The Diocese of Quimper (–Cornouaille) and Léon (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

: ''Dioecesis Corisopitensis (–Cornubiensis) et Leonensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Quimper (–Cornouaille) et Léon'') is a

Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...

ecclesiastical territory or

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, prov ...

of the

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France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. In 1853, the name was changed from the Diocese of Quimper (–Cornouaille) to the Diocese of Quimper (–Cornouaille) and Léon. Originally established in the 5th century, the diocese was dismantled during the anti-clericalism of the French Revolution. It was restored by the

Concordat of 1801 The Concordat of 1801 was an agreement between the First French Republic and the Holy See, signed by First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII on 15 July 1801 in Paris. It remained in effect until 1905, except in Alsace–Lorraine, ...

, as the combination of the Dioceses of Quimper,

Saint-Pol-de-Léon Saint-Pol-de-Léon (; ) is a commune in the Finistère department in Brittany in north-western France, located on the coast. It is noted for its 13th-century cathedral on the site of the original founded by Saint Paul Aurelian in the 6th cen ...

and Tréguier in

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

. Traditionally, it formed part of

Lower Brittany Lower Brittany (; ) denotes the parts of Brittany west of Ploërmel, where the Breton language has been traditionally spoken, and where the culture associated with this language is most prolific. The name is in distinction to Upper Brittany, th ...

; today's diocese is coextensive with the Department of

Finistère Finistère (, ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France in the extreme west of Brittany. Its prefecture is Quimper and its largest city is Brest, France, Brest. In 2019, it had a population of 915,090.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 Alexandr ...

in the

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consist ...

of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Rennes, Dol, and Saint-Malo. The current bishop is Laurent Marie Bernard Dognin.

History

Diocese of Quimper: early history

Two versions of the catalogue of the Bishops of Quimper are known: one is from the twelfth century and is held by the Cartulary of Quimperlé; the other is preserved in a Quimper Cartulary of the fifteenth century. Both mention a St. Chorentius as first Bishop of Quimper. His hagiography, however, was developed relatively late in church history. Nothing accurate is known about him, but he is supposed by some to have been ordained by

St. Martin of Tours Martin of Tours (; 316/3368 November 397) was the third bishop of Tours. He is the patron saint of many communities and organizations across Europe, including France's Third Republic. A native of Pannonia (present-day Hungary), he converted to ...

in the fourth century, while others claim that he was a sixth-century monk. Duchesne points out that, before the eleventh century, control of the list of Bishops of Quimper is "très difficile". External material to provide verification is lacking. The tale of Saint-Guénolé (Winwaloe) (ca. 460–532), the alleged first Abbot of Landevennec, is, as Robert Latouche has shown, devoid of historical merit, and the documents on which it depends complete forgeries. The city of Quimper was the capital of the County of Cornouaille. The Diocese of Quimper was represented at church councils as early as the mid-fifth century. The earliest historical reference dates from 453. An assembly of eight bishops of Provincia Lugdunensis Tertia took place at Angers on 4 October 453 to consecrate a new bishop for Angers. Four of the bishops can be associated with particular Sees. The other four are assigned by scholars to the other dioceses in the ecclesiastical province, one of which was Quimper. One of the four prelates, Sarmatio, Chariato, Rumoridus, and Viventius, was Bishop of Quimper.

Diocese of Saint-Pol-de-Léon

There is evidence that Christianity was preached in Léon twenty years before the evangelization of

Cornouaille Cornouaille (; , ) is a historical region on the west coast of Brittany in West France. The name is cognate with Cornwall in neighbouring Great Britain. This can be explained by the settlement of Cornouaille by migrant princes from Cornwall ...

, but ancient Breton chronology is very uncertain. The legend of St. Paul Aurelian, written in 884, shows that the Breton monks believed the See of Léon had been founded in the

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from around the middle of the 5th century until Pepin the Short in 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the ...

epoch. The hermit Saint Ronan, a native of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, often held to be one of the 350 bishops consecrated by

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick (; or ; ) was a fifth-century Romano-British culture, Romano-British Christian missionary and Archbishop of Armagh, bishop in Gaelic Ireland, Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Irelan ...

