Catholic diocese in France From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Diocese of Coutances (–Avranches) (Latin: Dioecesis Constantiensis (–Abrincensis); French: Diocèse de Coutances (–Avranches)) is a Latindiocese of the Catholic Church in France. Its mother church is the Cathedral of Coutance in the commune of Coutances in France. The diocese is suffragan of the Archbishop of Rouen and comprises the entire department of Manche. It was enlarged in 1802 by the addition of the former Diocese of Avranches and of two archdeaconries from the Diocese of Bayeux. Since 1854 its bishops have held the title of Bishop of Coutances (–Avranches).
Quick Facts Diocese of Coutances (–Avranches)Dioecesis Constantiensis (–Abrincensis) Diocèse de Coutances (–Avranches), Location ...
The Bishop of Coutances exercised ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the Channel Islands, mostly in Alderney where the Bishop also held partial authority over the Leader of Alderney, until the Reformation, despite the secular division of Normandy in 1204. The final rupture occurred definitively in 1569 when Queen Elizabeth I demanded that the Bishops hand the island over to the Bishop of Winchester.[1]
In 2021, in the Diocese of Coutances there was one priest for every 3,523 Catholics.
History of the Diocese of Coutances
In 1757 the city of Coutances had a population of about 12,000 Catholics. The Cathedral was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Its Chapter was composed of eight dignities (the Cantor, four Archdeacons, the Scholasticus, the Treasurer, and the Penitentiary) and twenty-five Canons. There were also six Choral Vicars, forty-two chaplains, fourteen choristers and six boy singers, and a body of musicians. The Cantor has existed from the 11th century. The four archdeacons were: Coutances, Baptois, Val-de-Vire and Cotentin.[2] In the city were two parishes (Saint-Pierre and Saint-Nicolas), two houses of male religious, and two monasteries of monks. The entire diocese had some 500 parishes.[3]
The diocese contained seven houses of Benedictine monks: Saint-Sever, Lessay, Saint-Sauveur le Vicomte, Montebourg, Hambie, Notre-Dame de Protection (Valognes, 1626, women), and Notre-Dame des Anges (Coutances, 1633, women). There was a house of Premonstratensians at Blanchelande; and two houses of Augustinians, at Saint-Lô and Notre-Dame de Voeu at Cherbourg.[4] All were abolished by will of the Constituent Assembly in 1790, and their properties confiscated and sold. Monastic vows were dissolved and forbidden. On 12 April 1791 the priests of the seminary were expelled for refusing to take the Oath to the Constitution. On 15 January 1793 the turn came of the houses of women to be closed and confiscated, and their inhabitants forcibly ejected.[5]
History of the Diocese of Avranches
The Cathedral of Avranches, situated in a town of some 2500 inhabitants in 1764, was dedicated to Saint Andrew on 17 September 1211. The Chapter of the Cathedral had six dignities (the Dean, the Cantor, the Treasurer, the Scholasticus and the two Archdeacons) and eighteen Canons. The archdeacons were named Archidiaconus Abricensis and Archidiaconus Vallis Moretonii.[6] The town contained three parishes, one community of male religious and one monastery of monks. The entire diocese contained 170 parishes.[7]
The Diocese of Avranches was abolished during the French Revolution by the Legislative Assembly, under the Civil Constitution of the Clergy (1790).[8] Its territory was subsumed into the new diocese, called 'Manche', with its seat at Coutances, which was part of the Metropolitanate called the 'Côtes de la Manche' (which included eight new 'départements'), with its seat at Rouen (Seine-Inférieure). When the Concordat of 1801 was struck between Pope Pius VII and First Consul Bonaparte, the Diocese of Avranches was not revived.
Pouillés (surveys of benefices) of the diocese of Coutances, in: Auguste Longnon (1903). Pouillés de la province de Rouen (in French and Latin). Paris: Imprimerie Nationale. pp.269–384, at 269–270 and 382–384. ISBN9782877546041.
Gallia christiana XI, pp. 466-467. Ritzler, VI, p. 61 note 1. In the nineteenth century the diocese of Avranches had 177 parishes and was the smallest diocese in the Province of Rouen: Jean, p. 343.
