The Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulle (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

: ''Dioecesis Tutelensis'';

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

: ''Diocèse de Tulle'') is a

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 Tulle,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The diocese of Tulle comprises the whole ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...

'' of

Corrèze Corrèze (; oc, Corresa) is a department in France, named after the river Corrèze which runs through it. Although its prefecture is Tulle, its most populated city is Brive-la-Gaillarde. Corrèze is located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine regio ...

. The Abbey of Tulle was founded in the early 10th century. By the early 12th century, the abbot had established control over the pilgrimag church of Rocamadour. The abbacy was raised to a diocese in 1317, but suppressed by the

Concordat of 1802 The Concordat of 1801 was an agreement between Napoleon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII, signed on 15 July 1801 in Paris. It remained in effect until 1905, except in Alsace-Lorraine, where it remains in force. It sought national reconciliation b ...

, which joined it to the diocese of Limoges. In 1817, the diocese was re-established in principle, according to the terms of the Concordat of 1817, but was re-erected canonically only by the papal Bulls dated 6 and 31 October 1822, and made suffragan to the Archbishop of Bourges. Since the reorganization of French ecclesiastical provinces by Pope John Paul II on 8 December 2002, Tulle has been a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Poitiers.

History

According to legends which arose in later years around the

Saint Martial Saint Martial (3rd century), called "the Apostle of the Gauls" or "the Apostle of Aquitaine", was the first bishop of Limoges. His feast day is 30 June. Life There is no accurate information as to the origin, dates of birth and death, or the act ...

cycle, that saint, who had been sent by St. Peter to preach, is said to have restored to life at Tulle the son of the Roman governor, Nerva, and to have covered the neighbouring country with churches. The building of churches, however, was not possible until the fourth century. Some legends name

St. Martin of Tours Martin of Tours ( la, Sanctus Martinus Turonensis; 316/336 – 8 November 397), also known as Martin the Merciful, was the third bishop of Tours. He has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints in France, heralded as the ...

as founder of the Abbey of Tulle, others St. Calmin,

Count of Auvergne This is a list of the various rulers of Auvergne. History In the 7th century Auvergne was disputed between the Franks and Aquitanians. It was later conquered by the Carolingians, and was integrated for a time into the kingdom of Aquitaine. The c ...

(seventh century). Robbed of its possessions by a powerful family, the Counts of Quercy, the abbey recovered them in 930 through the efforts of a member of the same family, Viscount Adhemar. Adhemar is recorded as count or viscount of Tulle between 898 and 935.

Odo of Cluny Odo of Cluny (French: ''Odon'') ( 878 – 18 November 942) was the second abbot of Cluny. He enacted various reforms in the Cluniac system of France and Italy. He is venerated as a saint by the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. His feast da ...

, reformed the abbey in 928–929, along the lines of

Cluny Cluny () is a commune in the eastern French department of Saône-et-Loire, in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. It is northwest of Mâcon. The town grew up around the Benedictine Abbey of Cluny, founded by Duke William I of Aquitaine in ...

, where the abbot was elected by the monks, not provided by some powerful local family. The important pilgrimage shrine at Rocamadour was acquired by the abbey of Tulle, as confirmed by Pope Paschal II in 1105.

Pope John XXII Pope John XXII ( la, Ioannes PP. 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 Pope, elected b ...

by a Bull dated 13 August 1317, separated the Abbey of Tulle from the jurisdiction of the diocese of Limoges and raised it to episcopal rank; but the Chapter of the new cathedral continued to observe the Rule of St. Benedict, and was not transformed into a college of secular Canons until 1514. The Chapter dignitaries included: a Dean, a Provost, a Treasurer and a Cantor. The new Chapter of Secular Canons was authorized to have sixteen canons, and to create twelve choral vicars (which they were unable to do, because of financial constraints); by the eighteenth century there were only twelve canons. Abbot Arnaud of Tulle was named the first bishop of Tulle. Pope John also raised Tulle from the rank of a town to that of a city, and gave the Bishops of Tulle the title of Vicomte. Among the bishops of Tulle were , known as Cardinal de Tulle (1342–43), who was Bishop for only ten weeks, was never consecrated, and lived with his brother

Clement VI Pope Clement VI ( la, Clemens VI; 1291 – 6 December 1352), born Pierre Roger, was head of the Catholic Church from 7 May 1342 to his death in December 1352. He was the fourth Avignon pope. Clement reigned during the first visitation of the Bl ...

in Avignon; Jean Fabri (1370–71), who became cardinal in 1371; Jules Mascaron, the preacher (1671–79), who was afterwards Bishop of Agen; Léonard Berteaud, preacher and theologian (1842–1878). By far the most important scholar to come from Tulle was Etienne Baluze, Aumonier to Louis XIV and Director of the Collège de France (1709–1710), author of ''Vitae Paparum Avenionensium'' (1693) and ''Historia Tutelensis'' (1716). Pierre Roger, who became pope under the name of Clement VI, was a native of Maumont (now part of the commune of

Rosiers-d'Égletons Rosiers-d'Égletons (, literally ''Rosiers of Égletons''; oc, Rosiers daus Gletons) is a commune in the Corrèze department in central France. Population See also *Communes of the Corrèze department *Pope Gregory XI Pope Gregory XI ...

