Roman Catholic Diocese of Fréjus-Toulon

(Redirected from Bishopric of Fréjus)

The Diocese of Fréjus–Toulon (Latin: Dioecesis Foroiuliensis–Tolonensis; French: Diocèse de Fréjus–Toulon) is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in southeastern France on the Mediterranean coast. The present diocese comprises the territory of the ancient Diocese of Fréjus as well as that of the ancient Diocese of Toulon. In 1957 it was renamed as the Diocese of Fréjus–Toulon.[1]

Diocese of Fréjus–Toulon

Dioecesis Foroiuliensis–Tolonensis

Diocèse de Fréjus–Toulon
Location
Country France
Ecclesiastical provinceMarseille
MetropolitanArchdiocese of Marseille
Statistics
Area6,022 km2 (2,325 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics
(as of 2021)
1,075,653
645,200 (60%)
Parishes91
Information
DenominationCatholic
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
Established4th Century
CathedralCathedral of Notre Dame in Toulon
Co-cathedralCo-Cathedral of Saint Léonce in Fréjus
Patron saintSt. Leontius of Fréjus
St. Mary Magdalene
Secular priests215 (Diocesan)
95 (Religious Orders)
21 Permanent Deacons
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
BishopDominique Rey
Metropolitan ArchbishopJean-Marc Aveline
CoadjutorFrançois Touvet
Map
Website
diocese-frejus-toulon.com
Co-Cathedral of Saint Léonce in Fréjus

Under the Civil Constitution of the Clergy the département of Var constituted a diocese, absorbing the former ancient dioceses of Toulon, Fréjus, Grasse and Vence.[2] It was suppressed by the Concordat of 1801, re-established ineffectually by that of 1817, and definitively established in 1823,[3] when its assigned territory comprised once more the whole département of Var. A Papal Brief of 1852 authorized the bishop to assume the title of Bishop of Fréjus and Toulon. It was and has remained a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Aix-en-Provence and Arles,

The arrondissement of Grasse until 1860 belonged to the département of Var, when it was annexed to that of the Alpes-Maritimes. In 1886 it was separated from Fréjus and attached to the Diocese of Nice.

Since 16 May 2000, the Bishop of Fréjus–Toulon has been Bishop Dominique Marie Jean Rey.

History

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Christianity would seem to have been introduced into Fréjus in the fourth century. In 374 a certain Acceptus, who had just been elected to the See of Fréjus, falsely declared himself guilty of some crimes in order to rid himself of the episcopal dignity. At the Council of Valence, which met in July of 374,[4] he begged the Church to name another in his place. The Council decided that his actions made it inappropriate for him to be consecrated a bishop.

Fréjus was completely destroyed by the Saracens in the early tenth century. It was Bishop Riculfus who began the reconstruction of the cathedral.[5]

The following are named among the bishops of this see:

Bishops

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To 1000

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  • before 419 – 433:[7] Leontius[8]
  • 433–455: Theodorus[9]
  • 463–465: Asterius[10]
  • 475?: Auxilius[11]
  • 484?–506: Victorinus[12]
  • ? 524: Joannes (Jean, John)[13]
  • 527–529: Lupercianus
  • 541: Dionysius (Didier)
  • 549–554: Expectatus
  • 582: Epiphanius
  • 636: Martin
  • ...
  • 909–911: Benedict
  • 949–952: Gontar
  • 973–1000?: Riculfus[14]

1000 to 1300

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1300 to 1500

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1500 to 1800

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Under Louis XIV, who enjoyed the right to nominate bishops to all French sees with the exception of Metz, Verdun and Toul, the See of Fréjus was often an early stepping-stone for careers of clerics whose ambitions lay elsewhere.[26]

From 1800

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Bishop Dominique Marie Jean Rey

Saints

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The Island of Lérins, well known as the site of the celebrated monastery founded there in 410, was sold in 1859 by the bishop of Fréjus to an English purchaser. A number of the saints of Lérins are especially honoured in the diocese. Among them are Sts. Honoratus, Caesarius, Hilary, and Virgilius, all of whom became archbishop of Arles; Quinidius, Bishop of Vaison; Valerius, Bishop of Nice; Maximus, Bishop of Riez; Veranus and Lambertus, both Bishop of Vence; Vincent of Lérins, author of the Commonitorium, and his brother Lupus, Bishop of Troyes; Agricola, Bishop of Avignon; Aigulphus and Porcarius, martyrs; St. Tropesius,[33] martyr during the persecution of Emperor Nero; St. Louis of Toulouse (1274–1297), a native of Brignoles, in the Diocese of Toulon, and later Archbishop of Toulouse; and the virgin St. Roseline, prioress of the monastery of La Celle-Roubaud, who died in 1329, and whose shrine, situated at Les Arcs near Draguignan, has been for six centuries a place of pilgrimage, are likewise especially honoured in the diocese.

