The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Montpellier (–Lodève–Béziers–Agde–Saint-Pons-de-Thomières) (

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 Metropolitae Montis Pessulani (–Lotevensis–Biterrensis–Agathensis–Sancti Pontii Thomeriarum)''; French: ''Archidiocèse Metropolitain de Montpellier (–Lodève–Béziers–Agde–Saint-Pons-de-Thomières)'') is a

archdiocese 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 associated ...

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 ...

in south-western

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 current metropolitan archbishop is

Pierre-Marie Carré Pierre-Marie Carré (born 22 April 1947) is a French prelate of the Catholic Church who was Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Montpellier, archbishop of Montpellier from 2011 to 2022, where he was first archbishop coadjutor for a year. He was Roman C ...

; the immediate past Archbishop Emeritus is Guy Marie Alexandre Thomazeau. On September 16, 2002, as part of the reshuffling of the map of the French ecclesiastical provinces, 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 ...

of Montpellier (Lodève, Béziers, Agde, and Saint-Pons-de-Thomières) ceased to be a suffragan 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 ...

and was elevated to archdiocese and metropolitan of a new ecclesiastical province, with the dioceses of

Carcassonne Carcassonne is a French defensive wall, fortified city in the Departments of France, department of Aude, Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. It is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the department. ...

, Mende, Nimes (Uzès and Alès) and Perpignan–Elne as suffragans.

History

The diocese's original date of establishment is uncertain. The earliest evidence of Christian presence in the area is a tombstone, which Edmond-Frédéric Le Blant dated to the fourth century. The earliest known bishop dates to the sixth century. When the

Concordat of 1802 A concordat () is a convention between the Holy See and a sovereign state that defines the relationship between the Catholic Church and the state in matters that concern both,René Metz, ''What is Canon Law?'' (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1960 Tarn, which was detached from it in 1822 by the creation of the Tarn (department)">Tarn, which was detached from it in 1822 by the creation of the Archdiocese of Albi; and from 1802 to 1822, Montpellier was a suffragan of Toulouse">Archdiocese of Albi">Tarn (department)">Tarn, which was detached from it in 1822 by the creation of the Archdiocese of Albi; and from 1802 to 1822, Montpellier was a suffragan of Toulouse. A Papal Brief of 16 June 1877, authorized the bishops of Montpellier to style themselves bishops of Montpellier, Béziers,

Agde Agde (; ) is a commune in the southern French department of Hérault. It is the Mediterranean port of the Canal du Midi. It is situated on an ancient basalt volcano, hence the name "Black Pearl of the Mediterranée". Location Agde is locate ...

, Lodève and Saint-Pons-de-Thomières, Saint-Pons, in memory of the different dioceses united in the present diocese of Montpellier. Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone, Maguelone was the original diocese. Local traditions, recorded in 1583 by Abbé Gariel in his ''Histoire des évêques de Maguelonne'', affirm that St. Simon the Leper, having landed at the mouth of the

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Ròse''; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Rôno'') is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and Southeastern France before dischargi ...

with St. Lazarus and his sisters, was the earliest apostle of Maguelone. Gariel invokes in favour of this tradition a certain manuscript brought from

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion () was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' continued to be used as a n ...

. But the chronicler, Bishop Arnaud de Verdale (1339–1352) was ignorant of this alleged Apostolic origin of Maguelone. It is certain that the tombstone of a Christian woman named Vera was found at Maguelone; Le Blant assigns it to the 4th century. The first historically known Bishop of Maguelone, Boetius, assisted at the Council of Narbonne in 589. Maguelone was completely destroyed in the course of the wars between

Charles Martel Charles Martel (; – 22 October 741), ''Martel'' being a sobriquet in Old French for "The Hammer", was a Franks, Frankish political and military leader who, as Duke and Prince of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace, was the de facto ruler of ...

and the

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Rom ...

s. The diocese was then transferred to Substantion, but Bishop Arnaud (1030–1060) brought it back to Maguelone which he rebuilt. Near Maguelone had grown up by degrees the two villages of Montpellier and Montpellieret. According to legend, they were in the tenth century the property of the two sisters of St. Fulcran,

Bishop of Lodève A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

. About 975 they gave them to Ricuin, Bishop of Maguelone. It is certain that about 990 Ricuin possessed these two villages; he kept Montpellieret and gave Montpellier in fief to the family of the Guillems. In 1085 Pierre, Count of Substantion and Melgueil, became a vassal of the Holy See for this countship, and relinquished the right of nomination to the diocese of Maguelone.

