The former

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 ...

Diocese of Ypres, in present-day

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

, existed from 1559 to 1801.Ypres_(Ieper)_(Diocese)_[Catholic-Hierarchy]
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/ref> Its seat was Saint Martin's Cathedral in Ypres. In 1969 it was reconstituted as a titular see.

History

The diocese was originally part of the Diocese of Thérouanne, which had been established in the 7th or 8th century. In 1553

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain ( Castile and Aragon) fr ...

besieged the city of Thérouanne, then a French enclave in the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...

, in revenge for a defeat by the French at

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...

. After he captured Thérouanne, he razed the city. In 1557, as a result of the war damage to its see, the diocese was abolished. This led to a reform of sees at the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has been described a ...

and the bishopric of Thérouanne was split between the Diocese of Saint-Omer, the Diocese of Boulogne and the Diocese of Ypres. With this, Saint Martin's Church was elevated to cathedral status, as it became the see of the new diocese. After the Concordat of 1801 between

Napoleon 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 wh ...

and Pope Pius VII, Ypres was incorporated into the

Diocese of Ghent The Diocese of Ghent ( Latin: ''Dioecesis Gandavensis'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Belgium. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brusse ...

, and Saint Martin's lost its status as a cathedral. Cornelius Jansen, the father of the theological movement Jansenism, was Bishop of Ypres from 1635 to 1638.

Bishops

Martin Rythovius Martin Bauwens of Riethoven or Martinus Rythovius (1511 – 9 October 1583) was a Catholic theologian and the first Bishop of Ypres. He was a figure of some spiritual and political significance during the early decades of the Dutch Revolt. Life Ryt ...

1561–1583 *

Petrus Simons Pierre Simons (1538—1605) was a theologian and the second bishop of Ypres. Life Simons was born at Tielt in 1538, to a farming couple, Etienne Simoens and Marie van Slambrouck.A. C. De Schrevel, "Simons, Pierre", ''Biographie Nationale de Belgiq ...

1584–1605 *

Charles Maes Karel Maes, Latinized Carolus Masius (1559–1612) was bishop of Ypres_and_later_bishop_of_Ghent.html" ;"title="atholic-Hierarchy]/ref> Its seat was Saint Martin's Cathedral">atholic-Hierarchy]">Ypres (Ieper) (Diocese) atholic-H_..._and__...

_1607–1610,_also_bishop_of_Ghent *Jean_de_Visscher_1611–1613 *Antoine_de_Haynin_1614–1626 *George_Chamberlain_(bishop).html" ;"title="bishop_of_Ghent.html" ;"title="atholic-H ... and ...

History

Bishops

Titular bishops and archbishops

Notes