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Diocese of Coutances

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Diocese of Coutances (–Avranches)
Dioecesis Constantiensis (–Abrincensis)
Diocèse de Coutances (–Avranches)
Coutances Cathedral
Coutances Cathedral
Location
Country France
Ecclesiastical province Rouen
Metropolitan Archdiocese of Rouen
Statistics
Area 5,991 km2 (2,313 sq mi)
Population
Total
Catholics 		(as of 2021)
491,532
408,740 (83.2%)
Parishes 58
Information
Denomination Catholic
Sui iuris church Latin Church
Rite Roman Rite
Established 5th Century (As Diocese of Coutances)
12 July 1854 (As Diocese of Coutances-Avranches)
Cathedral Coutances Cathedral
Patron saint Blessed Virgin Mary
St. Laud of Coutances
Secular priests 112 (Diocesan)
4 (Religious Orders)
50 Permanent Deacons
Current leadership
Pope Leo XIV
Bishop Grégoire Cador
Metropolitan Archbishop Dominique Lebrun
Map
Website
coutances.catholique.fr

Diocese of Coutances — The Diocese of Coutances (–Avranches) (Latin: Dioecesis Constantiensis (–Abrincensis); French: Diocèse de Coutances (–Avranches)) is a Latin diocese 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).

In 2021, in the Diocese of Coutances there was one priest for every 3,523 Catholics.

History of the Diocese of Coutances

The diocese of Coutances was founded in Frankish times but the bishop had to flee to Rouen in the ninth century due to Viking raids and was not able to return until at least 1025 despite the Christianisation of the Duchy of Normandy.[1]

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.[2]

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.[3] 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.[4]

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.[5] 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.[6]

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.[7] The town contained three parishes, one community of male religious and one monastery of monks. The entire diocese contained 170 parishes.[8]

The Diocese of Avranches was abolished during the French Revolution by the Legislative Assembly, under the Civil Constitution of the Clergy (1790).[9] 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.

List of bishops

Bishops of Coutances

to 1050

  • Ereptiolus,[10] c. 430–473
  • Exuperus (or Exuperatus), c. 473–500[11]
  • Leontianus, c.500–512[12]
  • Possessor, c. 512–523[13]
  • Lauto (Saint-Lô), c. 525–565[14]
  • Romacharius (Rumpharius), c. 566–600?[15]
  • Saint Ursinus[16]
  • Ulfobertus, c. 600–610
  • Lupicinus, c. 610–640
  • Nepus
  • Chairibonus, attested 650[17]
  • Waldomar (or Baldomer), c. 650–660
  • Hulderic, c. 660–674
  • Frodemundus, 677–690[18]
  • Wilbert[19] (or Aldebert)
  • Agathius
  • Livin
  • Wilfrid
  • Joshua
  • Leon
  • Angulon
  • Hubert
  • Willard, c. 820– c. 840[20]
  • Herluin, c. 840–862[21]
  • Sigenand (or Seginand), c. 862–880[22]
  • Lista (or Listus), c. 880–888/90[23]
  • Raguenard, c. 898–???
  • Herlebaud (or Erleboldus)[24]
  • Agebert
Bishops in exile at Rouen
  • Theodoric (Thierry), c. 911[25]
  • Herbert I
  • Algerund (Algeronde)
  • Gilbert (Gillebert)
  • Hugues I (Hugh), c. 989–1025[26]
Bishops in Saint–Lô