) in the diocese. In 1352 the papal Conclave chose Etienne Aubert, who became pope under the name Innocent VI, and who was a native of the hamlet of Les Monts (now part of the commune of

Beyssac Beyssac (; oc, Baissac) is a commune of the Corrèze department in central France. Population Personalities Beyssac was the birthplace of Étienne Aubert (1282 or 1295–1362), who became pope as Pope Innocent VI, and of Suzanne Lacore � ...

) in the Diocese of Tulle. In 1362 Hugues Roger, called the Cardinal of Tulle, brother of Clement VI, refused the papacy; in 1370 Pierre Roger de Beaufort, his nephew, became pope under the name of Gregory XI. At Tulle and in Bas (Lower) Limousin, every year, on the vigil of St. John the Baptist, a feast is kept which is known as ''le tour de la lunade'' (the change of the moon); it is a curious example of the manner in which the Church was able to sanctify and Christianize many pagan customs. Legend places the institution of this feast in 1346 or 1348, about the time of the

Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...

. It would seem to have been the result of a vow made in honour of St. John the Baptist. Maximin Deloche, a native of Tulle, has argued however that the worship of the sun existed in Gaul down to the seventh century, according to the testimony of St. Eligius, and that the feast of St. John's Nativity, 24 June, was substituted for the pagan festival of the summer

solstice A solstice is an event that occurs when the Sun appears to reach its most northerly or southerly excursion relative to the celestial equator on the celestial sphere. Two solstices occur annually, around June 21 and December 21. In many count ...

, so that the ''tour de la lunade'' was an old pagan custom, sanctified by the Church, which changed it to an act of homage to St. John the Baptist. The diocese of Tulle was abolished during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

by the Legislative Assembly, under the Civil Constitution of the Clergy (1790). Its territory was subsumed into the new diocese, called the 'Corrèze', which was part of the Metropolitanate called the 'Metropole de Sud-Ouest (which included ten new 'departements'). The electors of 'Corrèze' met at Tulle beginning on 20 February 1791, and after two days of deliberations elected Jean-Jacques Brivel, a 65 year old former Jesuit and the uncle of the Procurator-Syndic of Corrèzes. He was consecrated in Paris at the Oratory on 13 March 1791 by Constitutional Bishops Saurine (Landes), Lindet and Laurent. The consecration was valid, but it was illicit and schismatic; no bulls of consecration had been issued by

Pope Pius VI Pope Pius VI ( it, Pio VI; born Count Giovanni Angelo Braschi, 25 December 171729 August 1799) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 to his death in August 1799. Pius VI condemned the French Revoluti ...

. In Corrèzes only forty priests who had taken the Oath to the Constitution had to serve 320 parishes. In 1791 the Cathedral of Tulle was occupied by troops of the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

, who set up a manufactory for weapons in one transept. In 1796 the cupola and crossing of the transept fell, and the Choir and Transept were torn down. The ancient sculpture had been destroyed during the Terror. On 27 November 1793 the enthusiasts of the Terror to the number of 2000 swept through Tulle, destroying everything connected with religion they could find, and the Constitutional Bishop fled. Bishop Brivel was absent for sixteen months, and when he returned he remained inactive. He died at Tulle on 18 January 1802, after having retracted his oath and confessed his errors.

Saints and pilgrimages

St. Rodolphe of Turenne,

Archbishop of Bourges In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdioc ...

(died in 866) founded, about 855, the Abbey of Beaulieu in the Diocese of Tulle. The Charterhouse of Glandier dates from 1219; the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

Abbey of Uzerche was founded between 958 and 991; Meymac Priory, which became an abbey in 1146, was founded by Archambaud III, Viscount of Conborn.

St. Anthony of Padua Anthony of Padua ( it, Antonio di Padova) or Anthony of Lisbon ( pt, António/Antônio de Lisboa; born Fernando Martins de Bulhões; 15 August 1195 – 13 June 1231) was a Portuguese Catholic priest and friar of the Franciscan Order. He was bo ...

lived for several days at Brive, towards the end of October, 1226; and the pilgrimage to the Grotto of Brive is the only existing one in France in his honour. Other saints connected with the diocese are: St. Fereola, martyr (date uncertain); St. Martin of Brive, disciple of St. Martin of Tours, and martyr (fifth century); St. Duminus, hermit (early sixth century); at

Argentat Argentat () is a former commune in the Corrèze department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of central France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Argentat-sur-Dordogne. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Argentacoi ...