, was in the fifth century known as one of the apostles of Cornouailles and the neighbourhood around Léon.

Paul Aurelian Paul Aurelian (known in Breton as Paol Aorelian or Saint Pol de Léon and in Latin as Paulinus Aurelianus) was a 6th-century Welshman who became first bishop of the See of Léon and one of the seven founder saints of Brittany. He allegedly die ...

, a Gallic monk, founder of monasteries at Ouessant on the north-west coast of

and on the Island of Batz, was believed to have founded in an abandoned fort a monastery which gave origin to the town of St. Pol de Léon, afterwards the seat of a diocese. He was the first titular of the see, a wonder-worker and prophet, and was held to have died in 575 at the age of 140 years, after having been assisted in his labours by three successive coadjutors. Though the monastery of Léon was probably founded by Paul Aurelian in the sixth century, the history of the diocese is more complicated. It is at least certain that there are traces in history of a Diocese of Léon as far back as the middle of the ninth century.

Cathedral of Saint-Corentin, Quimper

The cornerstone of Quimper Cathedral was laid in 1424, but the building was still unfinished at the beginning of the sixteenth century. When

Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI (, , ; born Roderic Llançol i de Borja; epithet: ''Valentinus'' ("The Kingdom of Valencia, Valencian"); – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 August 1492 until his death ...

granted that church the same indulgences as could be gained at the Roman Jubilee, funds came in which allowed its completion. The Chapter of the Cathedral was composed of six dignities and twelve Canons. The dignities were: the Dean, the Archdeacon of Cornuaille, the Archdeacon of Poher, the Treasurer, the Cantor and the Theologian. The Abbot of Doulas was always first Canon ''ex officio'', and held precedence in the Chapter after the Bishop. There were two Collegiate Churches in the diocese, Saint-Trémeur de Carhaix and Notre-Dame de Rostrenen, each headed by a Cantor. The abbots of seven abbeys in the diocese were subject to nomination by the King and confirmation by the Pope: the Abbey of St. Maurice (O.S.B.), the Abbey of Notre-Dame-de Daoulac (O.S.B.), the Abbey of Landeunnes (O.S.B.), the Abbey of Saint-Crois de Quimperlé (O.S.B.), the Abbey of Bonrepos (Premonstratensian), the Abbey of Notre Dame de Coeurmalaoüen (O.S.B.), and the Abbey of Langonnet (O.S.B.).

Other churches

The Cathedral of St. Pol de Léon, which is now in the Diocese of Quimper, was built between the 13th and 16th centuries. The Church of Notre Dame de Creisker, in the same town, restored in the fourteenth century, has a

belfry The belfry /ˈbɛlfri/ is a structure enclosing bells for ringing as part of a building, usually as part of a bell tower or steeple. It can also refer to the entire tower or building, particularly in continental Europe for such a tower attached ...

which the Bretons claim to be the handsomest in the world. Formerly Quimperlé had an important Benedictine abbey, Sainte Croix, founded in 1029 and where the

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

s of St. Maur took up their residence in 1665. Along with all abbeys, convents, and monasteries, it was suppressed by the National Constituent Assembly and by the

Civil Constitution of the Clergy The Civil Constitution of the Clergy () was a law passed on 12 July 1790 during the French Revolution, that sought the Caesaropapism, complete control over the Catholic Church in France by the National Constituent Assembly (France), French gove ...

. Monastic vows were abolished. Brest, one of the great fortified harbours of France, is now in the diocese.