Leontianus attended the Council of Orléans in 511. C. De Clercq, Concilia Galliae, A. 511 – A. 695 (Turnholt: Brepols 1963), pp. 14, 15, 19 (ex Briovere Leontianus). Duchesne, p. 239 no. 1.
Lauto was present at the councils of Orléans in 533, 538 and 549. De Clercq, pp. 103, 127, 159 (Lauto episcopus ecclesiae Constantine vel Briouerensis). Gams, p. 542. Duchesne, p. 239 no. 3.
Romacharius took part in the dedication of the church of Nantes before 573. He is mentioned by Venantius Fortunatus. Gregory of Tours, Historia Francorum VIII, 31, notes that he was present at the funeral of his Metropolitan Praetextatus of Rouen in 586. Gams, p. 542. Duchesne, p. 240 no. 4.
Frodemundus (Frémond) founded a monastery at Le Ham on 15 August 679; the dedicatory inscription survives. Lecanu, I, pp. 83-86. Duchesne, p. 240, no. 6.
Bishop Lista was killed at St.-Lô during a siege by the Northmen, after they had sacked Paris and the valley of the Seine, according to the narrative of Abbot Regino of Prüm in his Chronicon, pp. 134-135. Gallia christiana XI, pp. 867-868
Bishop Theoderic was forced into exile at Rouen by the Vikings in 911, according to the Black Book of the Chapter of Coutances. Gallia christiana XI, p. 868; Instrumenta no. 1, pp. 217-224, at p. 217.
Bishop Hugues was present at the dedication of the Abbey of Fécamp in 990. He subscribed a charter for Duke Richard II of Normandy in 1020. Gallia christiana XI, p. 869.
Hugues had been Archdeacon of Coutances before being elected Bishop. He was consecrated at Rouen by Archbishop Robert Poulain (Pullus). Philippe III granted him the patronage of the churches of Cherbourg and Tourlaville in 1208. Toustain de Billy, I, pp. 310-386.
Robert d'Harcourt was elected bishop in 1291. He founded the Collège d'Harcourt at Paris. He died on 7 March 1315. Toustain de Billy. II, pp. 76-114. Eubel, I, p. 205.
Guillaume de Thieville was the last bishop of Coutances to be elected by the Cathedral Chapter. Thereafter bishops were chosen by agreement between the King of France and the Pope. Hayden, The Catholicisms of Coutances ch. 3. Toustain de Billy. II, pp. 115-149.
Louis Herpin was the first bishop known to have appointed a suffragan, one Bishop Jean. Hayden, The Catholicisms of Coutances ch. 3. Toustain de Billy. II, pp. 150-162.
A rare reformer, Bishop Sylvestre held synods in 1372, 1375 and 1377 to reform the clergy. Hayden, The Catholicisms of Coutances ch. 3. Toustain de Billy. II, pp. 163-172.
Nicolas de Tholon, probably a Burgundian from Toulon-sur-l'Allier and not from Toulon in the Dauphiné, was a Doctor of law. He was a chaplain of the Cathedral of Autun (1362), then Canon (1365) and Praecentor of Autun. He was Chancellor of the Duchy of Burgundy for Philippe le Hardi, who was then a regent of Charles V. He was appointed to the diocese of Coutances by Pope Clement VII on 5 October 1386. He was transferred to the diocese of Autun on 26 August 1387. He died on 20 December 1400. Toustain de Billy. II, pp. 173-174. Eubel, I, pp. 73, 205.
Guillaume de Crevecoeur was non-resident, almoner of Duke Philip the Bold of Burgundy. He was appointed by Clement VII on 27 August 1387. He died on 10 April 1408. Toustain de Billy. II, pp. 175-188. Eubel, I, 205.
