The Diocese of Séez (Latin: Dioecesis Sagiensis; French: Diocèse de Séez) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in France. Originally established in the 3rd century, the diocese encompasses the department of Orne in the region of Normandy. The episcopal see is the cathedral in Sées,Note that the names of the town and the diocese are spelled differently and the diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Rouen.
In 2022, in the Diocese of Séez there was one priest for every 2,836 Catholics.
History Saint Ebrulf, a native of the Diocese of Bayeux, founded, after 560, several monasteries in the Diocese of Séez; one of them became the important Abbey of Saint-Martin-de-Séez,Gallia christiana XI, pp. 712–728. which, owing to the influence of its administrator-general, Cardinal Richelieu, the chief Minister of King Louis XIII, was reformed in 1636 by the Benedictines of Saint-Maur.
Richard I of Normandy (942–996) rebuilt the abbey of Fécamp.Hommey, vol. 1, p. 399. Fécamp was an abbey of women. In 990, Bishop Azon (c. 986–1006) consecrated the church of the Abbey of the Trinity at Fécamp. In 1006, he attended a Chapter held at the monastery.Hommey, vol. 1, p. 401.
Chapter and cathedral Bishop Azon (c. 986–1006) began the building of a new cathedral, dedicated to Nôtre-Dame-du-Vivier.Hommey, vol. 1, pp. 401–402. In 1045, the old cathedral was burned to the ground, during an attack by the freebooting brothers Richard, Robert and Avesgaud de Soreng.Hommey volume 2, p. 5. The cathedral of Séez dates from the twelfth century; that of Alençon was begun in the fourteenth. The new cathedral of Séez was begun by Bishop Yves de Bellême (c. 1035–1070).Hommey volume 2, pp. 14–15. It was consecrated by Bishop Jean (1123–1143) on 21 March 1126.Hommey, volume 2, pp. 265–266. In mid-1802, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Caprara, the papal legate in France, without consideration of local sensibilities, changed the dedication of the cathedral to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
In 1129, the cathedral Chapter, which was responsible for the service and administration of the cathedral, was reorganized, and changed from secular priests to religious priests following the Rule of Saint Augustine as practiced by the Canons Regular of Saint Victor in Paris. In 1131, the arrangement was approved by Innocent II at the Council of Reims.Hommey, vol. 2, pp. 5–14. The Chapter was headed by eight dignities (Provost, Cantor, Achdeacon of Séez, Archdeacon Oximensis, Archdeacon Hulmensis, Archdeacon Bellensis, Archdeacon Corbonensis, and the Penitentiary) and sixteen canons (including the Theologus and the Praeceptor).Gallia christiana vol. 11, pp. 674–675. Ritzler & Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica VI, p. 362, note 1.
On 25 May 1199, Pope Innocent III signed the bull "Quoties a Nobis" for the canons of the cathedral of Séez, confirming all their privileges and possessions in detail.Hommey III, pp. 68–72. Gallia christiana XI, "Instrumenta", p. 169.
On 22 November 1547, after striking an agreement with the canons and receiving the permission of King Henri II, Bishop Pierre Duval (1545–1564) replaced the Canons Regular of the cathedral with secular canons. A bull was obtained from Pope Paul III, "Clementia ejus" dated 19 November 1547, ratifying the agreement.Hommey, Vol. 3, p. 13; pp. 26–33. Marais & Beaudoin, pp. 152–157. Gallia christiana vol. 11, "Instrumenta," pp. 176–196.
A provincial council of Normandy was held on 1 October 1196, in which Bishop Lisiard of Séez participated.Hommey III, p. 62.