Urban II Pope Urban II (; – 29 July 1099), otherwise known as Odo of Châtillon or Otho de Lagery, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 March 1088 to his death. He is best known for convening the Council of Clermon ...

charged the Bishop of Maguelone to exercise the papal suzerainty, and he spent five days in this town when he came to France to preach the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the Middle Ages. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Muslim conquest ...

. In 1215

Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III (; born Lotario dei Conti di Segni; 22 February 1161 – 16 July 1216) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 until his death on 16 July 1216. Pope Innocent was one of the most power ...

gave the countship of Melgueil in fief to the Bishop of Maguelone, who thus became a

Prince-bishop A prince-bishop is a bishop who is also the civil ruler of some secular principality and sovereignty, as opposed to '' Prince of the Church'' itself, a title associated with cardinals. Since 1951, the sole extant prince-bishop has been the ...

. From that time the Bishop of Maguelone had the right of coinage.

Pope Clement IV Pope Clement IV (; 23 November 1190 – 29 November 1268), born Gui Foucois (; or ') and also known as Guy le Gros ( French for "Guy the Fat"; ), was bishop of Le Puy (1257–1260), archbishop of Narbonne (1259–1261), cardinal of Sabina ( ...

reproached (1266) Bishop Bérenger Frédol with causing to be struck in his diocese a coin called "Miliarensis", on which was rend the name of Mahomet; in fact at that date the bishop, as well as the King of Aragon and the Count of Toulouse, authorized the coinage of Arabic money, not intended for circulation in Maguelone, but to be sold for exportation to the merchants of the Mediterranean. In July, 1204, Montpellier passed into the hands of

Peter II of Aragon Peter II the Catholic (; ) (July 1178 – 12 September 1213) was the King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona from 1196 to 1213. Background Peter was born in Huesca, the son of Alfonso II of Aragon and Sancha of Castile, Queen of Aragon, Sancha ...

, son-in-law of the last of the Guillems;

James I of Aragon James I the Conqueror ( Catalan/Valencian: ''Jaume I or Jaume el Conqueridor''; Aragonese: ''Chaime I'' ''o Conqueridor''; ; 2 February 1208 – 27 July 1276) was King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1 ...

, son of Peter II, united the city to the

Kingdom of Majorca The Kingdom of Majorca (, ; ; ; ) was an insular realm off the east coast of modern day Spain, which included the islands of Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The islands were conquered from the Almohad Caliphate by James I of Aragon, ...

. In 1282 the King of Majorca paid homage to the King of France for Maguelone. Bérenger Frédol, Bishop of Maguelone, ceded Montpellier to

Philip IV of France Philip IV (April–June 1268 – 29 November 1314), called Philip the Fair (), was King of France from 1285 to 1314. Jure uxoris, By virtue of his marriage with Joan I of Navarre, he was also King of Navarre and Count of Champagne as Philip&n ...

(1292).

