Roman Catholic Diocese of Luçon

The Diocese of Luçon (Latin: Dioecesis Lucionensis; French: Diocèse de Luçon) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in France. Its see is Luçon Cathedral in the commune of Luçon. The diocese comprises the department of Vendée. Created in 1317 out of the diocese of Poitiers, its existence was interrupted during the French Revolution, but it was restored in 1821, along with the Bourbon restoration.

Diocese of Luçon Dioecesis Lucionensis Diocèse de Luçon
Luçon Cathedral
Coat of arms
Location
Country	France
Ecclesiastical province	Rennes
Metropolitan	Archdiocese of Rennes, Dol, and Saint-Malo
Statistics
Area	7,015 km2 (2,709 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2021) 675,247 539,299 (79.9%)
Parishes	59
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	16 August 1317
Cathedral	Cathedral of Notre Dame in Luçon
Patron saint	Assumption of Mary
Secular priests	188 (Diocesan) 71 (Religious Orders) 56 Permanent Deacons
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	François Jacolin, M.D.P.
Metropolitan Archbishop	Pierre d'Ornellas
Bishops emeritus	Alain Castet
Map
Website
Website of the Diocese

Since 2002, it has been a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Rennes, after transferral from the Archdiocese of Bordeaux. From May 2018, the bishop of Luçon is François Jacolin.

In 2021, in the Diocese of Luçon there was one priest for every 2,082 Catholics.

History

The monastery of Luçon was founded in 682 by Ansoald, Bishop of Poitiers, who placed it under the government of St. Philibert (616–684). The monk, having been expelled from Jumièges, established the monastery of the Black Benedictines on the Isle of Her (Noirmoutiers) around 674, of which Luçon was at first a dependency, probably as a priory.^[1] The monastery of Luçon was burned to the ground by the Northmen in May 853, and was still in ruins in 877.^[2] The list of the abbots of Notre Dame de Luçon begins about the middle of the eleventh century.^[3]

In 1317, Pope John XXII engaged in a major restructuring of the episcopal organization of southern and western France, both in territory governed by the King of France and territory governed by the King of England. On 13 August 1317, in the Bull Sane Considerantes, he divided the diocese of Poitiers, creating the new dioceses of Luçon and Maillezais. His stated reason was the large size of the diocese of Poitiers and its large population, which made it difficult for only one bishop to provide all the spiritual services needed.^[4] The Abbot of Luçon, Pierre de La Veyrie (Vereya), was named the first bishop of Luçon. He was consecrated in Avignon on 20 November 1317 by Cardinal Berengarius Fredoli, Bishop of Porto.^[5]

During the administration of Bishop Elias Martineau (1421–1424), trouble came to the diocese of Luçon in the person of Georges de la Trémoille (1385–1446), the future favorite of King Charles VII. Tremoille owned a fief in the neighborhood, the barony of Mareuil-sur-le-Lay, which, in his own mind, gave him preeminence among all the seigneurs in the area. The Bishop of Luçon owned the fortress in the town of Luçon, which Tremoille wanted and which he took by military force, dispossessing the bishop's castellan; he did the same at Moutiers-sur-le-Lay, also a property of the bishops of Luçon. He then began to levy taxes on the vassals of Luçon. He continued to hold these properties illegally and by force into the reign of the next bishop, Guillaume de Goyon, who finally appealed directly to the King, who on 16 November 1424 ordered his seneschals to restore the Bishop to his full possession and rights.^[6] This did not stop Tremoille in his harassment. In 1436 Bishop Fleury had to apply to Parlement for an arrêt against him, which repeated the King's orders to his seneschals.^[7] Tremoille replied by building a fortress of his own on land owned by the bishop at Le Moulin du Puy-du-Fou, in which he placed a garrison led by one of his bastard sons.

After the death of Tremoille in 1446, Bishop Nicolas Coeur (1442–1451) was able to obtain from the King the grant of the right to hold two fairs at Moutiers-sur-le-Lay, one for the Monday after Ascension day (April or early May) and the other on the Tuesday after All Saints Day (November 1). This brought increased economic activity to the area, and profits for the bishop.^[8]

It was Bishop Milon d'Illiers (1527–1552) who purchased the barony of Luçon from Anne de Laval. The barony was held from the Count of Poitou, who was the King of France. The bishops thus became Seigneurs de Luçon, and a direct vassal of the King.^[9]

In 1516 King Francis I signed at treaty with Pope Leo X, which has come to be called the Concordat of Bologna, in which the King and his successors acquired the right to nominate each and every one of the bishops in France, except those of the dioceses of Metz, Toul and Verdun.^[10] This of course interfered with the traditional rights of the cathedral Chapters to elect their bishop, and from time to time Chapters would attempt to conduct a free election despite the king's nomination. When the king was an heretic or excommunicate, the problems were especially serious.

