The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tours (
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the 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 the power of the ...
: ''Archidioecesis Turonensis'';
French: ''Archidiocèse de Tours'') is an
archdiocese of the
Latin Rite
Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, are Catholic rites of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church '' sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church, that originated in Europe where the Latin language once ...
of the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
. The archdiocese has roots that go back to the 3rd century, while the formal erection of the diocese dates from the 5th century.
The ecclesiastical province of
Tours
Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metro ...
corresponds with the late Roman province of
Tertia Lugdunensis. During Breton independence the see of Dol briefly exercised metropolitical functions (mainly tenth century). In 1859 the Breton dioceses except that of
Nantes were constituted into a province of
Rennes. Tours kept its historic suffragans of
Le Mans,
Angers
Angers (, , ) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Anjou until the French Revolution. The inhabitants of both the city and the pr ...
together with Nantes and a newly constituted Diocese of
Laval. In 2002 Tours lost all connection with its historic province, all its previous
suffragans depending henceforth on an expanded province of Rennes (corresponding to the
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...
and
Pays de la Loire administrative regions). Tours since 2002 has become the ecclesiastical metropolis of the Centre administrative region.
History
Ancient
According to
Louis Duchesne, the See of Tours was probably founded in the time of
Constantine
Constantine most often refers to:
* Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I
*Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria
Constantine may also refer to:
People
* Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...
;
Gregory of Tours says by
Gatianus
Gatianus (''Catianus, Gatianus, Gratianus''; french: Cassien, Gatien, Gratien) in the third century AD was the founding bishop of the see of Tours. He was one of the "seven apostles of Gaul" commissioned by Pope Fabian to evangelize in the region. ...
.
[ As the city, (called "Caesarodunum"), was important as a crossing point of the Loire, it became a stop on the route to Santiago de Compostela. The fourth bishop was ]Brice of Tours
Saint Brice of Tours ( la, Brictius; 370 444 AD) was a 5th-century Frankish bishop, the fourth Bishop of Tours, succeeding Martin of Tours in 397.
Background
Brice was a contemporary of Augustine of Hippo and lived in the time of the Council o ...
. Stories about his tenure suggest tensions between the regular clergy and the secular priests in Tours at that time. Saint Perpetuus
Saint Perpetuus (french: link=no, Saint-Perpetue) (died 30 December 490 AD) was the sixth Bishop of Tours, serving from 460 to 490.
Life
Born of a senatorial family of the Auvergne, Perpetuus became bishop of Tours around 460. He succeeded his r ...
was bishop from 460 to 490. During his administration Christianity was further developed and consolidated in the province of Touraine
Touraine (; ) is one of the traditional provinces of France. Its capital was Tours. During the political reorganization of French territory in 1790, Touraine was divided between the departments of Indre-et-Loire, :Loir-et-Cher, Indre and Vien ...
. He was followed by Volusianus of Tours, a relative of Ruricius of Limoges
Ruricius I (c. 440c. 510) was a Gallo-Roman aristocrat and bishop of Limoges from c. 485 to 510. He is one of the writers whose letters survive from late Roman Gaul, depicting the influence of the Visigoths on the Roman lifestyle. He should not ...
. The first cathedral, dedicated to Saint Maurice, was built by Bishop Lidoire, sometime in the fourth century; it burned down in 561, but was restored by Gregory of Tours.
Bishop Chrotbert (Robert) is mentioned in the earliest grant of privileges to the Monastery of St. Martin in Tours, made by Pope Adeodatus (672–676). The document survives only in two copies which differ significantly between them; both are suspect.
Medieval
In May 858, which was the third year of his pontificate, Archbishop Herardus held a diocesan synod, in which a codification was issued of the ''capitula'' ('regulations') of the diocese. The document contained 140 chapters.
On 21 January 1216, Pope Innocent III
Pope Innocent III ( la, Innocentius III; 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216), born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 to his death in 16 ...
confirmed an agreement entered into between the Archbishop of Tours and the Chapter of the cathedral on the election of a Dean and Provosts.
