The Archdiocese of Saint-Pierre and Fort-de-France ( la, Archidioecesis Sancti Petri et Arcis Gallicae;

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 ...

: ''Archidiocèse de Saint-Pierre et Fort-de-France''), more simply known as the Archdiocese of Fort-de-France, 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

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 ...

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 ...

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 archdiocese 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 ...

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...

. A

metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

archdiocese, its

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 ...

includes the

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 ...

s of

Cayenne Cayenne (; ; gcr, Kayenn) is the capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic Oc ...

and

Basse-Terre Basse-Terre (, ; ; gcf, label=Guadeloupean Creole, Bastè, ) is a commune in the French overseas department of Guadeloupe, in the Lesser Antilles. It is also the ''prefecture'' (capital city) of Guadeloupe. The city of Basse-Terre is located ...

, and all 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 ...

. Archbishop Gilbert Marie Michel Méranville's retirement for age reasons was accepted by

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

on Saturday, 7 March 2015; he is succeeded by Msg.

David Macaire David Thomas Daniel Macaire OP (born 20 October 1969) is a Martiniquan Catholic prelate who has served as the Archbishop of Fort-de-France–Saint-Pierre since 2015. Personal life Macaire was born in Nanterre to Jean-David (Marceau) Macaire an ...

, O.P., a Dominican priest who until then had been serving as prior of the convent La Sainte-Baume, in

Toulon, France Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is the ...

and as of now, the incumbent prelate. , the diocese contained 47 parishes, 35 active diocesan priests, 23 religious priests and 310,000 Catholics. It also has 171 Women Religious and 33 Religious Brothers.

History

The diocese received its present status on 27 September 1850, when the

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 ...

(which had lost French Guiana in 1731) was promoted from the missionary status of

Apostolic Prefecture An apostolic prefect or prefect apostolic is a priest who heads what is known as an apostolic prefecture, a 'pre-diocesan' missionary jurisdiction where the Catholic Church is not yet sufficiently developed to have it made a diocese. Although it ...

to Diocese of Martinique (

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: ''Dioecesis Martinicensis'';

: ''Diocèse de la Martinique''), but also lost territory to establish the Diocese of Guadeloupe et Basse-Terre. 1853.09.12, it was renamed as Diocese of Saint-Pierre, 1902.05.08 again as Diocese of Fort-de-France–Saint-Pierre. It was elevated to an archdiocese on 26 September 1967.

Bishops

Episcopal incumbents

David Macaire par Claude Truong-Ngoc juillet 2015

;Bishops of Saint-Pierre * Etienne Jean François Le Herpeur (1850–1858; ''till 1853 as Bishop of Martinique'') * Louis-Martin Porchez (1858–1860) * Amand-Joseph Fava (1871–1875) * Julien-François-Pierre Carmené (1875–1897) * Étienne-Joseph-Frédéric Tanoux (1898–1899) * Maurice-Charles-Alfred de Cormont (1899–1902 ''see below'') ;Bishops of Fort-de-France–Saint-Pierre * Maurice-Charles-Alfred de Cormont (''see above'' 1902–1911) * Joseph Félix François Malleret

C.S.Sp. , 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 ...

(1912–1914) * Paul-Louis-Joseph Lequien (1915–1941) * Henri-Marie-François Varin de la Brunelière C.S.Sp. (1941–1967 ''see below'') ;Metropolitan Archbishops of Fort-de-France–Saint-Pierre * Henri-Marie-François Varin de la Brunelière C.S.Sp. (''see above'' 1967–1972) * Maurice Rigobert Marie-Sainte (1972–2004) * Gilbert Marie Michel Méranville (2004–2015) *

, O.P. (7 March 2015–present)

Auxiliary bishop

* Maurice Rigobert Marie-Sainte (1968-1972), appointed Archbishop here

Churches

* Our Lady of the Assumption Church at Sainte-Marie,

Notes

References

GigaCatholic, with episcopal incumbent biographies
*

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fort-De-France Religion in Martinique Roman Catholic dioceses in the Caribbean

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 ...

Religious organizations established in 1850 1850 establishments in France A