Cathedral and Chapter

On the same day he ordered that the churches of the Benedictine monasteries in the towns of Luçon and Maillezais should become the cathedrals of the new dioceses, in perpetuam. In Luçon the church was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and the monks of the monastery provided the clergy of the Chapter of the cathedral, down to 1468.^[11]

In 1468 the Chapter of the cathedral was "secularized', by a bull of Pope Paul II; that is, the monks no longer provided the officials and members of the Chapter, but instead the Chapter was reorganized as a college of secular canons. The Pope also provided the college of canons with a set of statutes.^[12] The dignities (not dignitaries) of the Chapter were: the Dean, the Archdeacon-Major, the Archdeacon of Aziana, the Archdeacon of Alperia, the Cantor, the Provost, the Treasurer, the Chancellor, the Subdeacon and the Succentor. There were thirty full prebends and seven semi-prebends.^[13] In 1672 there were twelve dignities and thirty Canons.^[14]

On 30 December 1637, by letters patent, King Louis XIII granted the members of the Chapter of Luçon exemption from the obligation to quarter troops of the king in times of emergency and to have their property and goods seized.^[15]

All Cathedral Chapters were dissolved by order of the National Constituent Assembly in 1790, and their property and incomes directed to "the good of the people".^[16]

There was also a collegiate church in the diocese, at Montaigu, founded in 1438 (or 1356) and dedicated to Saint Maurice. It was presided over by a Dean, elected by the Canons, and confirmed by the bishop. There was also a Cantor, Subcantor, a Sacristan, and three Canons.^[17]

Revolution

The diocese of Luçon was abolished during the French Revolution by the Legislative Assembly, under the Civil Constitution of the Clergy (1790).^[18] Its territory was subsumed into the new diocese, called 'Vendée', which was part of the Metropolitanate called the 'Métropole du Sud-Ouest'. The Civil Constitution mandated that bishops be elected by the citizens of each 'département',^[19] which immediately raised the most severe canonical questions, since the electors did not need to be Catholics and the approval of the Pope was not only not required, but actually forbidden. Erection of new dioceses and transfer of bishops, moreover, was not canonically in the competence of civil authorities or of the Church in France. The result was schism between the 'Constitutional Church' and the Roman Catholic Church. The legitimate bishop of Luçon, Marie-Charles-Isidore de Mercy, refused to take the oath, and therefore the episcopal seat was declared vacant. He was in fact one of the thirty bishops who subscribed to the Exposition des principes, sur la Constitution civile du Clergé (30 October 1790).^[20]

On 27 February 1791 the electors of 'Vendée' were assembled at Fontenay. Of the 478 electors, only 173 appeared. Next day 77 of them elected Jean-Sylvain Servant, the Vicar General of Angers. He immediately received a letter from Bishop de Mercy, and on 30 March he resigned. A second election was held, with only 99 electors present, and on 1 May the Oratorian priest François Auguste Rodrigue, the prior-curé of Fougère, was elected. He was consecrated at Notre-Dame de Paris on 29 May 1791 by Constitutional Bishop Jean-Baptiste Gobel. He resigned in 1793, in time to avoid the anti-revolutionary rising of the Vendée and the retaliation of the Terror, and obtained a post in the civil administration. He had no successor in the Constitutional church.^[21]

During the Vendée, three engagements took place at or near Luçon, the final battle taking place on 14 August 1793. In each, the troops of the Republic were successful.

Once the Concordat of 1801 with First Consul N. Bonaparte went into effect, Pius VII was able to issue the appropriate bulls to restore many of the dioceses and to regulate their boundaries, most of which corresponded closely to the new 'départements'. The Bull Qui Christi Domini abolished all the dioceses of France, and recreated most of the dioceses of the Ancien Régime. The diocese of Luçon was not one of them. The diocese of Luçon was suppressed by the Concordat of 1801 and annexed to the Diocese of La Rochelle; its bishop, from 1804 to 1821 was Gabriel-Laurent Pailloux.^[22]

Revival

The diocese of Luçon was reestablished in principle in the Concordat of 11 June 1817, but difficulties between the King, his Legislative Assembly (which refused to ratify the Concordat), and the Pope, postponed the implementation until 1821.^[23] The Diocese of Luçon thereafter comprised the territory of the ancient diocese (minus a few parishes incorporated in the Diocese of Nantes); and almost all the former Diocese of Maillezais, which was permanently suppressed.