The sojourn in 1482 of St. Francis of Paola at Bormes and at Fréjus, where he caused the cessation of the plague, made a lasting impression.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Diocese of Fréjus–Toulon". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 21 January 2015.[self-published source]
  2. ^ Paul Pisani (1907). Répertoire biographique de l'épiscopat constitutionnel (1791-1802) (in French). Paris: A. Picard et fils. p. 350.
  3. ^ "Fréjus". Catholic Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2007-02-18.
  4. ^ Giovanni Domenico Mansi (1759). Giovan Domenico Mansi (ed.). Sacrorum conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio (in Latin). Vol. Tomus Quartus (IV) (editio novissima ed.). Florence: Antonio Zatta. pp. 491–499.
  5. ^ Barr Ferree, "French Cathedrals: Fréjus," Architectural Record. Vol. 7. McGraw-Hill. 1897. pp. 134–142, at p. 138.
  6. ^ C. Eubel, Hierarchia catholica II (Monasterii 1914), p. 25. Eubel, III, p. 56.
  7. ^ Duchesne, p. 285, no. 1.
  8. ^ Leontius of Fréjus (419-433), brother of Castor of Apt and friend of John Cassian, who dedicated to him his first ten "Collationes", and of St. Honoratus, founder of the monastery of Lérins
  9. ^ He participated in the Councils of Riez in 439, Orange in 441, Vaison in 442, Arles in 450, and Arles (probably) in 455. Duchesne, p. 285, no. 2.
  10. ^ Asterius, episcopus Forojuliensis was present at a Roman council in November of 465 under Pope Hilarius, along with the Bishops of Embrun and Avignon. Albanès, Gallia christiana novissima, pp. 320-321. Despite Albanès' vigorous argumentation, Duchesne (p. 285 note 7) is hesitant and does not include Asterius in his list.
  11. ^ Auxilius of Ireland (c. 475), formerly a monk of Lérins, and later a martyr under Euric, Arian King of the Visigoths Albanès, p. 321-323.
  12. ^ Ralph W. Mathisen (1999). Ruricius of Limoges and Friends: A Collection of Letters from Visigothic Gaul; Letters of Ruricius of Limoges, Caesarius of Arles, Euphrasius of Clermont, Faustus If Riez, Graecus of Marseilles, Paulinus of Bordeaux, Sedatus of Nîmes, Sidonius Apollinaris, Taurentius and Victorinus of Fréjus. Liverpool UK: Liverpool University Press. ISBN 978-0-85323-703-7.
  13. ^ At the Council of Arles in 524, a Bishop Joannes is mentioned, but without his diocese. It is conjectured that he was Bishop of Fréjus: Duchesne, p. 286, no. 4.
  14. ^ Riculfus (973-1000) restored the ruins made by the Saracens, and built the cathedral and the episcopal palace.
  15. ^ Bertrand (1044–91) founded the collegiate church of Barjols
  16. ^ Pope Innocent III (1198-1216) authorized the Archbishop of Aix to accept the resignation of Bishop Fredol, in accordance with the bishop's wishes, on the grounds of insufficientiam et defectum. Brenda Bolton, Derek Baker, ed. (3 August 1972). Schism, Heresy and Religious Protest. Ecclesiastical History Society, Studies in Church History, 9. Cambridge: CUP Archive. pp. 81, n. 2. ISBN 978-0-521-08486-4. J.-P. Migne (ed.) Patrologiae Latinae Tomus CCXIV 214, p. 374.
  17. ^ He was forced to resign due to ill health: Georges de Manteyer (1908). La Provence du premier au douzième siècle: études d'histoire et de géographie politique (in French). Vol. Tome 1. Paris: Picard. p. 398.
  18. ^ Eubel, I, p. 252. Albanès, p. 364-366.
  19. ^ Eubel, I, p. 532. Albanès, p. 367, is of the opinion that Pierre du Pin was never bishop of Fréjus. Bulls of appointment and consecration were never issued.
  20. ^ Eubel, I, p. 252 and n. 8. Albanès, pp. 368-369.
  21. ^ Emmanuel was an appointee of Urban VI, of the Roman Obedience. He never claimed his throne or his income. Only one document concerning him survives, dated 2 November 1385: the grant of an extension for the paying of the fees due to the Apostolic Camera for his appointment: Albanès, pp. 374-375.
  22. ^ Louis de Bouillac was appointed by Pope Clement VII of the Avignon Obedience. Albanès, pp. 375-376.
  23. ^ Gilles (Aegidius Juvenalis) was appointed by Pope Alexander V, elected by the Cardinals of both the Roman and the Avignon Obedience, at the Council of Pisa. Albanès, pp. 376-378.
  24. ^ Eubel, II, p. 155.
  25. ^ Eubel, III, p. 197.
  26. ^ Joseph Bergin (2004). Crown, Church, and Episcopate Under Louis XIV. New Haven CT USA: Yale University Press. p. 322. ISBN 978-0-300-10356-4.
  27. ^ Eubel, III, p. 197.
  28. ^ Eubel, III, p. 197.
  29. ^ Honoré Jean P. Fisquet (1864). La France pontificale . Métropole de Bordeaux. Bordeaux (in French). Paris: É. Repos. pp. 347–350.
  30. ^ Rigouard was elected on 12 April 1791, and consecrated in Paris on 22 May by Constitutional Bishop Gobel. He was one of the "Reunis" of 1795, who wanted to make their peace with the Pope. He died on 5 May 1800. Paul Pisani (1907). Répertoire biographique de l'épiscopat constitutionnel (1791-1802) (in French). Paris: A. Picard et fils. pp. 350–352.
  31. ^ Espitalier (1904), pp. 75-92.
  32. ^ Espitalier (1904), pp. 94-96.
  33. ^ Mahmoud Salem Elsheikh (1977). Leggenda di San Torpè (in Italian). Firenze: Presso l'Accademia della Crusca.

Bibliography

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Reference works

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Studies

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43°07′54″N 5°58′25″E / 43.13167°N 5.97361°E / 43.13167; 5.97361