After the death of Archbishop Jean de la Faye in April 1228, there appears to have been considerable difficulty in finding a new archbishop. Jean Maan, Dean of Mans, was brought to Tours, but he refused the see, or was unable to muster sufficient votes. Then the see was offered to Master Pierre de Collomedio of Champagne, a Canon of Thérouanne and Papal Legate, but, though the election was canonically carried out, he refused the offer.
Revolution
The leaders of 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 coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...
, as part of their program, planned to bring the religions in France under their control. The Roman Church was rich, and therefore powerful. The Revolution needed to redirect that power and acquire that wealth to finance their own projects. One device was to transfer old loyalties by breaking up the traditional units of political, social and religious organization. The property of the religious organizations was to be confiscated for the benefit of the people of France, and all clergy would become state employees, with their salaries fixed and paid by the government. The new political unit was to be the "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 which eighty-four were planned. It was determined by the Constituent Assembly
A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
that the Church was overloaded with bishops; therefore the number of dioceses needed to be reduced, from the 135 of the Ancien Régime, to 82 or 83, and that to the extent possible they were to have the same borders as the new political departments. The Diocese of Tours was therefore abolished and subsumed into a new diocese, coterminous with the new 'Departement d'Indre-et-Loire', which was to be a suffragan of the 'Metropole du Centre' (composed of the dioceses of Allier, Cher, Creuse, Indre, Indre-et-Loire, Loire-et-Cher, Nièvre and Vienne, with its center at Bourges) in the " Constitutional Church". The clergy were required to swear and oath to the Constitution, and under the terms of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy a new bishop was to be elected by all the voters of the département, who did not even need to be Catholics. This placed them in schism with the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope. Archbishop de Conzié of Tours refused to take the oath, and his bishopric was therefore declared to be vacant.
On 13 March 1791 the electors of Indre-et-Loire met in Tours in the cathedral. They were harangued by members of the Société des Amis de la Constitution, who pressed for the election of their president, a former Oratorian by the name of Ysabeau, who, however, could not muster a majority. Instead on the next day the electors chose Pierre Suzor, the curate of Ecueillé. He proceeded to Paris, where he was consecrated a bishop on 10 April by Constitutional Bishops Massieu, Delcher, and Sibille. His consecration was valid, but uncanonical and schismatic, and brought him excommunication. As bishop, he was at first conservative and somewhat rigorous, refusing to sanction the marriage of clergy, but later he succumbed to pressure. At the end of 1793, when Religion was abolished and replaced by Reason and the churches closed, most of the 360 clergy of Indre-et-Loire abdicated or apostasized. Religion was restored in 1795, but Suzor did not regain possession of the cathedral until 13 May 1797. Suzor suffered a stroke in 1797; the bishops of the Metropolitanate were allowed to assemble at Bourges in 1800 to find him a successor. On 1 February 1801 Hyacinthe Tardiveau accepted the position, and Suzor died on 13 April 1801, having approved of his successor. Tardiveau was never bishop, since he made his acceptance conditional upon receiving the traditional bulls from the pope, which never happened. In May 1801 First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte required the resignation of all Constitutional bishops; he was in the process of completing a concordat with the Papacy, and the Constitutional Church was an obstacle.
After the Concordat went into effect, Pius VII was able to issue the appropriate bulls to restore many of the dioceses and to regulate their boundaries, most of which corresponded closely to the new 'départements'. The Diocese of Tours, which was coterminous with the Department of Indre-et-Loire, had as suffragans: Le Mans, Angers, Rennes, Nantes, Quimper, Vannes, Saint-Pol, Treguier, Saint-Brieux Saint-Mâlo and Dol.
Pilgrimages
The main pilgrimage sites in the diocese besides the grottos of Marmoutier, are: Notre-Dame-la-Riche, a sanctuary erected on the site of a church dating from the third century, and where the founder St. Gatianus is venerated; Notre-Dame-de-Loches; St. Christopher and St. Giles at St-Christophe, a pilgrimage dating from the ninth century; the pilgrimage to the Oratory of the Holy Face
The Oratory of the Holy Face is a Roman Catholic oratory in Tours France. It was originally established on the Rue St. Etienne, in the former home of Venerable Leo Dupont who did much to promote devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus. The Oratory wa ...
in Tours, managed by Priests of the Holy Face canonically erected on 8 December 1876.[Georges Goyau]
"Archdiocese of Tours."