In 1856 the diocese of Luçon became involved in an international scandal. The bishop of Luçon, Jacques-Marie-Joseph Baillès, had been appointed in 1845 by the government of King Louis-Philippe. The bishop was a firm royalist, as well as an ultramontanist, and an active enforcer of the decrees of the Council of Trent. In 1848 the Minister of Public Instruction, M. Marie-Louis Pierre Felix Esquirou de Parieu, had appointed to a teaching position in the collège in Luçon a Jewish professor. Bishop Baillès protested loudly against anyone who at any time could entrust the education of young Christians to an Israelite.^[24] In 1852 he had published a pastoral letter supporting the Index of Prohibited Books,^[25] which was a challenge to the opinions of, among others, Senator Gustave Rouland, the incoming Minister of Public Instruction and Cults. The French government demanded the removal of Bishop Baillès by the Pope, and Pius IX, who was maintained on his throne in Rome only with the support of French troops, had no alternative but to do as requested, and he demanded the resignation of the bishop. Baillès resigned on 21 February 1856, and made his way to Rome; his successor was nominated by the government on 5 March. On 11 March 1856, in his capacity as a Senator, Rouland gave a speech in favor of Gallicanism and against the Index, emphasizing the policies of which Baillès was such a vocal critic. The bishop was offered a titular archbishopric by the Pope, but he preferred to call himself ancien évêque de Luçon. He was appointed to the Congregation of the Index in the Roman Curia, and in 1866 continued his feud by publishing a book in defense of the Congregation of the Index.^[26] He died in exile on 17 November 1873.^[27]

Bishops

1317 to 1500

• 1317–1334: Petrus (or Pierre) I. de La Veyrie^[28]
• 1334–1353: Renaud de Thouars
• 1354: Jean Jofevri^[29]
• 1354: Gualterus
• 1354–1359: Guy (Guido)^[30]
• 1359–1387: Guillaume de La Rochefoucauld^[31]
• 1388–1407: Etienne Loypelli^[32]
• 1407–1408: Martin Goyon^[33]
• 1408–1418: Germain Paillard^[34]
• 1421–1424: Elias Martineau (Martinelli)^[35]
• 1424–1431: Guillaume de Goyon^[36]
• 1431–1441: Jean Fleury, O.Cist.^[37]
• 1442–1451: Nicolas Coeur^[38]
• 1451–1461: André de La Roche^[39]
• 1461–1490: Nicolas Boutault^[40]
• 1491–1494: Mathurin de Dercé^[41]
• 1496–1514: Pierre de Sacierges^[42]

from 1500 to 1800

• 1515–1523: Ladislaus Dufau^[43]
• 1523–1524: Jean de Lorraine-Guise
• 1524–1527: Cardinal Louis de Bourbon
• 1527–1552: Milon d'Illiers^[44]
• 1553–1562: René de Daillon du Lude^[45]
• 1562–1573: Jean-Baptiste Tiercelin^[46]
• 1578–1584: René de Salla^[47]
• 1586–1592: Jacques Duplessis-Richelieu^[48]

1595–1600: François Yver^[49]

Alphonse-Louis du Plessis de Richelieu^[50]

• 1606–1623: Armand-Jean du Plessis de Richelieu^[51]
• 1624–1635: Aimeric de Bragelone^[52]
• 1637–1660: Pierre Nivelle, O.Cist.^[53]
• 1661–1671 Nicolas Colbert^[54]
• 1672–1699: Henri de Barillon^[55]
• 1699–1723: Jean-François de Valderies de Lescure^[56]
• 1723–1736: Michel-Roger de Bussin–Rabutin^[57]
• 1738–1758: Samuel-Guillaume de Verthamon de Chavagnac^[58]
• 1759–1775: Claude-Jacquemet Gautier^[59]
• 1775–1801: Marie-Charles-Isidore de Mercy, (17 Nov 1775 – 24 Oct 1801)^[60]

since 1800

• René-François Soyer (24 September 1821 – 5 May 1845)^[61]
• Jacques-Marie-Joseph Baillès (24 November 1845 – 21 Feb 1856 Resigned)^[62]
• François-Augustin Delamare (16 June 1856 – 18 March 1861)^[63]
• Charles-Théodore Colet (22 July 1861 – 21 December 1874)^[64]
• Jules François Lecoq (15 March 1875 – 20 August 1877)^[65]
• Clovis-Nicolas-Joseph Catteau (21 September 1877 – 28 Nov 1915)^[66]
• Gustave-Lazare Garnier (27 May 1916 Appointed – 30 Jan 1940 Died)
• Antoine-Marie Cazaux (11 Oct 1941 Appointed – 4 Jul 1967 Resigned)
• Charles-Auguste-Marie Paty † (4 Jul 1967 – 25 Mar 1991 Retired)
• François Charles Garnier (25 Mar 1991 – 7 Dec 2000 Appointed, Archbishop of Cambrai)
• Michel Santier (19 Jun 2001 – 4 Sep 2007 Appointed, Bishop of Créteil)
• Alain Castet (14 Apr 2008 – 12 October 2017)
• François Joseph Marie Jacolin, M.D.P. (29 May 2018 – )^[67]