from 1050 to 1400

from 1400 to 1600

from 1600 to 1854

Bishops of Avranches

  • Nepos,[69] (attested 511)
  • Severus[70] c. 520
  • Perpetuus[71] 533–541
  • Egidius[72] 549–550
  • Paternus,[73] (died 565)
  • Senator (Saint Sénier),[74] 563
  • Saint Leudeuald, Leodovaldus[75] c. 580
  • Hildoaldus[76] c. 614– after 627
  • Saint Rahentrannus, Ragertran, Ragertrannus[77] (after 681 or 683)
  • Aubertus,[78] c. 708
  • Jean I c. 840[79]
  • Ansegardus[80] c. 847–c. 853
  • Remedius[81] 855
  • Walbert[82] c. 859–c. 862
  • Norgod (Norgaud) c. 990–c. 1017 or 1018
  • Maugis (Maingise) 1022–c. 1026
  • Hugo 1028–c. 1060
  • Jean d'Ivry (or de Bayeux) 1060–1067, in 1068 Archbishop of Rouen, son of Rodulf of Ivry[83]
  • Michael I 1068–1094
  • Turgis (Turgise) 1094–1134
  • Richard de Beaufou 1134–1142
  • Richard de Subligny 1142–1153
  • Herbert II 1154–1161[84]
  • Achard of St. Victor 1162–1171
  • Richard III 1171–1182
  • Guillaume I Bureau 1182–c. 1195
  • Guillaume II de Chemillé 1196–1198
  • Guillaume III Tollerment 1199–1210
  • Guillaume IV Bureau 1210–1236
  • Guillaume V de Saint-Mère-Eglise 1236–1253
  • Richard IV L`Ainé 1253–1257
  • Guillaume VI 1257–1258
  • Richard V L`Anglois 1259–1269
  • Raoul de Thiéville 1269–1292
  • Geoffroi Boucher 1293–1306
  • Nicolas de Luzarches 1307–1311
  • Michel II de Pontorson 1311–1312
  • Jean III de La Mouche 1312–1327
  • Jean IV de Vienne 1328–1331
  • Jean V Hautfune 1331–1358
  • Foulque Bardoul 1358–1359
  • Robert I de La Porte 1359–1379
  • Laurent de Faye[85] 1379–1391 (Avignon Obedience)
  • Jean VI de Saint-Avit[86] 1391–1442 (Avignon Obedience)
  • Martin Pinard 1442–1458
  • Jean VII Bouchard 1458–1484
  • Louis de Bourbon-Vendôme 1484–1510
  • Louis Herbert 1511–1526
  • Agostino Trivulzio 1526 (administrator)
  • Jean VIII de Langeac 1526–1532
  • Robert Ceneau (Robert Cénalis) 1532–1560 (also Bishop of Vence and Bishop of Riez)
  • Antoine Le Cirier 1561–1575
  • Augustin Le Cirier 1575–1580
  • Georges de Péricard 1583–1587
  • François de Péricard[87] 1588–1639
  • Charles Vialart de Saint-Paul[88] 1640–1644
  • Roger D'Aumont[89] 1645–1651
  • Gabriel Boislève[90] 1652–1657
  • Gabriel-Philippe de Froulay de Tessé[91] 1668–1689
  • Pierre Daniel Huet[93] 1689–1699
  • Roland-François de Kerhoen de Coettenfau[94] 1709–1719
  • César Le Blanc, O.C.S.A.[95] 1719–1746
  • Pierre-Jean-Baptiste Durand de Missy[96] 1746–1764
  • Raimond de Durfort[97] 1764–1766
  • Joseph-François de Malide[98] 1766–1774
  • Pierre-Augustin Godard de Belbeuf[99] 1774–1790

Bishops of Coutances and Avranches

See also

Canonical status and jurisdiction

Roman Catholic Diocese of Coutances is a diocese of the catholic church of the Catholic Church.[110]

From the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia

Diocese of Coutances (Constantiensis). The Diocese of Coutances comprises the entire department of La Manche and is a suffragan of the Archbishopric of Rouen. 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 Countances and Avranches.

The Diocese of Coutances

The catalogue of the bishops of Coutances, as it was made out about the end of the eleventh century, gives as the first bishops St. Ereptiolus and St. Exuperatus (fourth century). Leontianus, the first bishop historically known, attended the Council of Orleans in 511. Coutances counted among its prelates Saint Lô (Lautro), prominent in the great councils of the middle of the sixth century; St. Rumpharius, apostle of Barfleur (d. about 586); St. Frémond (Frodemundus), who, assisted by Thierry III, founded a monastery and a church in honour of the Blessed Virgin in 679 at Ham, near Valognes; Blessed Geoffroy de Monthray (1049-1093), friend of William the Conqueror, whose episcopate was signalized by the building of the cathedral of Coutances, to which purpose he devoted large sums of money that he had gathered in Apulia, and also by the founding of the Benedictine Abbeys of Lessay, Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte, and Montebourg, and of the canonries of Cherbourg; Hugues de Morville (1202-1238), organizer of charities in the diocese and founder in 1209 of the celebrated Hôtel-Dieu of Coutances; Philibert de Montjeu (1424-1439), who presided over the deputation of theologians sent by the Council of Basle to the Bohemians and Moravians in order to reconcile them to the Church, and Giuliano della Rovere (1476-1478), afterwards pope under the name of Julius II. The account book of Thomas Marest, curé of Saint-Nicolas of Coutances (1397-1433) is very interesting for the history of social life during the Hundred Years' War. The Huguenots took possession of the city in 1562, but were banished in 1575. Through the efrorts of the venerable Père Eudes the cathedral of Coutances was the first church in the world to have an altar dedicated to the Sacred Heart.