''The Catholic Encyclopedia''. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. Retrieved: 7 May 2017.
Bishops
to 700
* St. Gatianus
Gatianus (''Catianus, Gatianus, Gratianus''; french: Cassien, Gatien, Gratien) in the third century AD was the founding bishop of the see of Tours. He was one of the "seven apostles of Gaul" commissioned by Pope Fabian to evangelize in the region. ...
(c. 249–301)
* St. Litorius Litorius (died 439) was a Roman general of the closing period of the Western Roman Empire serving as Magister militum per Gallias mainly in Gaul under magister militum Flavius Aetius (from 435 until his death). Litorius is noted for being the last ...
338–370
* St. Martin Martin may refer to:
Places
* Martin City (disambiguation)
* Martin County (disambiguation)
* Martin Township (disambiguation)
Antarctica
* Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land
* Port Martin, Adelie Land
* Point Martin, South Orkney Islands
Austr ...
371–397
* St. Bricius
Bricius (sometimes anglicized as Brice, died 1222) was prior of Lesmahagow and afterward bishop of Moray ( Gaelic ''epscop Muireb''; Latin ''episcopus Moraviensis'').
In this period, the name ''Bricius'' is more often a Latinization of the G ...
397–443
* St. Eustochius 443–460
* St. Perpetuus 460–490
* St. Volusianus
Gaius Vibius Volusianus (died August 253) was a Roman emperor from 251 to 253, ruling with his father Trebonianus Gallus.
After Emperor Decius and his son and co-ruler Herennius Etruscus died in battle in June 251, Trebonianus Gallus was el ...
491–498
* Verus (498–508)
* Licinius
Valerius Licinianus Licinius (c. 265 – 325) was Roman emperor from 308 to 324. For most of his reign he was the colleague and rival of Constantine I, with whom he co-authored the Edict of Milan, AD 313, that granted official toleration to C ...
(508–520)
* Theodorus & Proculus (jointly) (520–521?)
* Dinfius (521?)
* Ommatius (521–525)
* Leo (526?)
* Francilio (528? or 526–528?)
* Injuriosus (529–546)
* Baudinus (546–552)
* Gunthar 552–554
* St. Eufronius
Eufronius or Euphronius was the eighth Bishop of Tours; he served from 555 to 573, and was a near relative of Gregory of Tours.
When upon the death of Bishop Gunthar, King Chlothar's nominee declined appointment to the See, it remained vacant fo ...
555–573
* St. Gregory (573–594)
* Pelagius I (595–602)
* Leupacharius (602–614)
* Agiricus (614–617)
* Gwalachus (617–618)
: alatus 618–619* Sigilaicus 619–622
* Leobaldus 622–625
* Medegisilus (625–638)
* Latinus (638–650)
* Charegiselus (Carégisile) 650–652
* Rigobertus 652–654
* Papolenus 654–660
* Chrotbert 660–695
* Pelagius II 695–700
700 to 1000
* Evartius 700–709
* Ibbon 709–724
* Gontran II 724–732
* Didon 732–733
* Rimbert 733–752
* Aubert 752–754
* Ostald 754–760
* Gravien 760–765
* Eusebe 765–771
* Herling 771–792
* Joseph I 792–815
* Landran I 815–836
* Ursmarus
Ursmar of Lobbes (died 713) was a missionary bishop in the Meuse and Ardennes region in present-day Belgium, Germany, Luxemburg and France. He was also the first abbot of Lobbes Abbey.
As many missionaries in the 7th and 8th century, he may have ...