See also

• Catholic Church in France

References

1. Tressay, pp. 61-75, tells the traditional tale, much embellished by imaginative reconstruction. It is said that Philibert brought six hundred monks from Jumièges to populate his new monastery. The facts are few, and they do not connect Luçon with Philibert. René Poupardin, Monuments de l'histoire des abbayes de Saint-Philibert (Paris: A. Picard 1905). pp. 61, 81. La Fontenelle, pp. 14-15, 18.
2. La Fontenelle, I, p. 22.
3. Aillery, p. xvi-xvii.
4. Bullarum diplomatum et privilegiorum sanctorum Romanorum pontificum Taurensis editio (in Latin). Vol. Tomus IV. Turin: Seb. Franco. 1859. pp. 247–249.
5. La Fontenelle, I, pp. 63-68, who states wrongly that Cardinal Berengarius was Bishop of Ostia. The Bishop of Ostia was Niccolò Alberti. Sainte-Marthe, Gallia christiana II, p. 1406-1407
6. La Fontenelle, I, pp. 100-104. Winifred Stephens Whale (1914). The La Trémoille Family. Boston-New York: Houghton Mifflin. pp. 23–26.
7. La Fontenelle, I, pp. 108-109.
8. La Fontenelle, I, p. 119.
9. Aillery, p. xix, column 1.
10. Jules Thomas, Le Concordat de 1516 : ses origines, son histoire au XVIe siècle, Paris: Alphonse Picard 1910, première partie, pp. 329-343; deuxième partie; troisième partie.
11. Sainte-Marthe, Gallia christiana II, Instrumenta, p. 382.
12. La Fontenelle, I, pp. 144-152.
13. Sainte-Marthe, Gallia christiana II, p. 1406-1407; Instrumenta, pp. 390-402/
14. Ritzler-Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica, V, p. 249, note 1.
15. La Fontenelle, II, p. 462.
16. Philippe Bourdin, "Collégiales et chapitres cathédraux au crible de l'opinion et de la Révolution," Annales historiques de la Révolution française no. 331 (janvier/mars 2003), 29-55, at 29-30, 52-53.
17. Jean, p. 139. Aillery, pp. 76-77. In the 1530s there were eleven Canons and nine vicars.
18. Ludovic Sciout (1872). "Chapitre IV: La Constitution Civile". Historie de la constitution civile du clergé (1790-1801) (in French). Vol. Tome premier. Paris: Firmin Didot frères.
19. Bishops and priests were also to be salaried by the State. The salaries were paid out of funds realized from the confiscation and sale of church properties. After the Concordat of 1801, bishops and priests continued to be salaried and pensioned by the State, down to the Law of Separation of 1905, Article 2. Jean Marie Mayeur (1991). La séparation des Églises et de l'État (in French). Paris: Editions de l'Atelier. p. 11. ISBN 978-2-7082-4340-8.
20. Boisgelin de Cucé, Jean de Dieu-Raymond de (1801). Exposition des principes sur la constitution civile du clergé: par les évêques députés à l'assemblée nationale, suivie de la lettre des mêmes évêques, en réponse au bref du pape ... et de la lettre de M. l'arch-évêque d'Aix, en réponse au bref de ... le pape Pie VII ... (in French). Paris: LeClere. p. 173.
21. Paul Pisani (1907). Répertoire biographique de l'épiscopat constitutionnel (1791-1802) (in French). Paris: A. Picard et fils. pp. 446–449.
22. Concordat, et recueil des bulles et brefs de N.S.P. le pape Pie VII, sur les affaires actuelles de l'église de France (in Latin and French). chez J.R. Vigneulle. 1802. pp. 24–43. (Latin, with French translation)
23. Société bibliographique (France) (1907), L'épiscopat français..., p. 221.
24. Eugène de Mirecourt, ed. (1866). Dictionnaire des Sciences Catholiques (in French). Vol. Tome premier. Paris: E. Dentu. p. 285.
25. Jacques Marie Joseph Baillès (1852). Instruction pastorale de Monseigneur l'évèque de Luçon sur L'index des livres prohibés (in French). Paris: J. Lecoffre et C.ie. p. 3.
26. Jacques Marie Joseph Bailles (1866). La Congrégation de l'Index mieux connue et vengée. [A reply to a speech delivered in the French Senate by G. Rouland.] (in French). Paris: Poussielgue.
27. Antoine-Alexandre Barbier (1872). Dictionnaire des ouvrages anonymes: A-D (in French). Paris: P. Daffis. pp. 685–687. Georges Simon, in: L'épiscopat français..., p. 307.
28. La Veyrie: Sainte-Marthe, Gallia christiana II, p. 1406–1407.
29. Jean Jofevri (Jaurens, Jauronge) had been Bishop of Riez (1348–1352), and Bishop of Valence (1352–1354). He was transferred to Luçon on 5 May 1354, and was transferred to the diocese of Elne on 20 November 1354. The Black Death may have played a part in some of the swift moves. Eubel, I, pp. 239, 315, 417, 513.
30. Guido was appointed on 21 November 1354. He was transferred to the diocese of Maillezais by Pope Innocent VI on 20 February 1359. Eubel, I, pp. 315, 324.
31. Guillaume was appointed by Pope Innocent VI on 24 May 1359. He died on 23? January 1387. Eubel, I, p. 315.