The Diocese of Avranches

Nepos, the first bishop known to history, assisted at the Council of Orléans in 511. Among its bishops Avranches included: St. Pair, or Paternus (d. 565), a great founder of monasteries, notably that of Sessiacum, near Granville, which took the name of Saint-Pair; St. Leodovaldus (second half of sixth century); St. Ragertrannus, Abbot of Jumiè (about 682); St. Aubert, who in 708 founded the Abbey of Mont Saint-Michel; Robert Ceneau (1533-1569), author of numerous works against the Calvinists; and Pierre-Daniel Huet (1689-1699), a celebrated savant who assisted Bossuet in educating the son of Louis XIV and directed the publication of the Delphin edition of the classics. Between 865 and 990, in the troubled period caused by the victories of the Bretons and the incursions of the Normans, the archbishops of Rouen were titulars of the See of Avranches. In the Middle Ages the bishops of Avranches were at the same time barons of Avranches, barons of Saint-Philbert-sur-Rilles, and proprietors of numerous domains in England and Jersey. The school of Avranches, in which Lanfranc taught and Anselm studied, was famous in the eleventh century. The cathedral where, in September, 1171, Henry II of England swore before the legates of Alexander III that he was entirely innocent of the murder of St. Thomas Becket was a beautiful monument of the eleventh and twelfth centuries. It collapsed during the Revolution. (See.)

The Diocese of Coutances and Avranches honours in a special way St. Pientia (Pience), put to death in the third century for having facilitated the burial of St. Nicasius, the apostle of Vexin, and conspicuously honoured in the litrugy of Avranches; St. Floxel, born in the district of Cotentin, and martyred at the beginning of the fourth century; St. Scubilio, companion of the bishop St. Pair, and founder of the monastery of Mandane on Mont Tombe (subsequently Mont Saint-Michel); Sts. Sénier, Gaud, and Fragaise, monks of Sessiacum; St. Germanus of Scotland, who, in the fifth century, evangelized the Saxon colonies of the district of Bessin; St. Severus, the shepherd (sixth century), who was perhaps Bishop of Avranches; the monk St. Marcouf (sixth century), founder of an abbey called after him, and whose name is borne by an island to which he retired each Lent for extraordinary mortification; St. Hélier, disciple of St. Marcouf, beheaded in a grotto at Jersey; St. Ortaire, Abbot of Landelles (end of sixth century); St. Paternus of Coutances, monk at Sessiacum, then at Sens and finally assassinated (eighth century); St. Leo of Carentan, born about 810, a protégé of Louis the Debonair and martyred at Bayonne; the English hermit St. Clair (ninth century); St. Guillaume Firmat (eleventh century), hermit, pilgrim to the Orient, and patron of the collegiate church of Mortain; Blessed Thomas Hélie of Biville, chaplain to St. Louis (thirteenth century); Julie Postel, known in religion as Sœur Marie-Madeleine (1756-1846), a native of Barfleur, declared Venerable in 1897.

