Diocese of Mende Dioecesis Mimatensis Diocèse de Mende | |
|---|---|
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| Location | |
| Country | France |
| Ecclesiastical province | Montpellier |
| Metropolitan | Archdiocese of Montpellier |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 5,180 km2 (2,000 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics | (as of 2021) 76,520 (est.) 55,000 (est.) (71.9%) |
| Parishes | 135 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Established | 3rd Century |
| Cathedral | Cathedral Basilica of Notre Dame and St. Privat in Mende |
| Patron saint | Saint Privat |
| Secular priests | 52 (diocesan) 4 Permanent Deacons |
| Language | French |
| Calendar | Gregorian Calendar |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Bishop | Sede vacante |
| Metropolitan Archbishop | Norbert Turini |
| Map | |
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| Website | |
| Website of the Diocese | |
The Diocese of Mende (Latin: Dioecoesis Mimatensis; French: Diocèse de Mende) is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The diocese covers the department of Lozère.
The diocese was already in existence in 314, since Genialis, a deacon of the Church of Gabalum (Gévaudan), was present at the Council of Arles in that year.[1] Louis Duchesne chooses to place the earliest known bishop, Privatus, before 314, though he points out that his date depends on a synchronicity with an invasion of Aquitaine by a band of German marauders under the leadership of King Chrocus; Chrocus' date is variously placed between the third and fifth century.[2] The notion that a Saint Severianus was the first apostle of the Gevaudan, or that Privatus held the same honor, and that the whole country was converted to Christianity in one stroke, has long been exploded, by a demonstration that the legends are based on representations made to Pope Urban V in the 14th century to obtain indulgences.[3]
The diocese of Mende was a suffragan of Bourges under the Ancien Régime. When it was re-established by the Concordat of 1801 it became a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Lyon and united with the department of Ardèche, which however it lost again in 1822 by the creation of the Diocese of Viviers, at which point Mende became suffragan to Albi. On December 16, 2002, Mende was made a suffragan to Montpellier.
The Bishop has his seat at the Cathedral Basilica of Notre Dame and St. Privat in Mende. Funds to begin the cathedral were supplied by Pope Urban V (1362–1370).[4] Before the French Revolution, the Cathedral Chapter consisted of a Praepositus (Provost), the Archdeacon and the Precentor (the dignities, dignités) and fifteen canons. There were approximately 200 parishes, and one abbey.[5]
In 2019, the diocese, which is mostly rural, had a total population of 76,300, of whom 72.1% were claimed as Roman Catholics. They are served by 59 priests, and there were 135 parishes.[6]
- ^ de civitate Gabalum provincia Aquitania. C. Munier, Concilia Galliae A. 314 – A. 506 (Turnhout: Brepols 1963), p. 15 line 47; p. 16 line 39; p. 18 line 34; p. 21 line 34. Duchesne, p. 54.
- ^ Duchesne, p. 54, no. 1.
- ^ Gaydou, Études critiques, pp. 3-16.
- ^ The actual construction took place much later. Work began in 1364 and stopped in 1386; construction resumed in 1452, and the altar was consecrated on 2 August 1467. The works were completed under Bishop Clemente Grosso della Rovere (1483–1504). Pascal, pp. 114-120; 375-376.
- ^ Gallia christiana I, pp. 85-86.
- ^ David M. Cheney, Catholic-Hierarchy: Diocese of Mende. Retrieved: 2019-07-17.