Aegidius was a native of Rouen, the son of Robert de Champs, Seigneur de Tourville, First-Captain of Rouen. Gilles was Master of theology and a Canon of Rouen (1380), as well as Theologian and Confessor of King Charles VI (1404), who later appointed him one of his Aumoniers. He was ambassador of Charles VI to the Council of Pisa, which opened in March 1409. He was appointed Bishop of Coutances on 2 October 1409 by the Pisan pope Alexander V. He was made a cardinal by John XXIII on 6 June 1411, though he never appeared in the Papal Court to be invested and to receive a titular church. He continued as Administrator of Coutances until his death. He died on 5 (or 15) March 1413. Toustain de Billy, pp. 189-201. Eubel, I, pp. 33, no. 11; 205.
Jean de Marle was the son of Henri de Marle, First President of the Parlement of Paris. Jean was a Master of arts, Licenciate in Canon Law, Protonotary Apostolic, and Canon of Bayeux. He was appointed Bishop of Coutances by John XXIII on 2 April 1414, and had the misfortune to be Bishop during the English invasion of Normandy, leading to the Battle of Agincourt. He died on 12 June 1418. Toustain de Billy, pp. 202-206. Eubel, I, p. 205.
Pandolfo Malatesta of Rimini, the son of Carlo Malatesta, the plenipotentiary of Gregory XII (Roman Obedience), was Canon and Archdeacon of Bologna, as well as a Protonotary Apostolic. He participated in the Council of Constance, and was one of the delegates chosen by the Italian nation to participate in the election of a new pope to replace the three excommunicated pretenders. He was appointed Bishop of Coutances by Pope Martin V on 7 October 1418, and consecrated by him personally. He was transferred to Patras (Greece) on 10 May 1424. Gallia christiana XI, pp. 890-891. Lecanu, pp. 237-238. Toustain de Billy, pp. 207-212. Eubel, I, pp. 205 and 394.
Gilles was a native of Rouen, and a Doctor of theology of the Sorbonne. He held the abbeys of Beaupré, Beaubec, and then Fécamp. His bulls for the diocese of Coutances were issued on 9 October 1439, and he was consecrated a bishop on 28 July 1440, on which day he took his oath to the Archbishop of Rouen, Louis de Luxembourg, as his Metropolitan. He was one of the three judges who condemned Jeanne d'Arc to death by fire. He preferred to reside in the Priory of Saint-Lout in Rouen, where he died on 29 July 1444; he was buried in Rouen. Gallia christiana XI, p. 892. Lecanu, pp. 249-250. Eubel, II, p.
Castiglione was born of a noble family of Milan, a nephew of Cardinal Branda Castiglione (who had held the diocese of Lisieux, 1420-1424) and a member of the same family as Pope Celestine IV. He became a Protonotary Apostolic, and was preferred to the Diocese of Coutances on 2 September 1444 by Pope Eugenius IV, who had the right of reversion. He was sent as an envoy to the Pope by King Henry VI of England in 1447 to complain about grants in commendam and benefices. He was captured by the French at Coutances, and swore allegiance to Charles VII on 3 November 1449, in whose solemn entry into Rouen he participated. Castiglione was transferred to the diocese of Pavia on 3 October 1453; he was created a cardinal on 17 December 1456. He died at Macerata on 14 April 1460. Gallia christiana XI, pp. 892-893. Lecanu, pp. 250-252. Eubel, II, pp. 12 no. 6; 134; 212.
Longueil was created a cardinal by Pope Calixtus III on 17 December 1456. He finally made his formal entry into Rome on 13 March 1462 wearing his red hat. On 16 March he was received by Pope Pius II and named Cardinal Priest of S. Eusebius. On 1 October 1464 Pope Paul II appointed Longueil his Apostolic Legate in Perugia. He was back in Rome from 9 April to 18 May 1465, before returning to Perugia. He returned to Rome from his Legation in Perugia on 10 February 1466. He died at Sutri, where he had gone propter aeris intemperiem (because of the heat), on 15 August 1470. Lecanu, I, pp. 252-258. Eubel, II, pp. 12; 34-37, nos. 253, 259, 265, 298.