Many men worthy of mention in ecclesiastical history were natives of this diocese: Alexandre de Villedieu (thirteenth century), canon of Avranches and author of a Latin grammar universally studied during the Middle Ages; the learned but visionary Guillaume Postel (d. 1581), professor of mathematics and Oriental languages in the Collège de France; the Franciscan friar Feuardent (1539-1610), prominent in the Wars of the League; Cardinal du Perron (1556-1618), who converted Henry IV; the Calvinistic publicist Benjamin Basnage (1580-1652); the physician Hamon (1618-1687), well known in the history of Jansenism; Jean de Launoy (1603-1678), celebrated for his critical work in ecclesiastical history; Marie des Vallées, the demoniac (d. 1656), who made a great sensation in her day and whose sayings were gathered into four volumes by the Venerable Père Eudes, who had exorcised her; the Abbé de Beauvais (1731-1790) and the Jesuit Neuville (1693-1774), both great preachers; the Abbé de Saint-Pierre (1658-1743), author of the "Paix perpétuelle", and the Eudist Le Franc, superior of the Coutances seminary in the eighteenth century and the first Catholic publicist to write against Freemasonry.

Before the enforcement of the law of 1901 there were in the diocese Oratorians, Sulpicians, Eudists, and a local congregation of Brothers of Mercy of the Christian Schools, founded in 1842 (mother-house at Montebourg), and there are Trappists still at Bricquebec. The diocese includes several congregations of women: the Tertiary Sisters of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, founded in 1686; the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, founded in the seventeenth century by Père du Pont, a Eudist, and in 1783 placed under the patronage of the Sacred Heart, being the oldest French congregation known by that title; the Sisters of Mercy of the Christian Schools, founded in 1802 at Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte by the Venerable Sœur Postel. Diocesan missionaries are installed at Biville, near the tomb of Blessed Thomas Hélie, a much frequented place of pilgrimage.

In 1900 the diocese included in religious institutions, 28 infant schools, 1 orphanage for boys and girls, 3 boys' orphanages, 24 girls' orphanages, 6 industrial schools, 35 hospitals, hospices, and asylums; 30 houses of nursing sisters, and 3 insane asylums. The statistics for the end of 1905 (close of the Concordat period) indicate a population of 491,372, with 61 pastorates, 612 succursal parishes (mission churches), and 284 curacies, then remunerated by the State.

Gallia Christiana (ed. nova, 1759), XI, 466-509, 562-3, 863-911, 983, and Instrumenta, 105-24, 217-82. L'Histoire chronologique des évêques d'Avranches de maitre Julien Nicole (1669) and L'Histoire ecclesiastique du diocèse de Coutances, also written in the seventeenth century by RENÉ TOUSTAIN DE BILLY (1643-1709), curé of Mesnil-Opac, are works of sufficient historic value to have been republished in our day, the first by Beaurepaire, the second by Héron (Rouen, 1884-6). LECANU, Histoire du diocèse de Coutances et Avranches (Coutances, 1877); PIGEON, Le diocèse d'Avranches (Coutances, 1890); IDEM, Vies des saints du diocèse de Coutances et Avranches (Avranches, 1892, 1898); LE CACHIEUX, Essai historique sur l'Hôtel-Dieu de Coutances (Paris, 1895); DUCHESNE, Fastes épiscopaux, II, 221-4, 236-40; CHEVALIER, Topo-bibl., 816-818, 286-7.

