The Diocese of Verdun ( la, Dioecesis Virodunensis; french: Diocèse de Verdun) is a

Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...

ecclesiastical territory or

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, pro ...

of the

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 ...

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 ...

. It is a

suffragan diocese A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria ...

in the

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United State ...

of the metropolitan

Archdiocese of Besançon 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 associate ...

. The Diocese of Verdun corresponds to 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 collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...

'' of

Meuse The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...

in the ''

région France is divided into eighteen administrative regions (french: régions, singular ), of which thirteen are located in metropolitan France (in Europe), while the other five are overseas regions (not to be confused with the overseas collect ...

'' of

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gr ...

. The diocese is subdivided into 577 parishes.

History

The diocese dates back to the 4th century. Traditionally the city was first evangelized around 332 by St Sanctinus, Bishop of

Meaux Meaux () is a commune on the river Marne in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is east-northeast of the centre of Paris. Meaux is, with Provins, Torcy and Fontainebleau, ...

, who became the first bishop. Sanctinus erected the first Christian oratory dedicated to St. Peter and

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

. "Other bishops worthy of mention are: St. Possessor (470–486); St. Firminus (486–502); St. Vitonus (Vanne) (502–529); St. Désiré (Desideratus) (529–554), St. Agericus (Airy) (554–591), friend of St.

Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours (30 November 538 – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of the area that had been previously referred to as Gaul by the Romans. He was born Georgius Florenti ...

and of Fortunatus;

(630–648), formerly Abbot of the Benedictine Monastery of

Tholey Tholey () is a municipality in the district of Sankt Wendel, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated approximately west of Sankt Wendel, and north of Saarbrücken. History Local history The first traces of settlement in the area of today's Thol ...

in the Diocese of Trier; and St. Madalvaeus (Mauve) (753–776)." Until 1801 Verdun was part of the

of the

Archbishop of Trier The Diocese of Trier, in English historically also known as ''Treves'' (IPA "tɾivz") from French ''Trèves'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic church in Germany.Diocese of Nancy The Diocese of Nancy and Toul (Latin: ''Dioecesis Nanceiensis et Tullensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Nancy et de Toul'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in France. After a considerable political strugg ...

. On October 6, 1822 the diocese was re-established.

After the Concordat

Amiens France Cathédrale-Jean-Paul Gusching en 2014-01 (cropped)

* 1823–1830: Etienne-Bruno-Marie d'Arbou * 1826–1831: François-Joseph de Villeneuve-Esclapon * 1832–1836: Placide-Bruno Valayer * 1836–1844: Augustin-Jean Le Tourneur * 1844–1866: Louis Rossat * 1867–1884: Augustin Hacquard * 1884–1887: Jean-Natalis-François Gonindard * 1887–1901: Jean-Pierre Pagis * 1901–1909:

Louis-Ernest Dubois Louis-Ernest Dubois (1 September 1856 – 23 September 1929) was a Roman Catholic Cardinal and Archbishop of Paris. He played a leading role in the period of adjustment to the separation of Church and State in France. Early life He was born ...

20th century

* 1910–1913: Jean Arturo Chollet * 1914–1946: Charles-Marie-André Ginisty * 1946–1963: Marie-Paul-Georges Petit * 1963–1986: Pierre Francis Lucien Anatole Boillon * 1987–1999: Marcel Paul Herriot

21st century

*From 2000 to September 2014:

François Paul Marie Maupu François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, Kin ...

*From September 2014: Jean-Paul Gabriel Émile Gusching

References

Books

External links

Website of the diocese
Roman Catholic dioceses in France Roman Catholic dioceses in the Holy Roman Empire Dioceses established in the 4th century 4th-century establishments in Roman Gaul {{France-RC-diocese-stub