A Savoyard, Montferrand was abbot of Saint–Antoine de Vienne, by gift of Pope Pius II. He was preferred as Bishop of Coutances by Pope Paul II on 8 August 1470, but he did not have the approval of the King of France or the Chapter of Coutances. The Chapter recorded repeatedly in its records in 1471 and 1472 that the See was vacant. The King, in fact, assigned the temporalia of the diocese to the Bishop of Laon in 1472, thereby depriving Benedictus of any income or civil jurisdiction. Benoît was absent from Coutances from August 1474 until 1476, when, as Bishop-elect, he exchanged the diocese of Coutances for that of Lausanne with his successor, Giuliano della Rovere, on 15 July 1476. He died as Bishop of Lausanne on 8 May 1491. Gallia christiana XI, pp. 894-895. Lecanu, I, pp. 263-265. Eubel II, pp. 134-135 with note 4, 173.
Della Rovere, a nephew of Pope Sixtus IV, was appointed on 15 July 1476. He never visited the diocese, taking possession on 18 October 1476 by proxy; his procurator, Georges du Mesnilpény, Doctor of Civil and Canon Law, and Dean of the Collegial Church of Saint-Marie-la-Neuve (Villeneuve), governed the diocese for the Cardinal. His successor was appointed on 3 December 1477. Lecanu, I, pp. 265-266. Eubel, II, pp. 16, 135.
Geoffroy Herbert's bulls were issued on 3 July 1478. He became the First President of the Parlement of Rouen in 1499. He died on 1 February 1510. Bishop Geoffrey Herbert's brother Louis became Bishop of Avranches in 1511; he was the executor of Geoffrey's Testament. Toustain, II, pp. 390-391. Eubel, II, p. 135; III, pp. 91, 176 note 2.
Gouffier was appointed Bishop of Coutances on 15 April 1510. On the accession of Francis I on 1 January 1515, Gouffier was named First Aumonier, and therefore he remained at Court; the diocese was governed by his brother Aimeri and by his auxiliary bishop Guillaume Chevron. He was named a cardinal by Pope Leo X on 14 December 1515, and assigned the titular church of Ss. Marcellino e Pietro. He resigned the diocese on 20 November 1519, and was appointed Archbishop of Albi on 6 June (or 9 September) 1519. Lecanu, I, pp. 421-423. Toustain de Billy, III, pp. 1-32. Eubel, III, p. 101, with notes 8 and 9; p. 176.
Cardinal da Bibbiena was appointed Administrator of the diocese on 9 September 1519. He died in Rome on 1 or 9 November 1520. Lecanu, I, p. 423. Toustain de Billy, III, pp. 33-43. Eubel, III, p. 14, 176.
King Henri III gave Jacques de Matignon the provision of the Bishopric of Coutances for life, as a compensation for his services. Jacques named his son Lancelot, the Abbot Commendatory of Cherbourg, on 21 December 1587. Lancelot Goyon proposed to make a pilgrimage to Rome and to be consecrated by Pope Sixtus V personally. He died, however, on 1 January 1588. Lecanu, I, p. 319.
Du Quesnoy was born at Valognes (Coutances) and was a Doctor of theology (Paris). He was Archdeacon and a Vicar-General of Coutances for twenty-five years. He was nominated bishop by King Louis XV on 17 April 1757, and preconized (approved) by Pope Benedict XIV on 18 July 1757. He was consecrated on 21 August 1757 by Bishop Louis-François Néel de Christot of Séez. He died on 9 September 1764. Jean, p. 351. Ritzler, VI, p. 179, with note 2.
Talaru was born in the diocese of Clermont. He held the Bacculaureate in theology and Licenciate in Civil and Canon Law from the University of Paris. He was a Vicar-General of Sens for eleven years. On 21 October 1764 he was nominated Bishop of Coutances by King Louis XV, and was preconized (approved) by Pope Clement XIII on 4 February 1765. He was consecrated on 10 March 1765 by Paul Cardinal d'Albert de Luynes, Archbishop of Sens. He refused to take the oath to the Constitution in 1791, emigrated in 1792, died at London on 21 March 1798. Jean, p. 351. Ritzler, VI, p. 179, with note 3.
