, native_name_lang = fr , image = 060806-France-Paris-Notre Dame.jpg , imagewidth = 200px , alt = , caption = Cathedral Notre-Dame de Paris , abbreviation = , type = National polity , main_classification = Catholic , orientation = Christianity , scripture = Bible , theology =

Catholic theology Catholic theology is the understanding of Catholic doctrine or teachings, and results from the studies of theologians. It is based on canonical scripture, and sacred tradition, as interpreted authoritatively by the magisterium of the Catholic ...

, polity = , governance = CEF , structure = , leader_title = Pope , leader_name = , leader_title1 = President , leader_name1 =

Éric de Moulins-Beaufort Éric de Moulins-Beaufort (born 30 January 1962) is a French prelate of the Catholic Church who has been a bishop since 2008 and the Archbishop of Reims since 2018. He was elected president of the Bishops' Conference of France in 2019. Life Ér ...

, leader_title2 =

Primate of the Gauls The Primate of the Gauls is a title given since 1079 to the archbishop of Lyon, former capital of the Three Gauls then land of the Roman Empire, and has described the authority he has exercised in the past over the other bishops of France. The p ...

, leader_name2 =

Olivier de Germay Olivier Jacques Marie Certain de Germay de Cirfontaine (born 18 September 1960) is a French prelate of the Catholic Church who has been metropolitan archbishop of Lyon since December 2020. He served as bishop of Ajaccio from 2012–2020. Before ta ...

, leader_title3 = Apostolic Nuncio , leader_name3 = Celestino Migliore , fellowships_type = , fellowships = , fellowships_type1 = , fellowships1 = , division_type = , division = , division_type1 = , division1 = , division_type2 = , division2 = , division_type3 = , division3 = , associations = , area = France , language =

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, Latin , headquarters = Cathedral Notre-Dame de Paris , origin_link = , founder = Saint Remigius , founded_date = c.177 Christianity in Gaul
c.496

Frankish Christianity Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest History of the Roman Empire, post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It ...

, founded_place = Gaul, Roman Empire , separated_from = , parent = , merger = , absorbed = , separations = Huguenots (16th century) , merged_into = , defunct = , congregations_type = , congregations = , members = 27,000,000–58,000,000 , ministers_type = , ministers = , missionaries = , churches = , hospitals = , nursing_homes = , aid = , primary_schools = , secondary_schools = , tax_status = , tertiary = , other_names = , publications = , website
Episcopal Conference of France
, slogan = , logo = , footnotes = The Catholic Church in France is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the Pope in Rome. Established in the 2nd century in unbroken communion with the bishop of Rome, it is sometimes called the "eldest daughter of the church" (french: fille aînée de l'Église). The first written records of Christians in France date from the 2nd century when Irenaeus detailed the deaths of ninety-year-old bishop Saint Pothinus of Lugdunum ( Lyon) and other martyrs of the 177 AD persecution in Lyon. In 496 Remigius baptized King

Clovis I Clovis ( la, Chlodovechus; reconstructed Frankish: ; – 27 November 511) was the first king of the Franks to unite all of the Frankish tribes under one ruler, changing the form of leadership from a group of petty kings to rule by a single kin ...

, who therefore converted from paganism to Catholicism. In 800,

Pope Leo III Pope Leo III (died 12 June 816) was bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 26 December 795 to his death. Protected by Charlemagne from the supporters of his predecessor, Adrian I, Leo subsequently strengthened Charlemagne's position b ...

crowned Charlemagne Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, forming the political and religious foundations of Christendom in Europe and establishing in earnest the French government's long historical association with the Catholic Church. See drop-down essay on "Religion and Politics until the French Revolution" In reaction, the French Revolution (1789–1790) was followed by heavy persecution of the Catholic Church. Since the beginning of the 20th century, ''Laïcité'', absolute neutrality of the state with respect to religious doctrine, is the official policy of the

French Republic 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 ...