La Trappe in fulfillment of a vow, Count Rotrou II of Perche established in 1122, at Soligny, the Abbey of La Trappe, in favour of which bulls were issued by Pope Eugene III ("Apostolici moderaminis," 7 June 1147),Hyacinthe de Charencey, Cartulaire de l'abbaye de Notre-Dame de la Trappe (Alençon: Typographie Renaut-De-Broise, 1889), pp. 580–581. Pope Alexander III ("Religiosam Vitam," 18 December 1173) and Pope Innocent III ("Non absque dolore," 30 October 1203).[A Cistercian monk], A Concise History of the Cistercian Order, (London: T. Richardson and Son, 1852), pp. 141–178. Hyacinthe de Charencey, Histoire de l'abbaye de la Grande-Trappe, , Volume 1 (Mortagny: Imp. du Bonhomme Percherou, 1896), pp. 43–53; p. 60. In 1214, Bishop Sylvester (1202–1220) assisted Archbishop Robert of Rouen in the dedication of the abbey church of La Trappe.Hommey III, p. 97.
A printing press was established in the diocese at Alençon in 1530, by Simon Dubois, soon joined by another by Robert Malassis.Hommey, vol. 4, p. 37.
Protestants Bishop Pierre Duval (1545–1564) attended the Colloquy of Poissy in September–October 1561, presided over by Queen Mother Catherine de Medici, which attempted, unsuccessfully, to achieve a reconciliation between Catholics and Protestants in France.Hommey, vol. 4, pp. 44–47. In the next year, Comte Gabriel de Montgomery, who had become a Protestant and who gave refuge to fellow believers in his domain near Vimoutiers in the diocese of Séez, 43 km (26.5 mi) north of Sées, conducted a sudden attack on Alençon which successfully brought the Protestants into possession of the city.Hommey, vol. 4, pp. 47–49. They also raided Le Perch in the east, and the abbey of Belle-Étoile in the west of the diocese. In February 1563, Coligny and the Huguenot army, accompanied by Theodore de Bèze, entered the diocese. On 18 March, having pillaged the monastery of Almenèches, Coligny and part of his army arrived in Sées, where the house of the Cordeliers was pillaged and three of the friars killed. Fortunately, Bishop Duval was in Italy, attending the Council of Trent.Hommey, vol. 4, pp. 55–62.
In 1568, open warfare between Catholics, led by the Marshal de Marigny, and the Protestants, led by Gabriel de Montgomery, broke out again in the diocese. In May, the situation was so bad in Sées that Bishop Louis de Moulinet (1564–1601) had to leave along with some of his clergy and seek refuge in Argentan. In September 1568, Protestant forces led by Montgomery entered Sées, and entirely destroyed the abbey of Saint-Martin. The cathedral and other churches in the neighborhood were pillaged. In November 1569, Bishop de Moulinet preached and conferred minor orders in Alençon, whose priest had apostasized and joined the Calvinists. Alençon quickly became a center of Protestantism.Marais & Beaudoin, pp. 161–165. It was not until 1571 that Matigny was able to give his attention to repairing the damage which had been done to the city of Sées.Hommey, vol. 4, pp. 73–76.
During the continuation of the St Bartholomew's Day massacre in 1572,Hommey, vol. 4, pp. 80–86. Jacques Matignon, governor of Alençon and leader of the Catholics, succeeded in saving the lives of the Protestants at Alençon. Catholic priests and nuns were harassed and driven out.Henry White, The Massacre of St. Bartholomew: Preceded by a History of the Religious Wars in the Reign of Charles IX, (New York: Harpers; J. Murray, 1868), p. 448. Hommey, vol. 4, pp. 83–84.
The future bishop of Séez, Jean Bertaut (1606–1611), who was Abbot of Sainte-Marie-d'Aulnay and First Almoner to Queen Catherine de Medici at the time, was present at the assassination of King Henry III of France on 1 August 1589. Bertaut supported the legal heir, the Protestant Henry of Navarre, who became King Henry IV of France.Hommey, vol. 4, pp. 159–160. The future bishop Claude de Morenne (1600–1606) presented a funeral oration at the death of Henry III, and wrote poems and a panegyric for the coronation of Henry IV.René Courtin, Histoire du Perche, , (Mortagne: Marchand & Gilles 1893), p. 111.
