The Archdiocese of Avignon (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

: ''Archidioecesis Avenionensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse d'Avignon'') is a

archdiocese of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. The diocese exercises jurisdiction over the territory embraced by the department of Vaucluse, in the

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of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It is named for the prefecture of

Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...

. The diocese has been led since January 2021 by Archbishop Georges Pontier, whom

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

called out of retirement to serve as Apostolic Administrator. Established in the 4th century as the Diocese of Avignon, the

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

was elevated to an archdiocese in 1475, with the

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...

sees of the Diocese of Carpentras, the Diocese of Vaison, and the Diocese of Cavaillon. By the

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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 In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

and was made a suffragan see of Aix. The Archdiocese of Avignon was re-established in 1822, 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 Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

). 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 Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

. In 2009 its name was changed to Archdiocese of Avignon, the secondary titles being suppressed.

History

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 Pope John XXII (, , ; 1244 – 4 December 1334), born Jacques Duèze (or d'Euse), was head of the Catholic Church from 7 August 1316 to his death, in December 1334. He was the second and longest-reigning Avignon Papacy, Avignon Pope, elected by ...

*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 *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

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

Official site of the Diocese of Avignon

Diocese of Avignon on the website of the Église catholique en France
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Avignon, Roman Catholic Diocese of

Avignon Papacy