. Estimates of the proportion of Catholics range between 41% and 88% of France's population, with the higher figure including lapsed Catholics and " Catholic atheists". The Catholic Church in France is organised into 98 dioceses, which in 2012 were served by 7,000 sub-75 priests. 80 to 90 priests are ordained every year, when the church would need eight times as many to compensate the number of priest deaths. Approximately 45,000 Catholic church buildings and chapels are spread out among 36,500 cities, towns, and villages in France, but a majority are no longer regularly used for mass. Notable churches of France include Notre Dame de Paris, Chartres Cathedral, Reims Cathedral, and Basilique du Sacre-Coeur, Eglise de la Madeleine, and Amiens Cathedral. Its national shrine, Lourdes, is visited by 5 million pilgrims yearly. The capital city, Paris, is a major pilgrimage site for Catholics as well. In recent decades, France has emerged as a stronghold for the small but growing Traditionalist Catholic movement, along with the United States, England and other Anglophone countries. The Society of Saint Pius X, a canonically irregular priestly society founded by French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre has a large presence in the country, as do other traditionalist priestly societies in full communion with Rome such as the

Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter The Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter ( la, Fraternitas Sacerdotalis Sancti Petri; FSSP) is a traditionalist Catholic society of apostolic life for priests and seminarians which is in communion with the Holy See. The society was founded in 19 ...

, Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest and others. Some of the most famous French saints and blesseds include St. Denis,

St. Thérèse of Lisieux ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy ...

St. Irenaeus Irenaeus (; grc-gre, Εἰρηναῖος ''Eirēnaios''; c. 130 – c. 202 AD) was a Greek bishop noted for his role in guiding and expanding Christian communities in the southern regions of present-day France and, more widely, for the de ...

, St. Jean-Marie Vianney the Curé of Ars, St. Joan of Arc,

St. Bernadette Bernadette Soubirous (; ; oc, Bernadeta Sobirós ; 7 January 184416 April 1879), also known as Saint Bernadette of Lourdes, was the firstborn daughter of a miller from Lourdes (''Lorda'' in Occitan), in the Departments of France, department of ...

St. Genevieve Genevieve (french: link=no, Sainte Geneviève; la, Sancta Genovefa, Genoveva; 419/422 AD – 502/512 AD) is the patroness saint of Paris in the Catholic and Orthodox traditions. Her feast is on 3 January. Genevieve was born in Nanterre an ...

Louis IX of France Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the Direct Capetians. He was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the ...

, St.

Elizabeth of the Trinity Elizabeth of the Trinity, OCD (french: Élisabeth de la Trinité), born Élisabeth Catez (18 July 1880 – 9 November 1906), was a French Discalced Carmelite, a mystic, and a spiritual writer. She was known for the depth of her spiritual growth ...

, St. Vincent de Paul, St. Louise de Marillac, St. Catherine Labouré,

St. Louis de Montfort Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort (31 January 1673 – 28 April 1716) was a French Roman Catholic priest and confessor. He was known in his time as a preacher and was made a missionary apostolic by Pope Clement XI. As well as preaching, Montfort ...

, St. Jean-Baptiste de La Salle, St Francis de Sales, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, Bl

Nicholas Barré Nicholas Barré, O.M. (21 October 1621 – 31 May 1686), was a French Minim friar and Catholic priest, who founded the Sisters of the Infant Jesus. He has been beatified by the Roman Catholic Church. Early life Barré was born in Amiens, in ...

, and

St. Bernard of Clairvaux Bernard of Clairvaux, Cistercians, O. Cist. ( la, Bernardus Claraevallensis; 109020 August 1153), venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, Mysticism, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templars, and a major leader in the reformation of the Bened ...

History

Roman Gauls and early Christianity

According to long-standing tradition, Mary, Martha, Lazarus (Marie, Marthe and Lazare in French) and some companions, who were expelled by persecutions from the Holy Land, traversed the Mediterranean in a frail boat with neither rudder nor mast and landed at '' Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer'' near Arles.

Provençal Provençal may refer to: *Of Provence, a region of France * Provençal dialect, a dialect of the Occitan language, spoken in the southeast of France *''Provençal'', meaning the whole Occitan language *Franco-Provençal language, a distinct Roman ...

tradition names Lazarus as the first

bishop of Marseille The Archdiocese of Marseille (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Massiliensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Marseille'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France.a terrible beast in nearby Tarascon. Pilgrims visited their tombs at the abbey of Vézelay in

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...