836–846
* Landran II 846–852
* Amalricus (852–856)
* Herardus 856–871
* Actardus (872–875)
* Adalardus 875–890
* Herbernus 890–916
* Robert II of Tours 916–932
* Theotolo 932–945
* Joseph II 946–957
* Frotaire 957–960
* Hardouin 960–980
* Archambault de Sully 981–1008
1000–1300
* Hugues de Chateaudun 1008–1023
* Arnoul 1023–1052
* Barthelemy de Faye 1053–1068
* Raoul I 1072–1085
* Raoul II 1086–1117
* Gilbert de Maillé 1118–1125
* Hildebert de Lavardin 1125–1134
* Hugues d'Etampes 1134–1146
* Engebaldus 1146–1157
* Joscius 1157–1174
* Barthelemy de Vendôme 1174–1206
* Géoffroy de la Lande (1206 – 29 April 1208)
* Jean de la Faye (4 October 1208 – 23 April 1228)
: rançois Cassard 1228–1229* Juhel de Mathefelon (1229 – 20 March 1244)
* Géoffroy Marcel (13 May 1245 – 10 July 1251)
* Pierre de Lamballe
Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...
(8 April 1252 – 24 October 1256)
: hilippe 1256–1257* Vincent de Pirmil (1257 – 19 September 1270)
* Jean de Montsoreau (16 January 1271 – 26 January 1284)
* Olivier de Craon (24 May 1284 – 24 August 1285)
* Bouchard Dain (24 April 1286 – 19 October 1290)
* Philippe de Candé (3 January 1291 – 15 February 1291)
* Renaud de Montbazon (21 November 1291 – 23 August 1312)
1300–1500
* Geoffroy de la Haye (20 February 1313 – 6 April 1323)
* Étienne de Bourgueil (16 August 1323 – 7 March 1335)
* Pierre Frétaud (14 July 1335 – 21 May 1357)
* Philippe Blanche (3 July 1357 – 1363)
* Simon de Renoul (25 October 1363 – 2 January 1379)
* Seguin d'Anton (14 January 1380 – 20 June 1380) (Avignon Obedience)
* Aléaume Boistel (20 June 1380 – 1382) (Avignon Obedience)
* Guy de Roye (17 October 1382 – 8 October 1383) (Avignon Obedience)
* Seguin d'Anton (8 October 1383 – 25 March 1395) ('Perpetual Administrator', Avignon Obedience)
* Ameil du Breuil (5 November 1395 – 1 September 1414) (Avignon Obedience)
* Jacques Gélu (7 November 1414 – 30 July 1427)
* Philippe de Coëtquis (30 July 1427 – 12 July 1441)
* Jean Bernard (11 December 1441 – 28 April 1466)
* Gerard Bastet de Crussol (9 June 1466 – 13 May 1468)
* Hélie de Bourdeilles, O.Min. (16 May 1468 – 5 July 1484)
* Robert de Lenoncourt (29 July 1484 – 28 March 1509)
1500–1700
* Carlo Domenico del Carretto
Carlo Domenico del Carretto (1454– 15 August 1514) was an Italian papal legate and Cardinal. He was called ''the Cardinal of Finale''.
Biography
He was born to a noble family of Finale Ligure, the son of Giovanni I Lazzarino, marquis of Fina ...
(5 April 1509 – 1514)
* Christophe de Brillac (3 July 1514 – 31 July 1520)
* Martin Fournier de Beaune (24 August 1520 – 1527)
* Antoine de la Barre 1528–1547
* Georges d'Armagnac
Georges d'Armagnac (c. 1501 – July 1585) was a French humanist, patron of arts, Cardinal and diplomat deeply embroiled in the Italian Wars and in the French Wars of Religion.
Biography
He was born at Avignon, the son of Pierre d'Armagna ...
(13 January 1548 – 1551)
* Etienne Poncher (6 April 1551 – 15 March 1553)
* Alessandro Farnese (28 April 1553 – 25 June 1554 (Administrator)
* Simon de Maillé de Brézé (25 June 1554 – 11 January 1597)
* François de la Guesle (7 February 1597 – 30 October 1614)
* Sebastien d'Ori Galagai (19 December 1616 – 1617)
* Bertrand d'Eschaud
Bertrand d'Eschaud, d'Echaux, Etchauz, or des Chaux (1556 or 1557, Saint-Étienne-de-Baïgorry - 21 May 1641) was a French cleric and politician. He was bishop of Bayonne (1599-1617), then archbishop of Tours (1617-1641). Prélat-commandeur du S ...
