The Archdiocese of Monaco () is an exempt Latin ecclesiastical territory or 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 ...

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

. It is directly subject to the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

and not part of any

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consist ...

. The archdiocese's

mother church Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral church, or ...

and thus seat of its archbishop is the Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate (Saint Nicholas's or Monaco Cathedral). Dominique-Marie David was appointed as Archbishop of Monaco by

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 ...

on 21 January 2020.

History

Pope Clement VII Pope Clement VII (; ; born Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the most unfortunate o ...

visited in 1532. It was established as a pre-diocesan jurisdiction on 30 April 1868, as the Territorial Abbacy of Saints-Nicholas-et-Benoît, on territory split off from the Diocese of Nice. It was promoted as the Diocese of Monaco by

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

on 15 March 1887, and it was elevated to the rank of an archdiocese by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

on 30 July 1981.

Ordinaries

;Abbots Ordinary of Saints-Nicholas-et-Benoît * Romarico Flugi d’Aspermont, Subiaco Cassinese Benedictines (O.S.B. Subl.) (1868.05.21 – 1871) * Léandre de Dou, O.S.B. Subl. (1871–1874) * Hildebrand Marie Dell’Oro di Giosué, O.S.B. Subl. (1874–1875) * ''

Apostolic Administrator 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 ...

'' Lorenzo Battista Biale (1875 – death 1877), while Bishop of Ventimiglia (Italy) (1837.05.19 – death 1877) * ''

'' Charles-Bonaventure-François Theuret (1878.07.15 – 1887.03.15 ''see below''),

Titular Bishop 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 Hermopolis Maior (1878.07.15 – 1887.03.15) ;Exempt Bishops of Monaco * Charles-Bonaventure-François Theuret (''see above'' 1887.03.15 – death 1901.11.11) * Jean-Charles Arnal du Curel (1903.10.02 – death 1915.06.06) * Gustave Vié (1916.05.08 – death 1918.07.10) * Georges-Prudent-Marie Bruley des Varannes (1920.12.16 – 1924.02.13), emeritate as

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 Claudiopolis in Honoriade (1924.02.13 – death 1943.05.29) * Auguste-Maurice Clément (1924.04.25 – 1936.03.02), emeritate as Titular Bishop of Algiza (1936.03.02 – death 1939.03.03) * Pierre-Maurice-Marie Rivière (1936.03.02 – 1953.05.13), emeritate as

of Anchialus (1953.05.13 – 1961.11.07) * Gilles-Henri-Alexis Barthe (1953.05.13 – 1962.05.04), later Bishop of Fréjus–Toulon (France) (1962.05.04 – retired 1983.02.08) * Jean-Édouard-Lucien Rupp (1962.06.09 – 1971.05.08); previously Titular Bishop of Arca in Phoenicia (1954.10.28 – 1962.06.09) &

Auxiliary Bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of France of the Eastern Rite (France) (1954.10.28 – 1962.06.09); later Apostolic Pro-Nuncio (papal diplomatic envoy) to Iraq (1971.05.08 – 1978), Titular Archbishop of Dionysiopolis (1971.05.08 – 1983.01.28), Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Kuwait (1975–1978), Permanent Observer to Office of the United Nations and Specialized Institutions in Geneva (UNOG) (1978 – retired 1980) * Edmond-Marie-Henri Abelé (1972.06.27 – 1980.12.01), later Bishop of Digne (France) (1980.12.01 – 1987.06.02) ;Exempt Archbishops of Monaco * Charles Amarin Brand (1981.07.30 – 1984.07.16); previously Titular Bishop of Uthina (1971.12.28 – 1981.07.30) & Auxiliary Bishop of Fréjus–Toulon (France) (1971.12.28 – 1976.11.18), Auxiliary Bishop of

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

(France) (1976.11.18 – 1981.07.30); later Archbishop-Bishop of Strasbourg (1984.07.16 – 1988.06.01), Vice-President of Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (1986–1990), Archbishop of

(France) (1988.06.01 – 1997.10.23), President of Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (1990–1993) * Joseph-Marie Sardou, Congregation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (T.D.) (1985.05.31 – retired 2000.05.16) * Bernard Barsi (16 May 2000 – 21 January 2020) * Dominique-Marie David (21 January 2020 – present)

Parishes

There are five parish churches: Saint-Charles Church, Church St. Devote, Saint Martin Church and Saint Nicholas Church. Chapels include: Chapel of Mercy, Chapel of the Sacred Heart and the Carmelite Chapel. On Sunday 13 November 2011, the parish church of Saint Martin celebrated its centenary in the presence of Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene, with Princess Caroline and Princess Alexandra of Hanover. Archbishop Barsi blessed the Byzantine cross and the third bell named "Alexandra".Centenary of Saint-Martin parish
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References

;Additional sources *

External links

*
Catholic-Hierarchy

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monaco, Archdiocese Christian organizations established in 1887 Roman Catholic dioceses in Europe Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 19th century Catholic Church in Monaco 1887 establishments in Monaco

History

Ordinaries

Parishes

See also

References

External links