. In the Abbey of the Trinity at Vendôme, a phylactery was said to contain a tear shed by Jesus at the tomb of Lazarus. The cathedral of Autun, not far away, is dedicated to Lazarus as ''Saint Lazaire''. The first written records of Christians in France date from the 2nd century when Irenaeus detailed the deaths of ninety-year-old bishop Pothinus of Lugdunum ( Lyon) and other martyrs of the 177 persecution in Lyon. The emperor Theodosius I (r. 379-95) makes Christianity the official state religion of the Roman Empire in 380.

Conversion of the Franks

In 496 Remigius baptized

, who was converted from paganism to Catholicism. Clovis I, considered the founder of France, made himself the ally and protector of the papacy and his predominantly Catholic subjects.

Medieval Christendom and Crusades

On Christmas Day 800,

crowned Charlemagne Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, forming the political and religious foundations of Christendom and establishing in earnest the French government's longstanding historical association with the Catholic Church. The Council of Clermont, a mixed

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...

of ecclesiastics and laymen led by

Pope Urban II Pope Urban II ( la, Urbanus 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 th ...

in November 1095 at Clermont-Ferrand triggered the First Crusade. The Kingdom of France and its aristocracy were prominent players in the Crusades in general. Following the

Fourth Crusade The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...

, a period known as the ''

Frankokratia The ''Frankokratia'' ( el, Φραγκοκρατία, la, Francocratia, sometimes anglicized as Francocracy, "rule of the Franks"), also known as ''Latinokratia'' ( el, Λατινοκρατία, la, Latinocratia, "rule of the Latins") and ...

'' existed where French Latin Catholics took over parts of the Byzantine Empire. A Crusade also took place on French territory in the

County of Toulouse The County of Toulouse ( oc, Comtat de Tolosa) was a territory in southern France consisting of the city of Toulouse and its environs, ruled by the Count of Toulouse from the late 9th century until the late 13th century. The territory is the ...

(contemporary Languedoc) with the

Albigensian Crusade The Albigensian Crusade or the Cathar Crusade (; 1209–1229) was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted primarily by the French crown ...

in the 13th century, called by Pope Innocent III. This played out on local level with fighting between the Catholic White Brotherhood and the Cathar Black Brotherhood. The Cathars lost and were subsequently exterminated. In 1312, the French monarch

Philip IV of France Philip IV (April–June 1268 – 29 November 1314), called Philip the Fair (french: Philippe le Bel), was King of France from 1285 to 1314. By virtue of his marriage with Joan I of Navarre, he was also King of Navarre as Philip I from 12 ...

was involved in the suppression of the

Knights Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

by Pope Clement V; Philip was in deep financial dept to the Templars. The Avignon Papacy was the period from 1309 to 1377 during which seven

popes, resided in

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

Renaissance Church and Protestantism

Prior to the French Revolution, the Catholic Church had been the official state religion of France since the conversion to Christianity of

, leading to France being called "the eldest daughter of the Church". The King of France was known as "His Most Christian Majesty". Following the Protestant Reformation, France was riven by sectarian conflict as the Huguenots and Catholics strove for supremacy in the Wars of Religion until the 1598 Edict of Nantes established a measure of religious toleration.

Catholicism under the Revolution

Portrait of Pope Pius VII and Cardinal Caprara by Jacques-Louis David

The French Revolution radically shifted power away from the Catholic Church. Church property was stolen, and the church crop tax and special clergy privileges were eliminated. With the 1790 Civil Constitution of the Clergy, the clergy became employees of the State, and the Catholic Church became a subordinate arm of the secular French government. During the Reign of Terror, traditional Christian holidays were abolished and Catholic priests were brutally suppressed, locally through mass imprisonment and executions by drowning.

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

negotiated a reconciliation with the Church through the

1801 Concordat The Concordat of 1801 was an agreement between Napoleon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII, signed on 15 July 1801 in Paris. It remained in effect until 1905, except in Alsace-Lorraine, where it remains in force. It sought national reconciliation ...

, whereby the State would subsidize Catholicism (recognized as the majority religion of the French), as well as Judaism, Lutheranism, and Calvinism. See drop-down essay on "The Third Republic and the 1905 Law of Laïcité" After the 1814

Bourbon Restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to: France under the House of Bourbon: * Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815) Spain under the Spanish Bourbons: * ...