Diocese of Quimper: 17th and 18th centuries

In 1608 Counter-Reformation preacher

Michel Le Nobletz Dom Michel Le Nobletz (breton language, Breton: Mikel an Nobletz) (1577–1652) was a vigorous Counter-Reformation missionary active in the west of Brittany, who was responsible for a revival of popular Catholic Culture, Catholic culture. He d ...

conducted his first mission on the island of Ouessant. "Apostle of Brittany" Father

Julian Maunoir Julien Maunoir (1 October 1606 – 28 January 1683) (also Julian; ), was a French-born Jesuit priest known as the "Apostle of Brittany". He was beatified in 1951 by Pope Pius XII and is commemorated by the Catholic Church on 29 January and 2 Jul ...

worked as a missionary to the Breton people for 43 years. Albert Le Grand wrote the "Lives of the Saints of Brittany" (1636) and published a

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally **Breton people **Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Gale ...

dictionary, and some devotional works in Breton. Today he is considered by some to be the founder of Breton philology. There was already a grammar school in Quimper in 1348, but never a university. The Jesuits were established in the Collège de Quimper in 1620 where they flourished until the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

was expelled from France in 1763. Other notable persons whose origins were in the Diocese of Quimper are: the classical scholar

Jean Hardouin Jean Hardouin (; ; ; 23 December 1646 – 3 September 1729), was a French priest and classical scholar who was well known during his lifetime for his editions of ancient authors, and for writing a history of the ecumenical councils. However, he ...

(1646–1729), the critic

Élie Catherine Fréron Élie Catherine Fréron (; 20 January 1718 – 10 March 1776) was a French literary critic and controversialist whose career focused on countering the influence of the ''philosophes'' of the French Enlightenment, partly through his vehicle, the ...

(1719–71), and the physician

René Laennec René-Théophile-Hyacinthe Laennec (; 17 February 1781 – 13 August 1826) was a French physician and musician. His skill at carving his own wooden flutes led him to invent the stethoscope in 1816, while working at the Hôpital Necker. ...

(1781–1826), inventor of the

stethoscope The stethoscope is a medicine, medical device for auscultation, or listening to internal sounds of an animal or human body. It typically has a small disc-shaped resonator that is placed against the skin, with either one or two tubes connected t ...

. In 1772, the city of Quimper contained about 10,000 persons, and in the city there were five parishes. The entire diocese contained some 180 parishes.

The Revolution

During the French revolution the Diocese of Quimper was abolished and subsumed into a new diocese, coterminous with the new 'Departement de Finistère', which was made a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...

of the 'Metropole du Nord-Ouest' with its seat at Rennes. The clergy were required to swear and oath to the Constitution, and under the terms of the

a new bishop was to be elected by all the voters of the department. This placed them in schism with the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope. The Chapter of Quimper entered a protest on 26 October 1790 against the uncanonical election of a bishop by 'electors'. The

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

chose, as successor of the deceased Bishop Conan de Saint-Luc, Louis Alexandre Expilly, the Rector of the church of St. Martin at Morlaix. He had been the delegate of Saint-Pol-de-Leon to the Estates General of 1789 and was one of the authors of the

. Expilly was presented to

King Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir-apparent of King Louis XV), and Mari ...

who ratified his election. He therefore became the first of the Constitutional Bishops. The Chapter of Quimper on 17 November wrote to the Constitutional Bishop-elect proclaiming the nullity of his election. Expilly was consecrated in Paris at the Oratory by Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand, Bishop of Autun, on 24 February 1791. Expilly then assisted Jean-Baptiste Gobel, a legitimate bishop consecrated in 1772, who had apostasized and was then Constitutional Bishop of Paris, in the consecration of additional Constitutional bishops on 27 February and 6 March. He then proceeded to Quimper for his installation. He faced great difficulties both from the flight of many of his clergy in the face of the Terror, and from the seizure of large areas of the countryside by the

Chouan Chouan (, "the silent one", or "owl") is a French nickname. It was used as a nom de guerre by the Chouan brothers, most notably Jean Cottereau, better known as Jean Chouan, who led a major revolt in Bas-Maine against the French Revolution. Part ...