(26 June 1617 – 21 May 1641)
* Victor Le Bouthillier (21 May 1641 – 12 November 1670)
* Charles de Rosmadec (1671–1672)
* Michel Amelot de Gournay 1673–1687
: Claude de Saint George (1687–1693) (Vicar General and Administrator)
* Mathieu Isoré d'Hervault (22 December 1693 – 9 July 1716)
1700–1900
* Armand Pierre de la Croix de Castries
Armand refer to:
People
* Armand (name), list of people with this name
*Armand (photographer) (1901–1963), Armenian photographer
*Armand (singer) (1946–2015), Dutch protest singer
*Sean Armand (born 1991), American basketball player
*Armand, ...
(18 September 1719 – 23 September 1722)
* François Blouet de Camilly (20 January 1723 – 17 October 1723)
* Louis Jacques de Chapt de Rastignac Louis may refer to:
* Louis (coin)
* Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name
* Louis (surname)
* Louis (singer), Serbian singer
* HMS Louis, HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy
See also
Derived or associated te ...
(27 September 1724 – 2 August 1750)
* Bernardin de Rosset de Fleury Bernardin is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include:
Given name:
* Bernardin-François Fouquet (1705–1785), French Catholic prelate, Cardinal, abbot and archbishop of Embrun
* Bernardin Frankopan (1453–1529), Cro ...
(17 May 1751 – 2 March 1775)
* Joachim François Mamert de Conzié (29 May 1775 – 1795)
* Jean de Dieu Raymond de Boisgelin (16 April 1802 – 24 August 1804)
* Louis Mathias de Barral (1 February 1805 – 26 September 1815)
* Jean-Baptiste du Chilleau (1 October 1818 – 24 November 1824)
* Augustin Louis de Montblanc
Augustin may refer to:
* Augustin (name), male name, variant of Augustine
* Augustin (typography), English or 14-point type
* Augustin, Brașov, a commune in Brașov County, Romania
* Dacian fortress of Augustin, ruined Dacian fortified town in ...
(24 November 1824 – 28 December 1841)
* Cardinal François Nicolas Madeleine Morlot (27 January 1843 – 1857)
* Joseph Hippolyte Guibert (19 March 1857 – 27 October 1871)
* Felix Pierre Fruchaud (27 October 1871 – 9 November 1874)
* Charles-Théodore Colet (21 December 1874 – 27 November 1883)
* Cardinal Guillaume René Meignan (25 March 1884 – 20 January 1896)
* René François Renou (25 June 1896 – 1913)
From 1900
* Albert Negre 1913–1931
* Ludovico Gaillard 1931–1956
* Louis Ferrand 1956–1980
* Jean Marcel Honoré
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
* J ...
1981–1997; elevated to Cardinal in 2001
* Michel Moutel 1997–1998
* André Vingt-Trois
André Armand Vingt-Trois (; born 7 November 1942) is a French cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Paris from 2005 to 2017, having previously served as Archbishop of Tours from 1999 to 2005. He was elevated to the cardi ...
1999–2005; appointed Archbishop of Paris (Cardinal in 2007)
* Bernard-Nicolas Aubertin, O.Cist. (2005 - 26 October 2019)
* Vincent Jordy (4 November 2019 – present)
Notes
Bibliography
Reference works
* (Use with caution; obsolete)
* (in Latin)
* (in Latin)
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Studies
*
*Chevalier, C. (1871). ''Origines de l'Église de Tours'' in:
*
*
* second edition (in French)
*
*
*Jehan (de Saint-Clavien), L.-F. (1871). ''Saint Gatien, premier évêque de Tours'', in:
*
*
External links
* Centre national des Archives de l'Église de France
''L'Épiscopat francais depuis 1919''
retrieved: 2016-12-24.
{{coord, 47.40, 0.69, display=title
Organizations based in Tours, France
Tours
Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metro ...