, the ultra-royalist government, headed by the

comte de Villèle ''Comte'' is the French, Catalan and Occitan form of the word 'count' (Latin: ''comes''); ''comté'' is the Gallo-Romance form of the word 'county' (Latin: ''comitatus''). Comte or Comté may refer to: * A count in French, from Latin ''comes'' * A ...

, passed the 1825 Anti-Sacrilege Act, which made stealing of consecrated

Host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places * Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County People *Jim Host (born 1937), American businessman * Michel Host ...

s punishable by death. Never enforced, this law was repealed in the July Monarchy (1830–1848).

Sexual abuse

On 5 October 2021, a report was published by the ''Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church'' (CIASE) which showed that 330,000 children had become victims of sexual abuse within the church in France over a period spanning 7 decades (1950-2020). This constitutes 6% of total sexual abuse in France, since the same report notes that there are a total of 5.5 million cases of sexual abuse of people under 18 in France. These crimes were committed by between 2900 and 3200 priests and community members.

Marian apparitions

A number of alleged Marian apparitions are associated with France. The best known are the following: * Our Lady of the Rosary, associated with

Dominic de Guzmán Saint Dominic ( es, Santo Domingo; 8 August 1170 – 6 August 1221), also known as Dominic de Guzmán (), was a Castilian Catholic priest, mystic, the founder of the Dominican Order and is the patron saint of astronomers and natural scientis ...

at Prouille * Our Lady of Lourdes, associated with Bernadette Soubirous at Lourdes * Our Lady of La Salette, associated with Maximin Giraud and Mélanie Calvat at La Salette-Fallavaux * Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, associated with Catherine Labouré at

Rue du Bac, Paris Rue du Bac is a street in Paris situated in the 7th arrondissement. The street, which is 1150 m long, begins at the junction of the quais Voltaire and Anatole-France and ends at the rue de Sèvres. Rue du Bac is also the name of a station on ...

* Our Lady of Laus, associated with Benoîte Rencurel at Saint-Étienne-le-Laus * Our Lady of Pontmain, associated with Joseph and Eugène Barbedette at Pontmain *

Our Lady of Pellevoisin Our Lady of Pellevoisin is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary which refers to a series of Marian apparitions in Pellevoisin, in the province of Berry, in the department of Indre, France. Pellevoisin is west of Châteauroux in the Catholic Arch ...

, associated with Estelle Faguette at Pellevoisin

Organisation

Legal status

The

1905 French law on the separation of Church and State The 1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and State ( French: ) was passed by the Chamber of Deputies on 9 December 1905. Enacted during the Third Republic, it established state secularism in France. France was then governed by the ' ...

removed the privileged status of the state religion (Catholic Church) and of the three other state-recognised religions (Lutheranism, Calvinism, Judaism), but left to them the use without fee, and the maintenance at government expense, of the churches that they used prior to 1905. A notable exception is Alsace-Lorraine, which at the time of the separation was part of Germany, and where the pre-1905 status, including the Concordat, is still in force. This was negotiated in 1918 when Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France at the end of the first World War, and approved by both France and the Holy See with the

Briand-Ceretti Agreement The Briand- Cerretti Agreement is a 1926 agreement whereby French diocesan bishops are nominated by the Vatican after a process involving the French Ministries of the Interior and of Foreign Affairs. See drop-down essay on "The Third Republic a ...

. As a consequence, and although France is one of the countries in the world where State and Church are most separated, the French Head of State is paradoxically the only temporal power in the world still nominating Catholic bishops, namely the Bishop of Metz and the

Archbishop of Strasbourg {{Unreferenced, date=December 2009 These persons were bishop, archbishop or prince-bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Strasbourg (including historically Prince-Bishopric of Strasbourg): Bishops and prince-bishops *Amandus *Justinus vo ...

. They are approved by the Pope and in practice selected by him, but formally nominated by the French President following diplomatic exchanges with the Holy See through the nunciature. During the application of the 1905 law, prime minister

Emile Combes Emil or Emile may refer to: Literature *''Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau *Émile (novel), ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life *''Emil an ...

