The Roman Catholic Diocese of Basse-Terre and Pointe-à-Pitre ( la, Dioecesis Imae Telluris et Petrirostrensis; ), more simply known as the Diocese of Basse-Terre, is a

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

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 ...

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 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 diocese 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 ...

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the ...

, one of the

Leeward Windward () and leeward () are terms used to describe the direction of the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e. towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point of reference ...

Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc betwe ...

. It is also responsible for parishes in the small overseas departments of

Saint Barthélemy Saint Barthélemy (french: Saint-Barthélemy, ), officially the Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Barthélemy, is an overseas collectivity of France in the Caribbean. It is often abbreviated to St. Barth in French, and St. Barts in English ...

and Saint Martin. The diocese is a suffragan of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Fort-de-France, and both 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 ...

. Its cathedral, dedicated to

Our Lady of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe ( es, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe ( es, Virgen de Guadalupe), is a Catholic title of Mary, mother of Jesus associated with a series of five Marian apparitions, which are believed t ...

(the island's eponymous 'Mexican'

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

), which has the status of a

minor basilica In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular ...

, is hence known as the or the

Basse-Terre Cathedral Basse-Terre Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-Guadeloupe de Basse-Terre) is a Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe and a Monument historique, national monument of France, in the town of Basse-Terre in Guadeloupe. ...

History

It was erected in 1850, as the Diocese of Guadeloupe and Basse-Terre, on territory split off from the then

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 ...

(an Antillian missionary jurisdiction, which was promoted to diocese of

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 ...

and meanwhile became the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Fort-de-France Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

), its present Metropolitan. The bishopric was renamed in 1951 to the present name, Diocese of Basse-Terre. Also on 19 July 1951, it was united with the thus suppressed diocese of

Pointe-à-Pitre Pointe-à-Pitre (; gcf, label=Guadeloupean Creole, Pwentapit, , or simply , ) is the second largest (most populous) city of Guadeloupe after Les Abymes. Guadeloupe is an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in the ...

(on Grande Terre, which still has its former cathedral of St. Peter and Paul), so its incumbents' (rarely used) full title is bishop of Basse-Terre-Pointe-à-Pitre.

Bishops

''All Latin (

Roman Rite The Roman Rite ( la, Ritus Romanus) is the primary liturgical rite of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. It developed in the Latin language in the city of Rome and, while dist ...

). Most bishops were secular; a few belonged to specified religious congregations.''

Incumbent ordinaries

;Bishops of Guadeloupe and Basse-Terre * Pierre-Marie-Gervais Lacarrière (1850–1853) * Théodore-Augustin Forcade,

Paris Foreign Missions Society The Society of Foreign Missions of Paris (french: Société des Missions Etrangères de Paris, short M.E.P.) is a Roman Catholic missionary organization. It is not a religious institute, but an organization of secular priests and lay persons ...

(M.E.P.) (1853–1861), appointed Bishop of Nevers *

Antoine Boutonnet Antoine is a French language, French given name (from the Latin ''Antonius'' meaning 'highly praise-worthy') that is a variant of Danton (name), Danton, Titouan, D'Anton and Antonin. The name is used in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, West ...

(1862–1868) *

Joseph-Clair Reyne Joseph-Clair Reyne (4 January 1824 – 14 November 1872) was a French clergyman and bishop for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Basse-Terre. Reyne was born in Manosque Manosque (; Provençal Occitan: ''Manòsca'' in classical norm or ''Manosco'' ...

(1869–1872) * François-Benjamin-Joseph Blanger (1873–1883), appointed Bishop of Limoges * Fédéric-Henri Oury (1884–1886), appointed Bishop of Fréjus * Pierre-Marie Avon (1899–1901) * Emmanuel-François Canappe (1901–1907) *

Pierre-Louis Genoud Pierre-Louis or Pierre Louis is a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Pierre-Louis Bentabole (1756–1798), revolutionary Frenchman * Pierre-Louis Billaudèle (1796–1869), priest from, and educated in, Fran ...

Holy Ghost Fathers , 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 ...

(C.S.Sp.) (1912–1945) *

Jean Gay 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 * Je ...

, C.S.Sp. (1945–''see below'') ;Bishops of Basse-Terre(-Pointe-à-Pitre) *

, C.S.Sp. (''as above''–1968) * Siméon Oualli (1970–1984) * Ernest Mesmin Lucien Cabo (1984–2008) *

Jean-Yves Riocreux Monsignor Jean-Yves Riocreux (born 24 February 1946 at Marlhes) is the French Roman Catholic Bishop of Basse-Terre. Mgr Riocreux was appointed Bishop of Pontoise on 5 May 2003 and consecrated on 29 June 2003. He was appointed Bishop of Basse-Te ...

(2012–2021)

Coadjutor bishop

, C.S.Sp. (1943–1945)

Auxiliary bishop

* Ernest Mesmin Lucien Cabo (1983–1984), appointed bishop here

Sources and external links

Diocèse de Guadeloupe
official site

* Catholic Church in Guadeloupe

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 ...

Diocese of Baseeterre-Pointeapitre