s, who were loyal to the monarchy. He had himself elected president of the departmental Directory, but his increasingly moderate stance brought him under suspicion from the

Jacobin The Society of the Friends of the Constitution (), renamed the Society of the Jacobins, Friends of Freedom and Equality () after 1792 and commonly known as the Jacobin Club () or simply the Jacobins (; ), was the most influential political cl ...

s. He was denounced and arrested, and guillotined at Brest on 22 May 1794. His successor, Yves Audrin, was executed by the Chouans on 19/20 November 1800. In accordance with the

, Pope Pius VII restored the Diocese of Quimper in 1802. The lessons taught by the reduction in the number of bishoprics by the

of 1790, and the rationalization of diocesan boundaries to coincide with civil administration districts called 'départmentes', did not go unnoticed. Only four of the nine Breton dioceses were restored. Quimper received all of the former diocese of St.-Pol-de-Léon, most of the former Diocese of Cornuaille, a canton and two parishes of the Diocese of Vannes, and parts of the former Diocese of Dol; Quimper, however, handed over some of its eastern parishes to Vannes and to Saint-Brieuc. Quimper returned to its status as a suffragan of Tours. When Rennes became an archbishopric in 1859, however, Quimper was assigned to that Metropolitanate, as it had been during the days of the Revolution.

Bishops of Quimper

to 1300

* ? (attested 453) *Corentinus *

Alain of Quimper Saint Alain of Quimper (Alan in Breton) was the Bishop of Cornouaille and the fourth Bishop of Quimper. He is believed to have been born in the British Isles. He was Bishop in the sixth or seventh century. His existence is historically uncerta ...

:... *Felix (attested 835, 848) *Anaweten (attested in 850s) *Benedictus (ca. 906 or 940) *Orscandus (ca. 1029 – ca. 1065) *Robertus (after 1113 – 1130) *Radulfus (by 1140 – 4 March 1158) *Bernard de Moëlan (1159-1167) *Godfredus (Geoffroy) (by 1170 – 1185) *Theobaldus (1187 – 18 May 1192) *Guillaume (June 1192 – 15 December 1218) *Ranulfus (July 1219 – 5 May 1245) *Hervaeus de Landeleu (1245 – 9 August 1260) *Guido (Vitus) Plounevez (1261 – 12 July 1267) *Ivo Cabellic (1267–1280) *Evenus de la Forêt (14 May 1283 – 14 March 1290)

1300 to 1600

*Alain Morel *Thomas Denast *Bernardus, O.Min. *Guy Laval *Jacques Corvus, O.P. *Ivo de Boisboessel (31 August 1330 – 22 January 1333) *Alain Gontier *Alain Angall *Gaufridus de Quoetmozan *Gaufridus Lemarhec (20 March 1357 – 1383) *Theobaldus de Malestroit (3 December 1383 – May 1408) (Avignon Obedience) :... *Alain le Mault (8 March 1484 – 2 November 1493) *Raoul le Chauve de Moël (13 November 1493 – 31 May 1501) *Claude de Rohan (25 June 1501 – July 1540) *Guillaume Éder (Jul 1540 – 22 May 1546) *Cardinal Philippe de La Chambre, O.S.B. (19 Jul 1546 – 21 February 1550) *Cardinal Niccolò Caetani di Sermoneta (14 Jul 1550 – 5 April 1560) (Administrator) *Étienne Bouchier (5 April 1560 – 20 August 1573) *François de la Tour (26 August 1573 – 14 October 1583) *Charles de Liescoët (15 November 1582 – 14 March 1614)

