The Diocese of the French Armed Forces (french: Diocèse aux Armées Françaises) 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 ...

military ordinariate A military ordinariate is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church, of the Latin or an Eastern church, responsible for the pastoral care of Catholics serving in the armed forces of a nation. Until 1986, they were called "military v ...

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 ...

. Immediately subject to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

, it provides

pastoral care Pastoral care is an ancient model of emotional, social and spiritual support that can be found in all cultures and traditions. The term is considered inclusive of distinctly non-religious forms of support, as well as support for people from rel ...

to Catholics serving in the

French Armed Forces The French Armed Forces (french: Forces armées françaises) encompass the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force and the Gendarmerie of the French Republic. The President of France heads the armed forces as Chief of the Armed Forces. Franc ...

and their families.

History

The post of military bishop was created in 1949, and a military vicariate was established on 26 July 1952. It was elevated to a military ordinariate on 21 July 1986. The

cathedra A ''cathedra'' is the raised throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term ''cathedral'' became synonymous with the "seat", or principa ...

is located at the Church of Saint-Louis-des-Invalides (''L'Église Saint-Louis-des-Invalides'') in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Office holders

Luc Ravel par Claude Truong-Ngoc novembre 2014

Military bishops

Maurice Feltin Maurice Feltin (15 May 1883 – 27 September 1975) was a French Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Paris from 1949 to 1966, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1953 by Pope Pius XII. Biography Born in Delle, ...

(appointed 29 October 1949 – became military vicar 26 July 1952)

Military vicars

(appointed 26 July 1952 – retired 15 April 1967) * Jean-Marie-Clément Badré (appointed 15 May 1967 – translated to the Diocese of Bayeux-Lisieux 10 December 1969) *

Gabriel Vanel Gabriel Marie Étienne Vanel (12 January 1925 – 1 March 2013) was the Roman Catholic archbishop of the Archdiocese of Auch, France. Ordained to the priesthood in 1949, Vanel was named bishop in 1970 and resigned in 1996. Notes

1925 bi ...

(appointed 21 April 1970 – resigned 12 February 1983) * Jacques Louis Marie Joseph Fihey (appointed 12 February 1983 – became military ordinary 21 July 1986)

Military ordinaries

* Jacques Louis Marie Joseph Fihey (appointed 21 July 1986 – translated to the Diocese of Countances-Avranches 22 April 1989) *

Michel Marie Jacques Dubost Michel may refer to: * Michel (name), a given name or surname of French origin (and list of people with the name) * Míchel (nickname), a nickname (a list of people with the nickname, mainly Spanish footballers) * Míchel (footballer, born 1963), ...

, C.I.M. (appointed 9 August 1989 – translated to the Diocese of Évry–Corbeil-Essonnes 15 April 2000) *

Patrick Le Gal Patrick may refer to: * Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name * Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People * Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick ...

(appointed 23 May 2000 – appointed Auxiliary Bishop of

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

7 October 2009) * Luc Marie Daniel Ravel, C.R.S.V. (appointed 7 October 2009 – translated to the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Strasbourg The Archdiocese of Strasbourg ( la, Archidioecesis Argentoratensis o Argentinensis; french: Archidiocèse de Strasbourg; german: Erzbistum Straßburg; gsw-FR, Ärzbischofsìtz Strossburi(g)) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdi ...

, 18 February 2017) * Antoine de Romanet (appointed 28 June 2017)

References

External links

* * Centre national des Archives de l'Église de France
''L’Épiscopat francais depuis 1919''
, retrieved: 2016-12-24.

(Catholic-Hierarchy)
Diocèse aux Armées Françaises (France)
(GCatholic.org) {{authority control

1952 establishments in France Military of France