The Diocese of Basse-Terre and Pointe-à-Pitre (; ), 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, prov ...

of the

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 ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

in the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

. The diocese comprises the entirety of the French

overseas department The overseas departments and regions of France (, ; DROM) are the five departments and regions of the French Republic which are located outside European France (also known as " metropolitan France"). These overseas entities have exactly the s ...

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...

, one of the

Leeward In geography and seamanship, windward () and leeward () are directions relative to 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 o ...

Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea, forming part of the West Indies in Caribbean, Caribbean region of the Americas. They are distinguished from the larger islands of the Greater Antilles to the west. They form an arc w ...

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

Saint Barthélemy Saint Barthélemy, officially the Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Barthélemy, also known as St. Barts (English) or St. Barth (French), is an overseas collectivity of France in the Caribbean. The island lies about southeast of the island ...

and

Saint Martin Saint Martin may refer to: People * Saint Martin of Tours (c. 316–397), Bishop of Tours, France * Saint Martin of Braga (c. 520–580), archbishop of Bracara Augusta in Gallaecia (now Braga in Portugal) * Pope Martin I (c. 595–655), bishop of R ...

. 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 Am ...

. Its cathedral, dedicated to

Our Lady of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe (), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe (), is a Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with four Marian apparitions to Juan Diego and one to his uncle, Juan Bernardino reported in December 1531, when 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, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

), which has the status of a

minor basilica Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectura ...

, is hence known as the or the

Basse-Terre Cathedral Basse-Terre Cathedral () is a Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe and a national monument of France, in the town of Basse-Terre in Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas depar ...

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 Churc ...

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

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

and meanwhile became the Archdiocese of Fort-de-France), 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 (; , , or simply , ) is the second most populous commune of Guadeloupe (after Les Abymes). Guadeloupe is an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in the Lesser Antilles, of which it is a ''Subprefectu ...

(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 () is the most common ritual family for performing the ecclesiastical services of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. The Roman Rite governs Rite (Christianity) ...

). 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 (, , MEP) is a Catholic Missionary order, missionary organization. It is not a religious institute, but an organization of secular clergy, secular priests and Laity, lay persons dedicated to missionary wo ...

(M.E.P.) (1853–1861), appointed Bishop of Nevers * Antoine Boutonnet (1862–1868) * Joseph-Clair Reyne (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, Franc ...

Holy Ghost Fathers The Congregation of the Holy Spirit (officially the Congregation of the Holy Spirit under the protection of the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin Mary; ) is a religious congregation for men in the Catholic Church. Members are often known as Holy ...

(C.S.Sp.) (1912–1945) * Jean Gay, C.S.Sp. (1945–''see below'') ;Bishops of Basse-Terre(-Pointe-à-Pitre) * Jean Gay, C.S.Sp. (''as above''–1968) *

Siméon Oualli Siméon Oualli (born 18 February 1928 – 17 March 2002) was a Guadeloupean clergyman and bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious insti ...

(1970–1984) * Ernest Mesmin Lucien Cabo (1984–2008) * Jean-Yves Riocreux (2012–2021)

Coadjutor bishop

* Jean Gay, 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 (, ; ; ) is a communes of the Guadeloupe department, commune in the France, French overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department of Guadeloupe, in the Lesser Antilles. It is also the ''prefectures in France, pref ...

Diocese of Baseeterre-Pointeapitre