32. Etienne Loypelli had been Treasurer of the Cathedral Chapter of Poitiers. He was appointed bishop of Luçon on 27 January 1388 by Pope Clement VII. He died on 13 September 1407. Sainte-Marthe, Gallia christiana II (Paris 1716), p. 1409. Eubel, I, pp. 167.
33. Martin Gouge de Charpaigne was transferred to the diocese of Chartres on 10 March 1408. Eubel, I, pp. 167, 315.
34. Germain Paillard had been Cantor in the Chapter of the Cathedral of Paris. He was appointed by Pope Benedict XIII on 10 March 1408. He was represented at the Council of Pisa (March–August 1409) by a proctor. Sainte-Marthe, Gallia christiana II, p. 1409. Eubel, I, p. 315.
35. Elie was approved by Pope Martin V on 5 December 1418. He was named titular bishop of Myra in Lycia on 28 June 1424. La Fontenelle, I, pp. 92-101. Eubel, I, p. 315, 354.
36. Goyon (or Gojon) was appointed by Martin V on 28 June 1404. Eubel, I, p. 315.
37. Jean Fleury was transferred to Luçon from the diocese of Angoulème on 13 July 1431 by Pope Eugene IV. He died on 17 October 1441. Eubel, I, p. 240 with note 8; II, pp. 151, 181.
38. Coeur, Canon of La Sainte Chapelle de Bourges, was a brother of the financier Jacques Cœur. He was elected by the Chapter in 1441, and received papal approval as bishop of Luçon on 31 January 1442. He died on 1 October 1451. La Fontenelle, I, pp. 113–124. Eubel, II, pp. 181–182.
39. It was in 1451 or perhaps early in 1452, that Andre de la Roche became bishop. He resigned the administration of the diocese on 26 August 1461. He died on 12 February 1462, Aillery, p. xix. La Fontenelle, I, p. 131.
40. Boutault was Archpriest of Pareds and Vicar General. He was named Coadjutor of Bishop de la Roche on 15 February 1461. He was consecrated on 26 September 1462 by Cardinal Guillaume d'Estouteville, Archbishop of Rouen. Boutault died on 27 December 1490. La Fontanelle, I, pp. 128, 130, 131–154. Eubel, II, p. 182.
41. Dercé had been Dean of the Chapter of the Cathedral of Luçon. The election of Dercé by the Chapter was approved in Consistory by Pope Innocent VIII on 31 January 1491. When he went to Bordeaux for confirmation of his election by the Metropolitan, he was met with opposition by a royal procurator and three Canons. Pierre de Sacierges, Master of Requests, appeared and, in the name of the king, exercised the Pragmatic Sanction, which allowed the King to name the Bishop of Luçon. The case was appealed to the Parlement of Paris. Dercé nonetheless ratified a marriage contract as bishop on 21 April 1491. On 19 November 1794, Dercé, bowing to the powerful opposition, yielded his rights as bishop, the surrender being ratified by the Parlement and, in bulls of 13 February 1495, by the Pope. La Fontenelle, I, pp. 154–157. Eubel, II, p. 182.
42. Pierre de Sacierges was not elected by the Chapter, but named by King Louis XII; he contested the See of Luçon with Bishop de Dercé, who had been legally elected by the Chapter. The Chapter rejected de Sacierges, and elected Gilles Marchand. He died on 9 September 1514. La Fontenelle, I, pp. 157–182. Eubel, II, p. 182 is unreliable: two footnotes are registered which do not appear in the notes.
43. Ladislaus (Lancelot) Dufau (Du Fau) held a degree in Civil and Canon Law, and had been Archdeacon of Saintes. He received papal approval on 8 January 1515. He made his Testament on 23 April 1523, and was dead before 8 October 1523 (when a church in the diocese was consecrated sede vacante by the Auxiliary Bishop of Saintes. Saint-Marthe, Gallia christiana II, pp. 1411–1412. Gams, p. 569, column 1. Eubel, III, p. 230.
44. Bishop Milon had been Dean of the Cathedral Chapter of Chartres, and Abbot of Notre-Dame de la Colombe (diocese of Chartres), the latter of which he exchanged with Cardinal de Bourbon as part of the resignation agreement. While still bishop-elect he was given the privilege of holding the Deanship along with the Bishopric of Luçon by Pope Clement VII, on 23 December 1516. He was approved in Consistory by Pope Clement VII on 27 March 1527, and took possession of the diocese of Luçon by proxy on 6 July 1527. He resigned the diocese in favor of his grand-nephew, René de Daillon, on 28 March 1552. Saint-Marthe, Gallia christiana II, p. 1412. Fontenelle, I, pp. 216–247. Eubel, III, p. 230.
45. Daillon was officially nominated by King Henri II, and confirmed in Consistory by Pope Julius III on 13 September 1553. He was not consecrated a bishop during his term. He was appointed bishop of Bayeux by Pope Clement VIII on 11 February 1598. Aillery, p. xix. Eubel, III, p. 230.
46. Tiercelin was confirmed in Consistory by Pope Pius IV on 16 December 1562. Eubel, III, p. 230.
47. De Salla was approved in Consistory by Pope Gregory XIII on 15 October 1578. He died on 26 April 1584. La Fontenelle, I, pp. 330. Eubel, III, p. 230.