, a member of the Radical-Socialist Party, tried to strictly enforce measures which some Catholics considered humiliating or blasphematory, leading to clashes between the '' Congregationists'' and the authorities. Anti-clericalism slowly declined among the French left-wing throughout France in the twentieth century, while the question of religion and of freedom of thought seemed to have been resolved. However, it is still present as a defining trait of the left-wing, while most right-wing Frenchmen describe themselves as Catholics (although not necessarily practicing). Thus, the draft laws presented by

François Mitterrand François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he ...

's government in the early 1980s, concerning restrictions on the state funding of private (and in majority Catholic) schools, were countered by right-wing demonstrations headed by the then mayor of Paris, the Gaullist

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as Ma ...

, who was to be his prime minister in 1986 and would succeed him in 1995 as president. In the same way, the 2004 law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools, revived the controversy twenty years later, although the dividing lines also passed through each political side due to the complexity of the subject. On this occasion, several

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

associations have allied themselves with conservative Catholics to reject the law. One consequences of the law was that some Muslim college students who refused to remove their veils or "conspicuous religious symbols" withdrew from the public school system in favour of the private, but publicly funded, Catholic schools (where the law does not apply, being restricted to the public education system). In any case, since the 1905 law on the separation of the Church and State, the prevailing public doctrine on religion is '' laïcité'' – that is, neutrality of the state with respect to religious doctrine, and separation of the religious and the public spheres, except in Alsace-Lorraine and in some oversea territories. This state neutrality is conceived as a protection of

religious minorities A minority religion is a religion held by a minority of the population of a country, state, or region. Minority religions may be subject to stigma or discrimination. An example of a stigma is using the term cult with its extremely negative co ...

as well as the upholding of freedom of thought, which includes a right to

agnosticism Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable. (page 56 in 1967 edition) Another definition provided is the view that "human reason is incapable of providing sufficient ...

and

atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...

. Although many Catholics were at first opposed to this secular movement, most of them have since changed opinions, finding that this neutrality actually protects their faith from political interference. Only some minority traditionalist Catholic groups, such as the

Society of St. Pius X The Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) ( la, Fraternitas Sacerdotalis Sancti Pii X; FSSPX) is an international fraternity of traditionalist Catholic priests founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, a leading traditionalist voice at the Secon ...

, push for the return to the ''

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

'' or at least pre-separation situation, contending that France has forgotten its divine mission as a Christian country (an argument already upheld by the Ultras presenting the 1825 Anti-Sacrilege Act).

Statistics

2006 Statistics from the Catholic Church in France: Basilica dell'Immacolata Concezione (Lourdes) 012

74% of French Catholics support same-sex marriage and 24% oppose it. 87% of French Catholics believe society should accept homosexuality, while 10% believe society should not accept homosexuality.

Divisions

Within France the hierarchy consists of: *Metropolitan archbishop **Suffragan * Besançon **Belfort-Montbéliard ** Nancy **Saint-Claude **Saint-Dié ** Verdun * Bordeaux ** Agen **Aire sur Adour **Bayonne **Périgueux *Clermont-Ferrand ** Le Puy-en-Velay **Moulins ** Saint-Flour *Dijon ** Autun **Nevers ** Sens (-Auxerre) **Mission de France * LillePope Benedict XVI elevated the Diocese of Lille to a Metropolitan Archdiocese. Cambrai (the former Metropolitan) became its suffragan, while retaining the title "Archdiocese" (see ). **

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department and in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, regio ...

** Arras (Boulogne, Saint-Omer) * Lyon (-Vienne) ( Primate) or

**Annecy **Belley-Ars **Chambéry ** Grenoble **Saint-Etienne **Valence **Viviers * Marseille **

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. ...

(-Arles-Embrun) **

Ajaccio Ajaccio (, , ; French: ; it, Aiaccio or ; co, Aiacciu , locally: ; la, Adiacium) is a French commune, prefecture of the department of Corse-du-Sud, and head office of the ''Collectivité territoriale de Corse'' (capital city of Corsica). ...

