: Salvinus
  • ca. 440: Arator
  • 454–470: Polychronius[7]
  • 470–486: Possessor
  • 486–502: Freminus (Firminus)
  • 502–529: Vitonus
  • 529–554: Desideratus
  • 554–591: Agericus
  • v. 595: Charimeres
  • v. 614: Harimeris
  • ???–621: St. Ermenfred
  • 623–626: Godo
  • 641–648: Paulus
  • 648–665: Gisloald
  • 665–689: Gerebert
  • 689–701: Armonius
  • 701–710: Agrebert
  • 711–715: Bertalamius
  • 716: Abbo
  • 716–722: Pepo
  • 722–730: Volchisus
  • 730–732: Agronius
  • 753–774: Madalveus
  • 774–798: Peter
  • 798–802: Austram
  • 802–824: Heriland
  • 824–847: Hilduin
  • 847–870: Hatto
  • 870–879: Bernard
  • 880–923: Dado[8]
  • 923–925: Hugh I
  • 925–939: Bernuin, son of Matfried I, Count of Metz, and of Lantesinde (sister of Dado)
  • 939–959: Berengar
  • 959–983: Wigfrid
  • 983–984: Hugh II
  • 984–984:
    Bishop of Metz (as Adalbero II). [9]
  • 985–990: Adalbero II, cousin of predecessor.

Prince-bishops

Bishops under French rule

Until 1801 Verdun was part of the ecclesiastical province of the Archbishop of Trier. On November 29, 1801 it was suppressed and added to the Diocese of Nancy. On October 6, 1822 the diocese was re-established.

After the Concordat

Bishop Jean-Paul Gusching in 2014
  • 1823–1830: Etienne-Bruno-Marie d'Arbou
  • 1826–1831: François-Joseph de Villeneuve-Esclapon
  • 1832–1836: Placide-Bruno Valayer
  • 1836–1844: Augustin-Jean Le Tourneur
  • 1844–1866: Louis Rossat
  • 1867–1884: Augustin Hacquard
  • 1884–1887: Jean-Natalis-François Gonindard
  • 1887–1901: Jean-Pierre Pagis
  • 1901–1909: Louis-Ernest Dubois

20th century

  • 1910–1913: Jean Arturo Chollet
  • 1914–1946: Charles-Marie-André Ginisty
  • 1946–1963: Marie-Paul-Georges Petit
  • 1963–1986: Pierre Francis Lucien Anatole Boillon
  • 1987–1999: Marcel Paul Herriot

21st century

  • From 2000 to September 2014: François Paul Marie Maupu
  • From September 2014: Jean-Paul Gabriel Émile Gusching

See also

References

  1. ^ "Les grands sites religieux du diocèse de Verdun au Moyen-Âge". Diocèse de Verdun.
  2. ISBN 978-0-7546-5526-8
    .
  3. ^ a b c Goyau, Georges. "Diocese of Verdun." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 21 January 2023 Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. ^ "Diocese of Verdun". CatholiCity. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
  5. ^ a b "Verdun, Diocese of", The Catholic Encyclopedia: Supplement 1, Encyclopedia Press, 1922
  6. ^ [Simon, A., "Heylen (Thomas-Louis)", Biographie Nationale de Belgique, vol. 32 (Brussels, 1964), 295-299.
  7. ^ Smith, William; Wace, Henry (1887). A Dictionary of Christian Biography, Literature, Sects and Doctrines, vol 4. Little, Brown & Company. p. 436.
  8. ^ Gerzaguet, Jean-Pierre. "Dado of Verdun". Encyclopedia of the Medieval Chronicle, (Graeme Dunphy, ed.) Brill Online, 2016. Reference. 09 March 2016 (Wayback Machine 17 october 2016)
  9. ^ Son of Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine
  10. ^ François-Alexandre Aubert de La Chesnaye Des Bois. "Dictionnaire de la noblesse : contenant les généalogies, l'histoire et la chronologie des familles nobles de France", (Paris: Schlesinger Brothers, 1867), p. 993.
  11. ^ Son of René II, Duke of Lorraine.
  12. bishop of Toul from 1580 to 1587, son of Nicolas de Mercœur
    .
  13. ^ (1576–1623), son of Nicolas de Mercœur.
  14. ^ Saive Numismatique

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Diocese of Verdun". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

Books

External links

49°09′34″N 5°22′56″E / 49.15944°N 5.38222°E / 49.15944; 5.38222


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