48. Richelieu was nominated in 1584, but did not receive his bulls until 5 November 1586. The Wars of Religion prevented him from taking possession of his diocese. He died in June 1592. Aillery, p. xix. Eubel, III, p. 230 with note 10.
49. Yver (Hyvert) did not receive his bulls until 17 March 1599. He was not consecrated, and never took possession. Aillery, p. xix, believes that he was actually an Administrator on behalf of the Richelieu family. Lucien Lacroix, p. 35, points out that Yver had been the parish priest of Richelieu in Poitou, and that he had managed the diocese of Luçon for Bishop Jacques Duplessis in an arrangement called confidence in French, in which a person (Richelieu) received a benefice under the condition that at some point he would renounce the benefice to another (Yver), and that the other would receive part or all of the income of the benefice for his services. The arrangement was simoniacal. Eubel, III, p. 230.
50. Alphonse Duplessis never received a bull of institution, and was not consecrated a bishop until 21 June 1626, when he became Archbishop of Aix. He was never bishop of Luçon, or even bishop-elect. Cf. Gauchat, Hierarchia catholica IV, p. 225. Lucien Lacroix points out, p. 35, that all the appointments to benefices during the alleged bishoprics of Yver and Alphonse Richelieu are dated sede vacante.
51. Richelieu was nominated by Henri IV, and his case was already being handled in Rome by the beginning of March 1606 (Lacroix, p. 45). His case was managed in Consisitory by Cardinal de Givry. His dispensation for being below the minimum age for consecration was issued by Pope Paul V on 9 December 1606 (Lacroix, p. 53), and his bulls were issued on 18 December 1606. He was consecrated in Rome on 17 April 1607 by Cardinal Anne de Givry. The new bishop's formal entry into his diocese took place on 21 December 1608. He was named a cardinal on 5 September 1622, and the King nominated his successor as bishop of Luçon on 31 May 1623. Gauchat, IV, pp. 16 no. 9; 225, with notes 3 and 4.
52. Bragelone was approved as bishop of Luçon on 24 April 1624, and was consecrated in Paris on 24 June 1624. At the end of 1635 he retired to the monastery of Morreile, of which he was the Abbot. His successor was nominated by the King on 30 November 1635. Aillery, p. xx, column 1. Gauchat, IV, p. 225 with notes 4 and 5.
53. Pierre de Nivelle had been abbot of Saint-Sulpice-en-Bresse, and then abbot-general of Cîteaux. He was named bishop of Luçon by Louis XIII on 30 November 1635, and approved by Pope Urban VIII on 22 September 1636. He was consecrated in Paris on 25 January 1637 by Archbishop Octave de Bellegarde of Sens. He died at Luçon on the night of 10/11 February 1660. La Fontanelle II, pp. 458–503. Gauchat, IV, p. 225 with note 5 (Gauchat says he was preconised in 1637, an obvious typo).
54. A native of Reims, Colbert, brother of the King's minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert, was a doctor of theology (Sorbonne). He had been Abbot commendatory of two monasteries and Dean of two Collegiate Churches. He was nominated bishop of Luçon by King Louis XIV on 8 Feb 1661, and approved in Consistory by Pope Alexander VII on 30 May 1661. He built the seminary quarters. He was appointed Bishop of Auxerre) by Pope Clement X on 16 November 1671; Cheney, Catholic-Hierarchy.org is wrong in giving the date as 16 September 1671. Colbert died on 5 September 1676. Fisquet, Honore (1864). La France pontificale (Gallia Christiana): Metropole de Sens: Sens et Auxerre (in French). Paris: Etienne Repos. pp. 418–424. La Fontanelle II, pp. 503–539. Gauchat, IV, p. 225 with note 6. Ritzler-Sefrin, V, p. 90 with note 3.
55. Born in Paris in 1639, Henri de Barillon held a doctorate in theology (Paris, 1666). He was nominated by Louis XIV on 22 Nov 1671, on the recommendation of the Colbert brothers, and preconised (approved) in the Consistory of 8 February 1672. On 5 June 1672 he was consecrated by Bishop François de Péricard of Angoulême. He died in Paris on 7 May 1699. Saint-Marthe, Gallia christiana II, pp. 1415–1417. La Fontanelle II, pp. 539–636. Ritzler-Sefrin, V, p. 249 with note 2.
56. Lescure was born in the Château de Lescure and was a doctor of theology (Paris). He had been a Canon and Vicar General of the diocese of Albi. He was nominated to the See of Luçon by Louis XIV on 6 June 1699, and was preconised (approved) by Pope Innocent XII on 5 October 1699. He built a nursing and retirement home for priests of the diocese. He died on 23 May 1723. Aillery, pp. xx–xxi. 637–712. Ritzler-Sefrin, V, p. 249 with note 3.