1600 to 1800

*Guillaume le Prètre (17 November 1614 – 8 November 1640) *René du Louet (1 December 1642 – 11 February 1668) * rançois Visdelieu (Coadjutor, did not succeed)(27 February 1651 – 27 July 1665) *François de Coëtlogon (1 March 1666 – 6 November 1706) *François Hyacinthe de Ploeuc (11 April 1707 – 6 January 1739) *Auguste François Hannibal de Farcy de Cuillé (30 September 1739 – 28 June 1771) *Emmanuel Louis de Grossolles de Flamarens (14 December 1772 – 14 June 1773) *Toussaint François Joseph Conen de Saint-Luc (12 July 1773 – 30 September 1790) **Louis Alexandre Expilly (October 1790 – May 1794) (Constitutional Bishop of Finistère) **Yves Audrein (Spring 1798 – 19/20 November 1800) (Constitutional Bishop of Finistère)

since 1802

*Claude André (April 9, 1802 – 1804) * Pierre-Vincent Dombideau de Crouseilhes (January 30, 1805 – June 29, 1823) *Jean-Marie-Dominique de Poulpiquet de Brescanvel (September 12, 1823 – May 1, 1840) *Jean-Marie GraveranGraveran was born at Crozon in 1793. He was named a teacher at the Major Seminary, and then became a cure of the church of Saint-Louis de Brest. He was appointed Bishop of Quimper on 4 June 1840 by King Louis Philippe, confirmed by

Pope Gregory XVI Pope Gregory XVI (; ; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in June 1846. He had adopted the name Mauro upon enteri ...

on 13 July, and consecrated on 23 August 1840 by Archbishop Denis-Auguste Affre of Paris. After the Revolution of 1848, he was elected a delegate to the Constituent Assembly. He completed the construction of the towers of the cathedral. He died on 1 February 1855. Canon Paul Peyron, in: Société bibliographique (France) (1907), ''L'épiscopat français...'', pp. 493-494. (May 26, 1840 – February 1, 1855) *Nicolas-Marie Sergent (February 6, 1855 – July 26, 1871) *Charles-Marie-Denis-Anselme Nouvel de La Flèche (October 16, 1871 – June 1, 1887) *Jacques-Théodore Lamarche (November 8, 1887 – June 15, 1892) *Henri-Victor Valleau (November 26, 1892 – December 24, 1898) * François-Virgile Dubillard (December 7, 1899 – December 16, 1907) *Adolphe-Yves-Marie Duparc (February 11, 1908 – May 8, 1946) *André-Pierre-François Fauvel (April 24, 1947 – February 28, 1968) *Francis Jules Joseph Marie Barbu (February 28, 1968 – May 3, 1989) * Clément Joseph Marie Raymond Guillon, (May 3, 1989 – July 9, 2010) * Jean Marie Le Vert,Le Vert was 'allowed to resign', after strife in diocese requiring intervention of the Archbishop of Rennes and the Vatican
L-eveque-de-Quimper-suspendu-de-sa-charge-pour-raisons-de-sante
retrieved: 2016-08-31. (Dec 7, 2007 – January 22, 2015) *Laurent Marie Bernard Dognin (20 May 2015 – )

References

Bibliography

Reference works

Pouillés

:Survey of benefices, patrons, and taxation rates: * * * (each diocese separately paginated, but ca. pp. 428–439)

Episcopal Lists

* (Use with caution; obsolete) * (in Latin) * (in Latin) * * * * * * *

Studies

* * * * *Latouche, Robert (1911)
''Mélanges d'histoire de Cornouaille (VI-XI siècle)''
Paris: Honoré Champion. (Bibliothèque de l'école pratique des hautes études, Vol. 192). * * * * *

External links

* Centre national des Archives de l'Église de France
''L'Épiscopat francais depuis 1919''
, retrieved: 2016-12-24. *David M. Cheney, ''Catholic-Hierarchy.org''

retrieved: 2017-01-21. * Diocèse de Quimper
Home page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roman Catholic Diocese Of Quimper

Quimper Quimper (, ; ; or ) is a Communes of France, commune and Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Finistère Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in northwestern France. Administration Quimper is the ...

Quimper-et-Leon

1801 establishments in France