The diocese of Eupen-Malmedy (initially Apostolic Administration of Eupen–Malmedy–Sankt Vith) is a former

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

Latin

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

diocese 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 associa ...

, which existed between 1919 and 1925, and included the

East Cantons Eupen-Malmedy is a small, predominantly German-speaking region in eastern Belgium. It consists of three administrative cantons around the towns of Eupen, Malmedy, and Sankt Vith which encompass some . Elsewhere in Belgium, the region is common ...

The short-lived diocese of Eupen-Malmedy is one of three former Belgian dioceses, and the only such see in present Belgium that has not been created a

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbis ...

History

Origin

The jurisdiction was established in 1919 as

Apostolic Administration An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

of Eupen–Malmedy–Sankt Vith (a normally missionary pre-diocesan type of jurisdiction), on Belgian-occupied German territory split-off canonically from the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Cologne (Köln) and entrusted to Archbishop Sebastiano Nicotra (1919 – 1920.07.30), then

apostolic nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international ...

, the representative of the Holy See, to the Belgium government and the Catholic Church in Belgium. The German areas

Eupen Eupen (, ; ; formerly ) is the capital of German-speaking Community of Belgium and is a city and municipality in the Belgian province of Liège, from the German border ( Aachen), from the Dutch border (Maastricht) and from the " High Fens" ...

and

Malmedy Malmedy (; german: Malmünd, ; wa, Måmdiy) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On January 1, 2018, Malmedy had a total population of 12,654. The total area is 99.96 km2 which gives a populati ...

were transferred from defeated

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Germany to the Allied Kingdom of Belgium in 1920, conforming to the

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, as part of the hefty compensation (besides huge reparation payments) for the losses the country had suffered during conquest and occupation in

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. There were difficulties for the population, who now were part of a different country. On the ecclesiastical field these problems were, that the population felt more related to the German

Archdiocese of Cologne The Archdiocese of Cologne ( la, Archidioecesis Coloniensis; german: Erzbistum Köln) is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and northern Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. History The Electorate of Cologn ...

, than the French-speaking diocese of Liege, which was dependent on the

primatial Primate () is a title or rank bestowed on some important archbishops in certain Christian churches. Depending on the particular tradition, it can denote either jurisdictional authority (title of authority) or (usually) ceremonial precedence (t ...

archdiocese of Mechelen 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, pro ...

, the later archbishopric of Mechelen-Brussel.

Diocese

When the situation escalated, Cardinal

Mercier Mercier is French for ''notions dealer'' or ''haberdasher'', and may refer to: People * Agnès Mercier, French curler and coach *Annick Mercier (born 1964), French curler *Amanda H. Mercier (born 1975), American Judge * Armand Mercier, (1933–20 ...

, Primate of Belgium as Metropolitan Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussel, asked

Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (Latin: ''Benedictus XV''; it, Benedetto XV), born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, name=, group= (; 21 November 185422 January 1922), was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His ...

to establish a diocese which would encompass the new Belgian territories. On 30 July 1920, the diocese of Eupen-Malmedy was created by elevating the apostolic administration (losing St-Vith in its name) with the publication of the papal bull ''Ecclesiae Universae''. Martin-Hubert Rutten, bishop of the neighboring but francophone Diocese of Liege, was also named bishop of this new diocese, in

personal union A personal union is the combination of two or more states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, would involve the constituent states being to some extent interlink ...

. He was officially created bishop of Eupen-Malmedy on 13 October 1920, but remained bishop of the far more important bishopric of Liege as well. The ''Saints-Pierre, Paul et Quirin'' church of

became the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

episcopal see of the new bishop. On 15 April 1925, the diocese was suppressed and its territory merged into the diocese of Liege, following another papal bull. The three

deaneries A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

, Eupen, Malmedy and Sankt-Vith became part of the diocese of Liege. The cathedral in Malmedy would keep the status of cathedral, also after 1925.

Ordinaries

; ''Apostolic Administrator of Eupen–Malmedy–Sankt Vith * Sebastiano Nicotra (1919 – 1920.07.30),

Titular Archbishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Heraclea (in Europa) (1916.12.18 – 1929.05.21), previously/concurrently

Apostolic Nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international ...

(papal ambassador) to Chile (1916.12.18 – 1918) and Apostolic Nuncio to Belgium (1916.12.18 – 1923.07), Apostolic Internuncio to Netherlands (1918 – 1921) and Apostolic Internuncio to Luxembourg (1918 – 1923.07); later Apostolic Nuncio to Portugal (1923.07 – retired 1928; died 1929). ; ''Suffragan Bishop of Eupen-Malmedy'' * Martin-Hubert Rutten was the first and only bishop of Eupen-Malmedy, from 13 October 1920 till 15 April 1925, while Bishop of Liège (Belgium) (1901.12.16 – death 1927.07.17).

References

Sources and external links