57. De Rabutin de Bussy: La Fontanelle II, pp. 712–727. Ritzler-Sefrin, V, p. 249 with note 4.
58. Chavagnac: Ritzler-Sefrin, VI, p. 267 with note 2.
59. Gauthier: Ritzler-Sefrin, VI, p. 267 with note 3.
60. With the coming of the Revolution, Mercy remained in his diocese until 1792; he then fled to Switzerland, and from there to Ravenna, and then to Venice, and finally Vienna. He resigned, at the demand of Pope Pius VII in 1801. He was nominated Archbishop of Bourges by First Consul N. Bonaparte on 9 April 1802, and was approved by the Cardinal Legate. He died in Bourges on 22 February 1811. Jean, p. 138. Ritzler-Sefrin, VI, p. 267 with note 4.
61. Ordained in 1791, Soyer served as an underground priest, and assumed various disguises and during the Revolution exercised his ecclesiastical functions in the suburbs of Poitiers. At the Concordat, he was named Vicar General of Poitiers, and administered the diocese during the Sede Vacante of 1805–1808. He was named bishop of Luçon on 14 November 1817, but he did not receive papal confirmation until 24 September 1821; he was consecrated a bishop in Paris at Saint Sulpice on 21 October 1821 by Bishop Latil of Chartres. Soyer died on 5 May 1845. Georges du Tressay (1872). Vie de Mgr. Soyer, évêque de Luçon (in French). Paris: Lecoffre. Georges Simon, in: Société bibliographique (France) (1907), L'épiscopat français, pp. 304–306. Ritzler-Sefrin, VII, p. 244.
62. Baillès was a protégé and private secretary of Bishop Arbou of Verdun. As Arbou's career progressed from Verdun to Bayonne and then to Toulouse, Baillès followed him, reaching the post of Vicar General of Toulouse. He was named bishop of Luçon by the government of King Louis-Philippe on 15 August 1845, and preconised by Pope Gregory XVI on 24 November 1845. He was consecrated a bishop in Paris on 4 January 1846 by the Archbishop of Besançon. He was forced to resign on the demand of Pope Pius IX, at the insistence of the government of Emperor Napoleon III, which he had offended. Georges Simon, in: Société bibliographique (France) (1907), L'épiscopat français, pp. 306–307.
63. Delamare had been principal of the collège of Valognes. He was named Vicar General of Coutances in 1834. He was nominated bishop of Luçon by Napoleon III on 5 March 1856, and preconised by Pope Pius IX on 16 June. He was consecrated in Reims on 20 July 1856 by Cardinal Thomas-Marie-Joseph Gousset. He was nominated Archbishop of Auch on 20 February 1861, and preconised by Pius IX on 18 March 1861. Georges Simon, in: Société bibliographique (France) (1907), L'épiscopat français, pp. 307–308
64. Colet was private secretary of François-Victor Rivet, Bishop of Dijon, and then his Vicar General, a position he held for twenty-three years. Colet was appointed bishop of Luçon by the Emperor Napoleon III on 5 June 1861, and preconised on 22 July 1861 by Pope Pius IX. He was consecrated by Bishop Rivet in Dijon on 25 August. He attended the First Vatican Council, and voted with the minority against the doctrine of papal infallibility. Colet was appointed Archbishop of Tours on 25 Nov 1874, and preconised (approved) by Pope Pius IX on 21 December 1874. He died on 27 November 1883. Georges Simon, in: Société bibliographique (France) (1907), L'épiscopat français, pp. 308–309; 635.
65. Lecoq was nominated by Napoleon III on 11 Jan 1875, and preconised by Pius IX on 15 March 1875. He was consecrated a bishop on 1 May in the church of Saint-Jean in Caen (of which he was the curé) by Bishop Flavien Hugonin of Bayeux. He was transferred to the diocese of Nantes by Pius IX on 20 August 1877. Georges Simon, in: Société bibliographique (France) (1907), L'épiscopat français, p. 309.
66. Catteau had been a teacher at the junior seminary in Arras, and then secretary of Bishop Pierre-Louis Parisis. He was nominated bishop of Luçon by Imperial decree of 21 Aug 1877, and preconised (approved) by Pope Pius IX on 21 September 1877. He was consecrated on 21 November by Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Lequette, Bishop of Arras. He visited each of the parishes in his diocese at least seven times. Georges Simon, in: Société bibliographique (France) (1907), L'épiscopat français, pp. 309–310.
67. Born in 1950 at Fontainebleau, Bishop Jacolin is a member of the Missionnaires de la Plaine et de Sainte-Thérèse. He holds a licenciate in biblical theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University (Rome). He was transferred from the Diocese of Mende, where he had been bishop for eleven years (2007–2018), by Pope Francis on 29 May 2018. Diocèse de Luçon, Bienvenue à notre nouvel évêque : Mgr Jacolin; retrieved: 29 May 2018. (in French)