, St. Sacerdos, who was Bishop of Limoges when he retired into solitude (sixth century); St. Vincentianus ( St. Viance), hermit (seventh century);

St. Liberalis :''Another St. Liberalis was bishop of Embrun from 920-940. He died in 940 at Brive, his birthplace. It is also another name for Saint Eleutherius, venerated with Saint Antia.'' Saint Liberalis of Treviso ( it, San Liberale) is a saint of the 4 ...

Bishop of Embrun The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Embrun was located in southeastern France, in the mountains of the Maritime Alps, on a route that led from Gap by way of Briançon to Turin. It had as suffragans the Diocese of Digne, Diocese of Antibes and Gras ...

, died in 940 at

Brive Brive-la-Gaillarde (; Limousin dialect of oc, Briva la Galharda) is a commune of France. It is a sub-prefecture and the largest city of the Corrèze department. It has around 46,000 inhabitants, while the population of the agglomeration was ...

, his native place; St. Reynier, provost of Beaulieu, died at the beginning of the tenth century; St. Stephen of Obazine, b. about 1085, founder of the monastery for men at Obazine, and of that for women at Coyroux; St. Berthold of Malefayde, first general of the

Carmelites , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount C ...

, and whose brother Aymeric was Latin

Patriarch of Antioch Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the bishop of Antioch (modern-day Antakya, Turkey). As the traditional "overseer" (ἐπίσκοπος, ''episkopos'', from which the word ''bishop'' is derived) of the first gentile Christian c ...

(twelfth century). The missionary Dumoulin Borie (1808–1838), who was martyred in Tonquin, was born in the diocese. The chief pilgrimages of the diocese are: Notre-Dame-de-Belpeuch, at Camps, dating from the ninth or tenth century; Notre-Dame-de-Chastre at Bar, dating from the seventeenth century; Notre-Dame-du-Pont-du-Salut, which goes back to the seventeenth century; Notre-Dame-du-Roc at Servières, dating from 1691; Notre-Dame-d'Eygurande, dating from 1720; Notre-Dame-de-La-Buissière-Lestard, which was a place of pilgrimage before the seventeenth century; Notre-Dame-de-La-Chabanne at Ussel, dates from 1140; Notre-Dame-de-Pennacorn at Neuvic, dating from the end of the fifteenth century.

Abbots of Tulle

*Bernard I (d. 969) *Géraud I (d. 979) *Adémar (fl. 984) *Bernard II (c. 994 – 17 November 1028) *Pierre I (fl. 1031×1037) *Bernard III (1037–1055) *Bernard IV (fl. 1059) *Fruin (c. 1070 – 1085) *Gausbert (1085–1091) *Robert de Montbron (1091–1092) *Guillaume de Carbonnières (1092–1111/2) *Ebles de Turenne (1112 – 6/7 November 1152) *Géraud II d'Escorailles (1152 – 12 December 1188) *Bernard V (fl. 1191–1193) *Bertrand (fl. 1209) *Bernard VI de Ventadour (1210–1235) *Elie de Ventadour (1237–1241) *Pierre II de Vart de Malemort (1241–1276) * Pierre III de Coral (28 August 1276 – 1285/6) *Raymond de Terrasson (September 1286 – 6 October 1305) *Arnaud de Saint-Astier (9 March 1307 – 18 August 1317)

Bishops of Tulle

1317 to 1400

*Arnaud de Saint-Astier (18 August 1317 – 1333) *Arnaud de Clermont, O.Min. (10 September 1333 – 1337) *Hugues Roger, O.S.B. (18 July 1342 – 25 September 1342) *Guy (25 September 1342 – 1344) *Bertrand de la Tour (1 October 1344 – 1346) (transferred to St.-Papoul) *Pierre d'Aigrefeuille (19 February 1347 – 24 October 1347) (transferred to Vabres) *Archambaud (11 February 1348 – 26 February 1361) *Laurence d'Albiars (or d'Albiac/Aubiac) (25 October 1361 – 1369) (transferred from Vaison) *Jean Lefevre (8 August 1369 – 30 May 1371) (promoted Cardinal Priest of San Marcello) *Bertrand de Cosnac de Maumont (4 July 1371 – 9 July 1376) (transferred to Poitiers) *Bernardus (30 January 1376 – 1376) *Pierre de Cosnac (27 August 1376 – 1407)

1400 to 1500

*Bertrand de Botinand (13 September 1407 – 1416) (appointed by Benedict XIII of the Avignon Obedience. *Hugues Combarel(li) (29 November 1419 – 12 January 1422) (transferred to Béziers) (appointed by

John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June ...

of the Pisan Avignon-Roman Obedience) *Bertrand de Maumont (12 January 1422 – 1426) (transferred from Béziers) *Jean de Cluys (6 February 1426 – 9 June 1444) *Pierre Comborn (named by

Pope Eugenius IV Pope Eugene IV ( la, Eugenius IV; it, Eugenio IV; 1383 – 23 February 1447), born Gabriele Condulmer, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 3 March 1431 to his death in February 1447. Condulmer was a Venetian, and ...