James III of Majorca James III ( – ), known as James the Rash (or the Unfortunate), was King of Majorca from 1324 to 1344. He was the son of Ferdinand of Majorca and Isabella of Sabran. Life James was born in Catania, Sicily. Margaret of Villehardouin, Jame ...

sold Montpellier to Philip VI (1349); and the city, save for the period from 1365 to 1382, was henceforth French. Urban V had studied theology and canon law at Montpellier and was crowned pope by Cardinal Ardouin Aubert, nephew of Innocent VI, and Bishop of Maguelone from 1352 to 1354; hence the attachment of Pope Urban for this diocese which he favoured greatly. In 1364 he founded at Montpellier of a Benedictine monastery under the patronage of St. Germain, and came himself to Montpellier to see the new church (9 January - 8 March 1367). He caused the city to be surrounded by ramparts, in order that the scholars might work there in safety; and finally he caused a large canal to be begun by which Montpellier might communicate with the sea. At the request of

King Francis I Francis I (; ; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once removed and father-in-law Louis&nbs ...

, who pleaded the epidemics and the ravages of the pirates which constantly threatened Maguelone,

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III (; ; born Alessandro Farnese; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death, in November 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era follo ...

transferred the see to Montpellier (27 March 1536). Montpellier, into which

Calvinism Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyteri ...

was introduced in February, 1560, by the pastor, Guillaume Mauget, was much troubled by the wars of religion. Under

Henry III of France Henry III (; ; ; 19 September 1551 – 2 August 1589) was King of France from 1574 until his assassination in 1589, as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1573 to 1575. As the fourth son of King Henry II of France, he ...

a sort of Calvinistic republic was installed there. The city was reconquered by Louis XIII (October, 1622). Among the 54 bishops of Maguelone, and the 18 bishops of Montpellier, may be mentioned: Blessed Louis Aleman (1418–1423), later

Bishop of Arles The former French Catholic Archbishopric of Arles had its episcopal seat in the city of Arles, in southern France. At the apex of the delta (Camargue) of the Rhone River, some 40 miles from the sea, Arles grew under Liburnian, Celtic, and Punic in ...

; Guillaume Pellicier (1527–68), whom king Francis I of France sent as an ambassador to Venice, and whose leaning as a humanist and naturalist made him after Scévole de Sainte-Marthe "the most learned man of his century"; the preacher Pierre Fenouillet (1608–52); François de Bosquet (1657–76), whose historical labours were very useful to the celebrated Baluze; the bibliophile Colbert de Croissy (1696–1738), who induced the Oratorian Pouget to compose in 1702 the famous "Catechism of Montpellier", condemned by the Holy See in 1712 and 1721 for Jansenistic tendencies; Fournier (1806–34), who in 1801 was confined for a time in the madhouse at Bicêtre at the command of Napoleon I Bonaparte, for a sermon against the Revolution. Among the numerous councils and synods held at Montpellier, the following merit mention: the council of 1162 in which

Pope Alexander III Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181. A native of Siena, Alexander became pope after a Papal election, ...

excommunicated the antipope, Victor; the provincial synod of 1195, which was occupied with the Saracens of Spain and the

Albigenses Catharism ( ; from the , "the pure ones") was a Christian quasi-dualist and pseudo-Gnostic movement which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France, between the 12th and 14th centuries. Denounced as a her ...

; the council of 1215, which was presided over by

Peter of Benevento Peter of Benevento (died in September 1219 or 1220) was an Italian canon lawyer, papal legate and Cardinal (Catholic), cardinal. He was closely associated with Pope Innocent III, and produced in 1209/10 a collection of his decretals, the ''Compi ...

, legate of the Holy See and passed important canons concerning discipline, and declared also that subject to the approval of the pope, Toulouse and all the other towns taken from the Albigenses should be given to Simon de Montfort; the council of 1224, which rejected the request of Raymond, Count of Toulouse. who promised to protect the Catholic Faith and demanded that Amaury de Montfort withdraw his claims to the countship of Toulouse; the council of 1258, which by permitting the seneschal of Beaucaire to arrest ecclesiastics taken in the act of crime, in order to hand them over to the bishop, made way for royal magistrates to exercise a certain power within the limits of ecclesiastical jurisdiction and thus inaugurated the movement as a result of which, under the name of "privileged cases", a certain number of offences committed by ecclesiastics became amenable to lay justice.