Born in Paris, Rousseau became Court Preacher in 1774 and was named a Canon of Chartres. He emigrated in 1791, returning in 1799. He was named bishop by First Consul Bonaparte, and was confirmed on 14 April 1802. He was consecrated in Paris at St.-Roch on 25 April 1802 by the Archbishop of Rouen, Etienne-Hubert de Cambacérès. He was transferred to the diocese of Orleans on 3 August 1807. He died on 7 October 1810 at the age of 75. Gautan Guillot, in: Société bibliographique (France) (1907), L'épiscopat français... pp. 205-206 and 428.
Robiou was born at Combiou (Ille-et-Vilaine) in 1794. He was professor at the seminary in Rennes, and then parish priest of Saint-Étienne in Rennes. He was named bishop of Coutances on 17 October 1835 and preconized (approved) by Pope Gregory XVI on 1 February 1836. He was consecrated in Paris on 6 March 1836 by Archbishop Hyacinthe-Louis de Quélen, and took possession of the diocese on 27 March. He resigned on 7 December 1852 at the age of seventy, and retired to Rennes; he was named Canon of Saint-Denis. Gautan Guillot, in: Société bibliographique (France) (1907), L'épiscopat français..., pp. 207-208.
Nepos is the first bishop of Avranches known to history. He was present at the First Council of Orléans on 10 July 511. De Clercq, p. 13 (Nepus episcopus de Abrincates), 14 (de Aprincis), 15 (ecclesiae Abrincatinae), 19 (ex civitate Abrincatas Naepus episcopus subscripsi). Duchesne, II, p. 224, no. 1.
Hildoaldus was present at the Council of Paris in 614 and the Council of Clichy in 627. De Clercq, p. 281 line 171; p. 297 line 211. Duchesne, II, p. 224, no. 6.
Ansegardus was present at the Council of Soissons in 853 and the Council of Verberie in 853. J.-D. Mansi, Tomus XIV, p. 982, 989. Gallia christiana XI, p. 473. Duchesne, p. 225 no. 8.
Waltbertus was present at the Council of Savonnières in 859, and the Council of Thusey (Tullense II) in 860. Mansi, Tomus XV, p. 529, 561. He also subscribed a charter at Pistey in 862. Duchesne, p. 225 no. 10.
Elisabeth M. C. van Houts (translator), The Gesta Normannorum Ducum of William of Jumieges, Orderic Vitalis, and Robert of Torigni (1995), note p. 149.
Herbert was the grandson of Henry I of England, by a lady of St.-Lô, and a Chaplain of Henry II. In 1157 he assisted Hugues of Cluny, Archbishop of Rouen, in translating the relics of Saint Firmat. Herbert had the honor of receiving both King Louis VII and King Henry II when they were on pilgrimage to Mont Saint-Michel. Bishop Herbert died at Bec on 6 September 1161. Lecanu, I, pp. 249-252. Gams, p. 506.
De Faye was a Doctor of Civil and Canon Law. He had been Archdeacon of Gand in the Church of Tournai, and had been Bishop of Saint-Brieuc in Brittany (1376–1379). Eubel, I, pp. 66 and 146.
Sillery was named in June 1689, and exchanged sees with Huet of Soissons, who had never received his bulls. Both were victims of the war between Louis XIV and Innocent XI (on whose death in 1689 thirty-five French bishoprics were vacant because of his refusal to grant bulls to candidates of the excommunicated king). Jean, p. 344.
Huet was a native of Caen and the son of Huguenot converts. He became sub-Preceptor of the Dauphin in 1670, and a member of the Académie Française in 1674. He was named Abbot commendatory of Aunay in 1678. He was consecrated Bishop of Avranches in Paris on 24 August 1692 by Archbishop François de Harlay de Champvallon. Huet resigned on 20 April 1699, and was given the Abbey of Fontenay in compensation. He retired to Paris and took up residence in the house of the professed Jesuits, where he died on 25 January 1721 at the age of 91. Jean, p. 344. Ritzler, V, p. 65 with note 3. Huet, Pierre Daniel (1810). Memoirs of the life of Peter Daniel Huet, bishop of Avranches, written by himself, tr. by J. Aikin. Vol.2 vols. London: Longman.