, but never granted the temporalities by the King of France) *Hugues d'Aubusson (15 June 1451 – September 1454) *Louis d'Aubusson, O.S.B. (17 December 1455 – September 1471) *Denis de Bar (20 November 1471 – 1495) (transferred to St. Papoul) *Clément de Brillac (9 March 1495 – 21 September 1514)

1500 to 1800

*François de Lévis (11 December 1514 – 1530) *Jacques Amelin (15 January 1531 – May 1539) *Pierre du Chastel astellanus(16 June 1539 – 1544) (transferred to Macon) *François de Faucon (2 April 1544 – 1551) (transferred to Orleans) *Jean de Fonsec (4 March 1551 – 1560) *Louis de Genoillac enollhac(17 July 1560 – 1580) *Flotard Genoillac de Gourden (8 June 1582 – March 1586) *Antoine de la Tour (20 April 1587 – 12 September 1594) * ean de Visandon(nominated in 1594, but never received papal approval and was never consecrated) *Jean Ricard de Gourdon de Genouillac (8 November 1599 – 1652) *Louis de Rechingevoisin de Guron (26 May 1653 – 1671/1672) *

Jules Mascaron Jules Mascaron (1634–1703) was a popular French preacher. He was born in Marseille as the son of a barrister at Aix-en-Provence. He entered the Oratory of Jesus early and became reputed as a preacher. Paris confirmed the judgment of the provin ...

(21 March 1672 – 1679) (Appointed Bishop of Agen) *Humbert Ancelin (17 March 1681 – 1702) *André-Daniel de Beaupoil de Saint-Aulaire (25 September 1702 – 8 September 1720) * Louis-Jacques Chapt de Rastignac (29 Dec 1721 Appointed – 26 Oct 1723 Appointed,

Archbishop of Tours The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tours (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Turonensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Tours'') is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The archdiocese has roots that go back to the 3rd centu ...

) * Charles du Plessis d'Argentré (26 Oct 1723 Appointed – 27 Oct 1740 Died) * François de Beaumont d'Autichamp (20 December 1741 – 20 November 1761) * Henri Joseph Claudius de Bourdeille (22 November 1762 – 17 December 1764) (transferred to Soissons) *Charles Joseph Marie de Raffélis de Saint-Sauveur (17 December 1764 – 28 April 1791) **Jean Jacques Brival (1791 – 18 January 1802) (Constitutional Bishop of Corrèze)

since 1800

*Claude-Joseph-Judith-François-Xavier de Sagey (13 Jan 1823 – 1824 Resigned) *Augustin de Mailhet de Vachères (13 Oct 1824 – 16 May 1842 Died) *Jean-Baptiste-Pierre-Léonard Berteaud (15 Jun 1842 – 3 Sep 1878 Retired) *Henri-Charles-Dominique Denéchau (15 Oct 1878 – 18 Apr 1908 Died) * Albert Nègre (14 Jul 1908 – 5 Aug 1913) (transferred to

) *Joseph-Marie-François-Xavier Métreau (6 Aug 1913 – 24 Apr 1918 Died) *Jean Castel (3 Aug 1918 – 8 Oct 1939 Died) *Aimable Chassaigne (6 Feb 1940 – 23 Jan 1962 Retired) * Marcel-François Lefebvre, C.S.Sp., Archbishop (personal title) † (23 Jan 1962 Appointed – 11 Aug 1962 Resigned) *Henri Clément Victor Donze (15 Nov 1962 Appointed – 12 Feb 1970) (Appointed Bishop of Tarbes et Lourdes) *Jean-Baptiste Brunon, P.S.S. † (4 Apr 1970 Appointed – 28 Apr 1984 Resigned) *Roger Marie Albert Froment † (20 Jun 1985 Appointed – 22 Oct 1996 Resigned) *Patrick Le Gal (12 Sep 1997 Appointed – 23 May 2000 Appointed, Bishop of France, Military) * Bernard Louis Marie Charrier (22 Jan 2001 Appointed – 12 Dec 2013 Retired ) * Francis Bestion (December 2013 Appointed)

References

Bibliography

Reference works

* pp. 644–645. (Use with caution; obsolete) * * (in Latin) p. 505. * (in Latin) p. 259. * p. 322. * p. 351. * p. 396. * p. 423.

Studies

* * * * * *Rupin, Ernest (1878). "Notice historique sur les Évèques de Tulle," *Rupin, Ernest (1880). "Notice historique sur les Évèques de Tulle," * * *