Bibliography

Reference books

• Eubel, Conradus, ed. (1913). Hierarchia catholica, Tomus 1 (second ed.). Münster: Libreria Regensbergiana. p. 315. (in Latin)
• Eubel, Conradus, ed. (1914). Hierarchia catholica, Tomus 2 (second ed.). Münster: Libreria Regensbergiana. pp. 181–182.
• Eubel, Conradus, ed. (1923). Hierarchia catholica, Tomus 3 (second ed.). Münster: Libreria Regensbergiana. p. 230.
• Gauchat, Patritius (Patrice) (1935). Hierarchia catholica IV (1592-1667). Münster: Libraria Regensbergiana. Retrieved 2016-07-06. p. 225.
• Ritzler, Remigius; Sefrin, Pirminus (1952). Hierarchia catholica medii et recentis aevi V (1667-1730). Patavii: Messagero di S. Antonio. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
• Ritzler, Remigius; Sefrin, Pirminus (1958). Hierarchia catholica medii et recentis aevi VI (1730-1799). Patavii: Messagero di S. Antonio. Retrieved 2016-07-06. p. 267.
• Sainte-Marthe, Denis de (1785). Gallia christiana, in provincias ecclesiasticas distributa. Vol. Tomus decimus-tertius (13). Paris: Johannes- Baptista Coignard. pp. 226–266, Instrumenta, pp. 181–220.

Studies

• Aillery, Eugène (1860). Pouillé de l'Evêché de Luçon (in French). Fontenay-le-Comte: Imprimerie de Robuchon.
• Jean, Armand (1891). Les évêques et les archevêques de France depuis 1682 jusqu'à 1801 (in French). Paris: A. Picard. pp. 135–139.
• Lacroix, Lucien (1890). Richelieu à Luçon: sa jeunesse--son épiscopat (in French). Paris: Letouzey et Ané.
• La Fontenelle de Vaudoré, Armand-Désiré (1847). Histoire du monastère et des évêques de Luçon (in French). Vol. premiere partie. Fontenay le Comte: Gaudin.
• La Fontenelle, A. D. de (1847). Histoire du monastère et des évêques de Luçon (in French). Vol. 2 parts. Fontenay-le-Comte: Gaudin.
• Tressay, Georges du (1869). Histoire des moines et des évêques de Luçon (in French). Vol. Tome I. Paris: Lecoffre Fils.
• Tressay, Georges du (1869). Histoire des moines et des évêques de Luc̦on (in French). Vol. Tome II. Paris: Lecoffre Fils.
• Tressay, Georges du (1870). Histoire des moines et des év́eq̂ues de Luco̧n (in French). Vol. Tome III (second ed.). Paris: Lecoffre, Palmé.
• Société bibliographique (France) (1907). Georges Simon (ed.). L'épiscopat français depuis le Concordat jusqu'à la Séparation (1802-1905) (in French). Paris: Librairie des Saints-Pères. pp. 304–310.

External links

• Annuaire du diocèse de Luçon (2017) (in French)
• Diocese of Luçon - catholic-hierarchy.org ^{[self-published]}

Acknowledgment

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Luçon". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

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