The Roman Catholic Diocese of Basse-Terre and Pointe-à-Pitre ( la, Dioecesis Imae Telluris et Petrirostrensis; ), more simply known as the Diocese of Basse-Terre, is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

. The diocese comprises the entirety of the French

overseas department The overseas departments and regions of France (french: départements et régions d'outre-mer, ; ''DROM'') are departments of France that are outside metropolitan France, the European part of France. They have exactly the same status as mainlan ...

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the ...

, one of the

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Lesser Antilles. It is also responsible for parishes in the small overseas departments of Saint Barthélemy and

Saint Martin Saint Martin may refer to: People * Saint Martin of Tours (c. 316–397), Bishop of Tours, France * Saint Martin of Braga (c. 520–580), archbishop of Bracara Augusta in Gallaecia (now Braga in Portugal) * Pope Martin I (598–655) * Saint Mart ...

. The diocese is a suffragan of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Fort-de-France, and both are members of the

Antilles Episcopal Conference The Antilles Episcopal Conference (AEC) is a Roman Catholic episcopal conference. Its members are bishops and archbishops from current and former British, Dutch, and French colonies and dependencies in the Caribbean (excluding Haiti), Central Ameri ...

. Its cathedral, dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe (the island's eponymous 'Mexican' patron saint), which has the status of a minor basilica, is hence known as the or the Basse-Terre Cathedral.

History

It was erected in 1850, as the Diocese of Guadeloupe and Basse-Terre, on territory split off from the then

Apostolic Prefecture of Îles de la Terre Ferme Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles * Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Chur ...

(an Antillian missionary jurisdiction, which was promoted to diocese of Martinique and meanwhile became the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Fort-de-France), its present Metropolitan. The bishopric was renamed in 1951 to the present name, Diocese of Basse-Terre. Also on 19 July 1951, it was united with the thus suppressed diocese of

Pointe-à-Pitre Pointe-à-Pitre (; gcf, label=Guadeloupean Creole, Pwentapit, , or simply , ) is the second largest (most populous) city of Guadeloupe after Les Abymes. Guadeloupe is an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in the ...

(on

Grande Terre Grande means "large" or "great" in many of the Romance languages. It may also refer to: Places *Grande, Germany, a municipality in Germany *Grande Communications, a telecommunications firm based in Texas *Grande-Rivière (disambiguation) *Arroio ...

, which still has its former cathedral of St. Peter and Paul), so its incumbents' (rarely used) full title is bishop of Basse-Terre-Pointe-à-Pitre.

Bishops

''All Latin (

Roman Rite The Roman Rite ( la, Ritus Romanus) is the primary liturgical rite of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. It developed in the Latin language in the city of Rome and, while dist ...

). Most bishops were secular; a few belonged to specified religious congregations.''

Incumbent ordinaries

;Bishops of Guadeloupe and Basse-Terre * Pierre-Marie-Gervais Lacarrière (1850–1853) *

Théodore-Augustin Forcade Théodore-Augustin Forcade (1816–1885) was a French Roman Catholic archbishop. Early life Théodore-Augustin Forcade was born on March 2, 1816, in Versailles near Paris.

, Paris Foreign Missions Society (M.E.P.) (1853–1861), appointed Bishop of Nevers *

Antoine Boutonnet Antoine is a French language, French given name (from the Latin ''Antonius'' meaning 'highly praise-worthy') that is a variant of Danton (name), Danton, Titouan, D'Anton and Antonin. The name is used in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, West ...

(1862–1868) *

Joseph-Clair Reyne Joseph-Clair Reyne (4 January 1824 – 14 November 1872) was a French clergyman and bishop for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Basse-Terre. Reyne was born in Manosque Manosque (; Provençal Occitan: ''Manòsca'' in classical norm or ''Manosco'' ...

(1869–1872) * François-Benjamin-Joseph Blanger (1873–1883), appointed Bishop of Limoges * Fédéric-Henri Oury (1884–1886), appointed Bishop of Fréjus *

Pierre-Marie Avon Pierre-Marie is a French masculine given name, and may refer to: * Pierre-Marie Carré (born 1947), French prelate of the Catholic Church * Pierre-Marie Coty (1927–2020), Ivorian Roman Catholic bishop * Pierre-Marie Delfieux (1934–2013), Fre ...

(1899–1901) *

Emmanuel-François Canappe Emmanuel-François Canappe (25 July 1849 – 20 September 1907) was a French clergyman and bishop for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Basse-Terre. Canappe was born in Wailly, France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a c ...

(1901–1907) * Pierre-Louis Genoud,

Holy Ghost Fathers , image = Holy Ghost Fathers seal.png , size = 175px , caption = The seal of the Congregation depicting the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Trinity. , abbreviation ...

(C.S.Sp.) (1912–1945) *

Jean Gay Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Je ...

, C.S.Sp. (1945–''see below'') ;Bishops of Basse-Terre(-Pointe-à-Pitre) *

, C.S.Sp. (''as above''–1968) *

Siméon Oualli Siméon Oualli (born 18 February 1928 – 17 March 2002) was a Guadeloupean clergyman and bishop for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Basse-Terre. Oualli was born in Saint-François, Guadeloupe Saint-François ( gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Senfwa ...

(1970–1984) *

Ernest Mesmin Lucien Cabo Ernest Mesmin Lucien Cabo (15 December 1932 in Sainte-Rose, Guadeloupe – 28 November 2019 in Basse-Terre) was the Roman Catholic bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Basse-Terre, Diocese of Basse-Terre in Guadeloupe from 1984 to 2008. Cabo wa ...

(1984–2008) * Jean-Yves Riocreux (2012–2021)

Coadjutor bishop

, C.S.Sp. (1943–1945)

Auxiliary bishop

(1983–1984), appointed bishop here

Sources and external links