References

  1. Back to citation Morris 2012, p. 87.
  2. Back to citation Arthur John Eagleston (1949). "Chapter VI The Channel Islands and the Diocese of Coutances". The Channel Islands Under Tudor Government, 1485-1642: A Study. Published for the Guernsey Society at the University Press. pp. 49 ff.
  3. Back to citation 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. ISBN 9782877546041.
  4. Back to citation Gallia christiana XI, p. 863, 908. Lecanu, II, pp. 95-114. Ritzler, VI, p. 179 note 1.
  5. Back to citation Gallia christiana XI, p. 912-913. Jean, p. 352.
  6. Back to citation Lecanu, II, p. 106.
  7. Back to citation Pouillés of the diocese of Avranches: Auguste Longnon (1903). Pouillés de la province de Rouen (in French and Latin). Paris: Imprimerie Nationale. pp. 141–178, at 160. ISBN 9782877546041.
  8. Back to citation 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.
  9. Back to citation 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.
  10. Back to citation Duchesne, pp. 237-238.
  11. Back to citation Gams, p. 542.
  12. Back to citation 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.
  13. Back to citation Possessor: Duchesne, p. 239 no. 2.
  14. Back to citation 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.
  15. Back to citation 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.
  16. Back to citation Ursinus possibly however bishop of Constance; the town of Saint-Ursin in Saint-Jean-des-Champs is perhaps named after him. Gams, p. 542.
  17. Back to citation Chairibonus attended the Council of Châlon-sur-Saône in 650. Duchesne, p. 240 no. 4. De Clercq, p. 309.
  18. Back to citation 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.
  19. Back to citation Willebertus is said to have been present at a Council of Rouen in 693. Gallia christiana XI, p. 866. Absent from Mansi and De Clercq.
  20. Back to citation Widlardus is mentioned in documents of 829 and 835. Duchesne, p. 240 no. 7.
  21. Back to citation Herluinus is mentioned in documents between 843 and 862. Duchesne, p. 240 no. 8.
  22. Back to citation Siginandus was present at the Council of Soissons in 866, and at the Council of Ponthion in 876. Duchesne, p. 240 no. 9.
  23. Back to citation 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
  24. Back to citation Herlebaldus is mentioned in a charter of Charles the Simple on 22 February 906. Duchesne, p. 241 no. 12.
  25. Back to citation 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.
  26. Back to citation 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.
  27. Back to citation Herbert was transferred to Lisieux in his second year as Bishop of Coutances. Gallia christiana XI, p. 869.
  28. Back to citation Bishop Geoffrey was consecrated at Rouen on 10 April 1048. He left Saint–Lô and returned the seat of the diocese to Coutances. The new cathedral was consecrated on 8 December 1056. He was justiciar for William the Conqueror. He died at Coutances on 3 February 1093. Christopher Dennis (2012). The Career of Geoffrey de Montbray, Bishop of Coutances (1048-1093) and Unus de Primatibus Anglorum ('one of the Chief Men of the English'). Cardiff University. Leslie Stephen, ed. (1890). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. XXI. Garnett-Gloucester. London: Smith Elder. pp. 130–132.
  29. Back to citation 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.
  30. Back to citation Jean d'Essay died on 31 October 1274. Toustain de Billy. II, pp. 1-53. Eubel, I, p. 205.
  31. Back to citation Eustache was provided by the Pope in 1282. He died on 7 August 1291. Toustain de Billy. II, pp. 54-75. Eubel, I, p. 205.
  32. Back to citation 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.
  33. Back to citation 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.
  34. Back to citation 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.
  35. Back to citation 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.
  36. Back to citation 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.
  37. Back to citation 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.
  38. Back to citation 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.
  39. Back to citation 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.
  40. Back to citation 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.
  41. Back to citation Montjeu: Gallia christiana XI, pp. 891-892. Lecanu, I, pp. 241-248.
  42. Back to citation 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.
  43. Back to citation 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.
  44. Back to citation 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.
  45. Back to citation 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.
  46. Back to citation 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.
  47. Back to citation 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.
  48. Back to citation 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.
  49. Back to citation 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.
  50. Back to citation De la Trémoïlle: Lecanu, I, pp. 283-284.
  51. Back to citation Cossé–Brissac: Lecanu, I, pp. 284-287.
  52. Back to citation Esquetot: Lecanu, I, pp. 301-302.
  53. Back to citation Martel: Lecanu, I, pp. 302-305.
  54. Back to citation Cossé–Brissac: Lecanu, I, pp. 307-317.
  55. Back to citation 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.
  56. Back to citation Nicolas de Briroy: Gallia christiana XI, pp. 903-905.
  57. Back to citation Bourgoin: Gallia christiana XI, p. 905.