French Revolution
On 2 November 1789, the National Assembly proclaimed that all ecclesiastical property was confiscated by the State.J. B. Duvergier, Collection complète des lois, décrets, ordonnances, règlemens avis du Conseil d'état, , Volume 1 (Paris: A. Guyot et Scribe, 1834), pp. 64–65: "L'Assemblée nationale décrète, 1º que tous les biens ecclésiastiques sont à la disposition de la nation, à la charge de pourvoir, d'une manière convenable, aux frais du culte, à l'entretien de ses ministres, et au soulagement des pauvres, sous la surveillance et d'après les instructions des provinces; 2º que dans les dispositions à faire pour subvenir à l'entretien des ministres de la religion, il ne pourra être assuré à la dotation d'aucune cure moins de douze cents livres par année, non compris le logement et les jardins en dépendant". Marais & Beaudoin, pp. 255–257.
Even before it directed its attention to the Church directly, the National Constituent Assembly attacked the institution of monasticism. On 13 February 1790. it issued a decree which stated that the government would no longer recognize solemn religious vows taken by either men or women. In consequence, Orders and Congregations which lived under a Rule were suppressed in France. Members of either sex were free to leave their monasteries or convents if they wished, and could claim an appropriate pension by applying to the local municipal authority.Duvergier, Collection complète des lois, décrets, ordonnances, règlemens avis du Conseil d'état, Volume 1, p. 118: "La loi constitutionnelle du royaume ne reconnaitra plus de voeux monastiques solennels des personnes de l'un ni de l'autre sexe: en conséquence, les ordres et congrégations réguliers dans lesquels on fait de pareils voeux sont et demeureront supprimés en France, sans qu'il puisse en être établi de semblables à l'avenir." Michael Burleigh, Earthly Powers: The Clash of Religion and Politics in Europe, from the French Revolution to the Great War (New York: Harper Collins 2006), p. 54.
The National Constituent Assembly ordered the replacement of political subdivisions of the ancien régime with subdivisions called "departments", to be characterized by a single administrative city in the center of a compact area. The decree was passed on 22 December 1789, and the boundaries fixed on 26 February 1790, with the effective date of 4 March 1790.Pisani, pp. 10–11. A new department was created called "Orne," and Alençon became the administrative city in the department.Duvergier, p. 108: "59. ORNE. L'assemblée de ce département se tiendra dans la ville d'Alençon. Il est divisé en six districts, dont les chefs-lieux sont: Alençon, Domfront, Argentan, l'Aigle, Bellesme, Mortagne."
The National Constituent Assembly then, on 6 February 1790, instructed its ecclesiastical committee to prepare a plan for the reorganization of the clergy. At the end of May, its work was presented as a draft Civil Constitution of the Clergy, which, after vigorous debate, was approved on 12 July 1790. There was to be one diocese in each department,"Civil Constitution," Title I, "Article 1. Chaque département formera un seul diocèse, et chaque diocèse aura la même étendue et les mêmes limites que le département." requiring the suppression of approximately fifty dioceses.Ludovic Sciout, Histoire de la constitution civile du clergé (1790–1801): L'église et l'Assemblée constituante, , Vol. 1 (Paris: Firmin Didot 1872), p. 182: Art. 2 "...Tous les autres évêchés existant dans les quatre-vingt-trois départements du royaume, et qui ne sont pas nommément compris au présent article, sont et demeurent supprimés." The diocese of Orne (Seez) was named the diocese of the department of Orne, and its seat fixed at Seez.Duvergier, p. 242. A new metropolitanate was created, the "Metropole des côtes de la Manche," with its metropolitan seated in Rouen. Orne (Séez) was one of its suffragans.Duvergier, p. 242; "L'arrondissement de la métropole des côtes de la Manche comprendra les évêchés des départemens de la Seine-Inférieure du Calvados, de la Manche, de