Saints

Special honour is paid in the present diocese of Montpellier to Saint Pontius of Cimiez (''Pons de Cimiez''), martyr under

Emperor Valerian Valerian ( ; ; – 260 or 264) was Roman emperor from 253 to spring 260 AD. Valerian is known as the first Roman emperor to have been taken captive in battle, captured by the Persian emperor Shapur I after the Battle of Edessa, causing shock ...

, patron of Saint-Pons-de-Thomières; Sts. Tiberius and Modestus and St. Florence, martyrs at

under

Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...

; St. Severus, Abbot of St. André, at Agde (d. about 500); Saint Maxentius, a native of

and founder of the Abbey of St-Maixent, in

Poitou Poitou ( , , ; ; Poitevin: ''Poetou'') was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. Both Poitou and Poitiers are named after the Pictones Gallic tribe. Geography The main historical cities are Poitiers (historical ...

(447–515); St. Benedict of Aniane, and his disciple and first historian, Saint Ardo Smaragdus (d. in 843); St. Guillem, Duke of

Aquitaine Aquitaine (, ; ; ; ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne (), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former Regions of France, administrative region. Since 1 January 2016 it has been part of the administ ...

, who in 804, founded near Lodève, on the advice of St. Benedict of Aniane, the monastery of Gellone (later St-Guillem du Désert), died there in 812, and under the name of "Guillaume au Court Nez" became the hero of a celebrated epic chanson; St. Etienne, Bishop of Apt (975–1046), born at Agde;

Blessed Guillaume VI Blessed may refer to: * The state of having received a blessing * Blessed, a title assigned by the Roman Catholic Church to someone who has been beatified * Blessed, a saint title assigned by the Eastern Orthodox Church to various saints, typical ...

, Lord of Montpellier from 1121 to 1149 and who died a Cistercian at Grandselve Abbey; Peter of Castelnau, Archdeacon of Maguelone, inquisitor (d. in 1208); Gérard de Lunel (St. Gerard), Lord of Lunel (end of thirteenth century); the celebrated pilgrim, St. Roch, who was born at Montpellier about the end of the thirteenth century, saved several cities of Italy from the pest, and returned to Montpellier to live as a hermit, where he died in 1325.

Bishops of Maguelone

Boèce Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, commonly known simply as Boethius (; Latin: ''Boetius''; 480–524 AD), was a Roman senator, consul, ''magister officiorum'', polymath, historian, and philosopher of the Early Middle Ages. He was a central fig ...

(Boecio/Boetius) 589 * Geniès (Genesio/Genesius, Ginesius) 597–633? * Gumild 672 oder 673 *

Vincent Vincent (Latin: ''Vincentius'') is a masculine given name originating from the Roman name ''Vincentius'', which itself comes from the Latin verb ''vincere'', meaning "to conquer." People with the given name Artists *Vincent Apap (1909–2003) ...

683 * Johann MagueloneJohann I. 791 * Ricuin I. 812–817 * Argemire 818 or 819 * Stabellus 821–823 * Maldomer 867 * Abbo 875–897 * Gontier 906–909 *

Pons The pons (from Latin , "bridge") is part of the brainstem that in humans and other mammals, lies inferior to the midbrain, superior to the medulla oblongata and anterior to the cerebellum. The pons is also called the pons Varolii ("bridge of ...