  58. Back to citation Léonor Goyon: Gallia christiana XI, pp. 905-906.
  59. Back to citation Auvry: treasurer of Sainte-Chapelle. Gallia christiana XI, pp. 906-907.
  60. Back to citation Le Clerc: Gallia christiana XI, pp. 907-908.
  61. Back to citation Loménie: Gallia christiana XI, pp. 908-909. Jean, pp. 350-351. Ritzler, V, p. 169, with note 3.
  62. Back to citation Goyon: Gallia christiana XI, p. 909. Jean, p. 351. Ritzler, V, p. 169, with note 4.
  63. Back to citation 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.
  64. Back to citation 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.
  65. Back to citation Paul Pisani (1907). Répertoire biographique de l'épiscopat constitutionnel (1791-1802) (in French). Paris: A. Picard et fils. pp. 177–182.
  66. Back to citation 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.
  67. Back to citation Dupont: Gautan Guillot, in: Société bibliographique (France) (1907), L'épiscopat français..., pp. 206-207.
  68. Back to citation 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.
  69. Back to citation 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.
  70. Back to citation Severus' episcopacy is attested only from the 11th century on. Duchesne, II, p. 223.
  71. Back to citation Perpetuus was present at the Council of Orléans of 533, and was represented at the Councils of 538 and 541. Duchesne, II, p. 224, no. 2.
  72. Back to citation Aegidius: Duchesne, II, p. 224, no. 3.
  73. Back to citation Paternus was present at the Council of Paris of ca. 557/573. De Clercq, p. 210. Duchesne, II, p. 224, no. 4.
  74. Back to citation Senator's episcopacy is first attested even later than Severus' (11th century). Duchesne, II, p. 223.
  75. Back to citation Leodevaldus is mentioned by Gregory of Tours, Virtutes Martini II, 36. Duchesne, II, p. 224, no. 5.
  76. Back to citation 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.
  77. Back to citation Ragertrannus: Duchesne, pp. 224-225, no. 7.
  78. Back to citation The list of bishops of Avranches printed by Duchesne, p. 222, places S. Authbertus before Rahentrannus. Gallia christiana XI, pp. 472-473.
  79. Back to citation Gams, p. 505.
  80. Back to citation 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.
  81. Back to citation Remedius was present at the Council of Bonneuil in 855. Mansi, Tomus XV, p. 28. Duchesne, p. 225 no. 9.
  82. Back to citation 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.
  83. Back to citation Elisabeth M. C. van Houts (translator), The Gesta Normannorum Ducum of William of Jumieges, Orderic Vitalis, and Robert of Torigni (1995), note p. 149.
  84. Back to citation 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.
  85. Back to citation 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.
  86. Back to citation Jean de Saint-Avit had been Abbot of S. Medard (diocese of Soissons). Eubel, I, p. 66.
  87. Back to citation Pericard: Gauchat, Hierarchia catholica IV, p. 65, with note 2.
  88. Back to citation Vialart: Gauchat, Hierarchia catholica IV, p. 65, with note 3.
  89. Back to citation Aumont: Gauchat, Hierarchia catholica IV, p. 65, with note 4.
  90. Back to citation Boislève: Gauchat, Hierarchia catholica IV, p. 65, with note 5.
  91. Back to citation Froulay de Tessé: Jean, pp. 343-344. Ritzler, V, p. 65 with note 2.
  92. Back to citation 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.
  93. Back to citation 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.
  94. Back to citation Kerhoent: Jean, pp. 344-345. Ritzler, V, p. 65 with note 4.
  95. Back to citation Le Blanc: Jean, p. 345. Ritzler, V, p. 65 with note 5.
  96. Back to citation 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.
  97. Back to citation Durfort: Jean, p. 345. Ritzler, VI, p. 61 with note 3.
  98. Back to citation Malide: Jean, pp. 345-346. Ritzler, VI, p. 61 with note 4.
  99. Back to citation Belbeuf: Jean, p. 346. Ritzler, VI, p. 61 with note 5.
  100. Back to citation 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.
  101. Back to citation Bravard: Gautan Guillot, in: Société bibliographique (France) (1907), L'épiscopat français... pp. 210-211.
  102. Back to citation 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.
  103. Back to citation 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.
  104. Back to citation 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.
  105. Back to citation 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. ISBN 978-3-11-026947-5. Salvador Miranda, The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, Guyot, Louis-Jean, retrieved: 2017-01-15.
  106. Back to citation Lalanne was transferred by Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday, January 31, 2013, to be Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pontoise, in Pontoise, France. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-02-09. Retrieved 2013-03-06.
  107. Back to citation Diocèse de Coutances, Le parcours de Mgr Laurent le Boulc'h Archived 2017-01-16 at the Wayback Machine (in French), retrieved: 2017-01-15.
  108. Back to citation "Resignations and Appointments, 01.04.2023" (Press release). Holy See Press Office. 1 April 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  109. Back to citation "Resignations and Appointments, 05.08.2023" (Press release). Holy See Press Office. 5 August 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  110. Back to citation Roman Catholic Diocese of Coutances, official website

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