Durand de Missy was born in Rouen in 1692. He was a Doctor of theology and fellow of the Sorbonne, and became Dean of the Collegiate Church of S.-Germain-l'Auxerrois in Paris. He was a Vicar-General of Meaux, and then Vicar-General of Luynes in the diocese of Bayeux, when he was nominated Bishop of Avranches by King Louis XV on 17 April 1746. He was preconized (approved) by Pope Benedict XIV on 19 September 1746, and consecrated in Paris at the Église Saint-Louis on 9 October 1746 by Bishop Hardouin de Châlon de Maisonnoble of Lescar. He died on 4 April 1764. Jean, p. 345. Ritzler, VI, p. 61 with note 2.
Born at Contrières in 1794, Daniel studied at the Collège de Coutances, and became Professor of the Collège Royale in Caen. He was consecrated at Coutances on 12 June 1853 by the Archbishop of Rouen. He died on 4 July 1862. Lecanu, II, pp. 189-194. Gautan Guillot, in: Société bibliographique (France) (1907), L'épiscopat français... pp. 208-210.
Germain was born at Saint-Sylvain (Bayeux) in 1833. He was a Canon of Bayeux and curate of the Cathedral when he was appointed Bishop of Coutances by presidential decree on 19 November 1875. He was preconized (approved) by Pope Pius IX on 28 January 1876, and consecrated at Bayeux on 19 March 1876 by Henri-Marie-Gaston Boisnormand Cardinal de Bonnechose, Archbishop of Rouen. He made his solemn entry into Coutances on 28 March. He devoted most of his energy to preaching. He died on 12 November 1897. Lecanu, II, p. 199. Gautan Guillot, in: Société bibliographique (France) (1907), L'épiscopat français... pp. 211-212.
Guérard was born at Loudéac (Côtes-du-Nord) in 1846. He studied at the Collège St.-Vincent at Rennes, and then at the seminary of Saint-Sulpice. He served as vicar of Saint-Sauveur in Rennes (1870), then was director of the Major Seminary in Rennes (1872), and became Secretary of the Archbishop (1873). Eight years later, in 1880, he became Secretary-General of the diocese. In 1883 he was named a Canon of the Cathedral of Rennes, and became Penitentiary and Master of Ceremonies of the Chapter. He was preconized (approved) by Pope Leo XIII on 28 November 1898 and consecrated at Rennes on 2 February 1899 by Cardinal Guillaume-Marie-Joseph Labouré. He was expelled from his diocese on 17 December 1906. He was granted the pallium on 17 July 1907. Revue Catholique de Normandie (in French). Vol.8. Èvreux. 1898. pp.432–433.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Louvard was born at Radon (near Alençon) in 1858. He studied at the junior seminary of Séez. He was a teacher at the junior seminary in Séez, then superior of the school of St. Francis de Sales in Alençon (1898). He was appointed honorary Vicar-General, and then appointed Bishop of Langres on 10 March 1919. He was consecrated in Séez on 1 May 1919 by Bishop Claude Bardel. He took possession of the See of Coutances by proxy on 11 January 1925. "Diocese of Langres", Catholic Encyclopedia Volume 17 Supplement I (NY 1922), p. 447.
Guyot was born in Bordeaux in 1905, and studied at the seminary and at the University of Bordeaux. He studied in Rome at the Pontifical Athenaeum S. Thomae (Angelicum). In Bordeaux he founded the Seminary S. Maurice for late vocations to the priesthood. He was named Vicar General of the diocese (1944–1949). He was named titular bishop of Helenopolis in Palestine and Coadjutor Bishop of Coutances in 1949; he was consecrated on 4 May 1949 by Archbishop Maurice Feltin of Bordeaux. On 8 April 1950 he became Bishop of Coutances. On 28 April 1966 Guyot was named archbishop of Toulouse (1966–1978), and Cardinal on 5 March 1973. He took part in the two Conclaves of 1978. He died on 1 August 1988. Martin Bräuer (2014). Handbuch der Kardinäle: 1846-2012 (in German). Berlin: De Gruyter. p.449. ISBN978-3-11-026947-5. Salvador Miranda, The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, Guyot, Louis-Jean, retrieved: 2017-01-15.
.jpg)