**Avignon ** Carpentras ** Digne ** Fréjus et Toulon ** Gap ** Nice *

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

**Béziers **Agde **Carcassonne **Mende **Nîmes **Perpignan-Elne * Paris **Créteil **Evry-Corbeil-Essonnes ** Meaux **Nanterre **Pontoise **Saint-Denis **Versailles *

Poitiers Poitiers (, , , ; Poitevin: ''Poetàe'') is a city on the River Clain in west-central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and the historical centre of Poitou. In 2017 it had a population of 88,291. Its agglomerat ...

Angoulême Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; oc, Engoleime) is a communes of France, commune, the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Charente Departments of France, department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern Franc ...

**La Rochelle **

Limoges Limoges (, , ; oc, Lemòtges, locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region ...

** Tulle *

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

**Amiens **

Beauvais Beauvais ( , ; pcd, Bieuvais) is a city and commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise département, in the Hauts-de-France region, north of Paris. The commune of Beauvais had a population of 56,020 , making it the most populous ...

** Châlons ** Langres ** Soissons **

Troyes Troyes () is a commune and the capital of the department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within the Champagne wine region and is near to ...

*Rennes **Angers **Laval **Le Mans **Luçon **Nantes ** Quimper (Léon) **Saint-Brieuc **Vannes *

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...

** Bayeux (-Lisieux) ** Coutances ** Evreux **Le Havre ** Sées *Toulouse **Albi **Auch **Cahors **Montauban **Pamiers **Rodez **Tarbes et Lourdes * Tours **Blois **

Bourges Bourges () is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre. It is the capital of the department of Cher, and also was the capital city of the former province of Berry. History The name of the commune derives either from the Bituriges, t ...

Chartres Chartres () is the prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir department in the Centre-Val de Loire region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 170,763 inhabitants in the metropolitan area of Chartres (as d ...

** Orléans Immediately subject to the Holy See: *

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

* Metz *

Diocese of the French Armed Forces The Diocese of the French Armed Forces (french: Diocèse aux Armées Françaises) is a Latin Church military ordinariate of the Catholic Church. Immediately subject to the Holy See, it provides pastoral care to Catholics serving in the French Arm ...

Other: * Apostolic Exarchate in France, Benelux and Switzerland for the Ukrainians * Armenian Catholic Eparchy of Sainte-Croix-de-Paris *

Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Paris Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Notre-Dame du Liban de Paris (in Latin: Eparchia Dominae Nostrae Libanensis Parisiensis Maronitarum) is a Maronite Catholic diocese. It was erected on 21 July 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI who appointed Eparch Nasser Gem ...

France is the location of one of the world's major Catholic pilgrim centres at Lourdes.

Politics

Growing discontent with respect to the influence of the Catholic Church in education and politics led to a series of reforms during the Third Republic reducing this influence, under the protests of the Ultramontanists who supported the Vatican's influence.

Anti-clericalism Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historical anti-clericalism has mainly been opposed to the influence of Roman Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, which seeks to ...

was popular among

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Radicals Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...

, and Socialists, in part because the Church had supported the Counterrevolutionaries throughout the 19th century. After the

16 May 1877 crisis The 16 May 1877 crisis (french: link=no, Crise du seize mai) was a constitutional crisis in the French Third Republic concerning the distribution of power between the president and the legislature. When the royalist president Patrice MacMahon ...

and the fall of the ''

Ordre Moral The French Third Republic (french: Troisième République, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940 ...

'' government led by Marshall MacMahon, the Republicans voted Jules Ferry's 1880 laws on free education (1881) and mandatory and secular education (1882), which Catholics felt was a gross violation of their rights. The

1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and the State The 1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and State ( French: ) was passed by the Chamber of Deputies on 9 December 1905. Enacted during the Third Republic, it established state secularism in France. France was then governed by the '' ...

established state secularism in France, led to the closing of most Church-run schools. Since the Fifth Republic, most of the participating Catholics in France support Gaullist and Centrist

Christian democratic Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism. It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...

parties.

Notes

* The

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

s of these

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 associate ...

s are not metropolitan bishops and thus do not wear the pallium. These are some of the few instances in the Latin Rite church where this phenomenon occurs. * This is a territorial prelature, not a diocese.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Catholicism In France * Politics of France France France French culture