Saint-Papoul Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Saint-Papoul de Saint-Papoul) was a

Roman Catholic 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 let ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

located in the village of Saint-Papoul in

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...

. The

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

is dedicated to Saint Papulus (french: Papoul), an early Christian bishop and martyr, from whom the settlement also took its name. It was the seat of the

Bishop of Saint-Papoul The former French Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint-Papoul, now a Latin titular see, was created by Pope John XXII in 1317 and existed until the Napoleonic Concordat of 1811. The seat of the diocese was at Saint-Papoul, in south-west France, in the ...

. This diocese, along with a number of others in the region, was created in 1317 in the aftermath of the suppression of the

Albigensian Catharism (; from the grc, καθαροί, katharoi, "the pure ones") was a Christian dualist or Gnostic movement between the 12th and 14th centuries which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France. Follo ...

s. The Abbey of Saint-Papoul had been founded here in the 8th century, and in 1317 the abbot was elevated to the status of bishop, and the abbey church to that of cathedral. The diocese and the abbey were suppressed 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 coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

and the diocese was abolished under the

Concordat of 1801 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 ...

, its territory being transferred almost entirely to the

Diocese of Carcassonne The Diocese of Carcassonne and Narbonne (Latin: ''Dioecesis Carcassonensis et Narbonensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Carcassonne et Narbonne'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The diocese co ...

. The abbey buildings remain and the cathedral / abbey church has become the parish church of the village of Saint-Papoul.

History

The abbey was founded in the eighth century. Its name comes from Saint Papoul, a hermit from the 5th or 6th century. He was martyred and shaken at the place called "L'Ermitage". According to legend, he bent down and picked up the top of his skull. The monk Saint Berenger lived there in the 11th century and his tomb became a place of pilgrimage. In 1317, Pope John XXII created the bishopric of Saint-Papoul, and the abbey church became the cathedral. 34 bishops succeeded one another until the Revolution occurred in year 1361, as a result, the cathedral was plundered by the Routiers and in 1595 by the Protestants. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the abbey underwent important restorations and the episcopal palace was rebuilt. In 1790, the cathedral maintained a small body of music for the service of worship, formed by an organist, a cantor who also played the serpent and a choirboy. During the Revolution, the bishopric was suppressed and the cathedral became a parish church.

Sources

Catholic Encyclopedia: Carcassonne, incl. Saint-Papoul

Saint-Papoul Cathedral
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