Guillaume Besaucèle (Saissac, 3 September 1712Carcassonne, 4 February 1801) was an ecclesiastic who was constitutional bishop of Aude from 1791 to 1801.

Biography

Guillaume Besaucèle was pastor of Limousis before becoming the vicar general of Armand Bazin de Bezons, bishop of Carcassonne clearly Jansenist, then canon and finally dean of the chapter of the cathedral. During 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 November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, he pronounced for the Civil Constitution of the clergy to mark his opposition to the former bishop Jean Auguste of Chastenet de Puységur and at the age of 79, he was elected constitutional bishop of the diocese of Aude, established by the revolutionary government, which partially included the diocese of Narbonne and four former bishoprics of

Carcassonne Carcassonne (, also , , ; ; la, Carcaso) is a French fortified city in the department of Aude, in the region of Occitanie. It is the prefecture of the department. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Carcassonne is located in the plain of the ...

, Alet,

Saint-Papoul Saint-Papoul (; Languedocien: ''Sant Pàpol'') is a commune in the Aude department in southern France. History The town of Saint-Papoul was founded during the 8th century when an abbey was established here, dedicated to Saint Papulus. The ...

and Mirepoix. To avoid too long a trip, he was crowned in

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

on 15 May 1791. The episcopal see is first fixed in the old metropolitan church of Narbonne. The new elect, despite his age, undertakes a general visit of his diocese which includes no less than 567 parishes. He realized only 3/4 of his program during the suppression of the cults in 1793. He is not worried during the Terror and resumes his functions in February 1795 while fixing however his residence in Carcassonne which he estimates more Central. He adheres to the encyclicals and sends deputies to the Council of 1797. He had difficulties in leading his vast

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 ...

and he sets up separate administrations for the four bishoprics that compose him and is surrounded by 22

vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

s general. In 1797 he suffered a stroke and on 17 July 1797 at the meeting of a synod of the Southern Metropolis and it becomes clear that he is better able to administer his diocese. The metropolitan imposes on him a coadjutor in the person of Louis Belmas, the priest of Castelnaudary whom he crowned 26 October 1800.Diocese of Carcassonne et Narbonne
The old bishop died on 4 February 1801. He was buried in the cemetery of the city of Carcassonne in the same tomb as Bishop de Bezons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Besaucele, Guillaume 1712 births 1801 deaths Constitutional bishops 18th-century French Roman Catholic bishops