937–947 * Ricuin II. 975 * Peter I. de Melgueil 988–1030 or 1004–1019 * Arnaud I. 1030–1060 * Bertrand I. 1060 or 1061–1079 or 1080 * Godefroi (Geoffroi) 1080–1104 * Walter von Lille 1104–1129 * Raimond I. 1129–1158 * Jean de Montlaur 1158–1190 * Guillaume de Raimond 1190–1195 * Guillaume de Fleix 1195–1202 * Guillaume D'Autignac (Antignac) 1203 or 1204–1216 * Bernard de Mèze 1216–1230 or 1232 * Jean de Montlaur II 1232–1247 * Reinier Saccoin 1247–1249 * Pierre de Conques 1248–1256 * Guillaume Christophe 1256–1263 * Bérenger Frédol 1263–1296 * Gaucelin de La Garde 1296–1304 or 1305 * Pierre de Lévis de Mirepoix 1305 or 1306–1309 * Jean Raimond de Comminges 1309–1317 * Gaillard Saumate 1317–1318 * André de Frédol 1318–1328 * Jean de Vissec 1328–1334 * Pictavin de Montesquiou 1334–1339 * Arnaud de Verdale 1339–1352 * Aldouin Alberti 1352–1353 * Durand de Chapelles 1353–1361 * Pierre de Canillac 1361 * Dieudonné de Canillac 1361–1367 * Gaucelin de Déaux (Dreux) 1367–1373 * Pierre de Vernols 1373–1389 * Antoine de Lovier 1389–1405 * Pierre Adhémar 1405 or 1408–1415 * Louis Allemand 1418–1423 *Guillaume Forestier 1423–1429 * Léger Saporis D'Eyragues 1429–1430 * Bertrand Robert 1431–1433 * Robert de Rouvres 1433–1453 * Maur de Valleville 1453–1471 * Jean Bonald 1471 oder 1472–1487 * Guillaume Le Roy de Chavigny 1487–1488 * Izarn Barrière 1487 or 1488–1498 * Guillaume Pellicier 1498–1527 or 1529

Bishops of Montpellier

* Guillaume Pellicier II 1527 or 1529–1568 (of Montpellier from 1535) * Antoine de Subjet de Cardot 1573–1596 * Guitard de Ratte 1596–1602 *

Jean Garnier Jean Garnier (; 11 November 1612 – 26 November 1681) was a French Jesuit Church historian, patristic scholar, and moral theologian. Life He was born at Paris, entered the Society of Jesus at the age of sixteen, and, after a distinguished co ...

1603–1607 * Pierre Fenolliet (Fenouillet) 1607–1652 * Rinaldo d'Este 1653–1655 (Cardinal) * François Bosquet 1655–1676 * Charles de Pradel 1676–1696 * Charles-Joachim Colbert de Croissy 1696–1738 * Georges-Lazare Berger de Charency 1738–1748 *

François Renaud de Villeneuve François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * François Amoudruz (1926–2020), French resistance fighter * François-Marie Arouet (better known as Voltaire; 1 ...

1748–1766 * Raymond de Durfort Léobard 1766–1774 * Joseph-François de Malide 1774–1790 ** Dominique Pouderous 1791–? ** Alexandre Victor Rouanet * Jean-Louis-Simon Rollet 1802–1806 * Nicolas Marie Fournier de La Contamine 1806–1834 * Charles-Thomas Thibault 1835–1861 * François-Marie-Joseph Lecourtier 1861–1873 * François de Rovérié de Cabrières 1873–1921 (Cardinal from 1911) * René-Pierre Mignen 1922–1931 (also Archbishop of Rennes) * Gabriel Brunhes 1932–1949 * Jean Duperray 1949–1957 * Cyprien-Louis-Pierre-Clément Tourel 1958–1976 * Louis-Antoine-Marie Boffet 1976–1996 * Jean-Pierre Ricard 1996–2001, appointed

Archbishop of Bordeaux The Archdiocese of Bordeaux (–Bazas) (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Burdigalensis (–Bazensis)''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Bordeaux (–Bazas)''; Occitan: ''Archidiocèsi de Bordèu (–Vasats)'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or a ...

)

Archbishops

* Guy Marie Alexandre Thomazeau (2002–2011) *

(2011–2022) * Norbert Turini (2022–present)

References

Bibliography

* *

Sources

* * Centre national des Archives de l'Église de France
''L’Épiscopat francais depuis 1919''
, retrieved: 2016-12-24. {{DEFAULTSORT:Montpellier, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Montpellier Roman Catholic dioceses in France Dioceses established in the 3rd century 3rd-century establishments in Roman Gaul