The Bishopric of Lodève is a former Roman Catholic diocese in southern France. Its episcopal see was located in Lodève, in the modern department of Hérault. It was a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of Narbonne.Ritzler & Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica V, p. 246, note 1. In 1790, the diocese was suppressed by the National Constituent Assembly, and in 1801 by Pope Pius VII. Its territory is now part of the archdiocese of Montpellier.
The seat of the bishop was in the cathedral of Saint Genesius (Saint Genès), dedicated in 975.J. Rouquette, Cartulaire de l'église de Lodève: Livre Vert, , (Montpellier: Rouquette 1923), p. 4. Constant Blaquière, Histoire de l'ancien diocèse de Lodève (XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles) d'après les visites pastorales, , (Montpellier: L. Valat, 1913), p. 67.
History A local tradition, found in the 14th century, has made Florus of Lodève the first bishop of Lodève, and relates that as a disciple of St. Peter, he afterwards evangelized Haute-Auvergne and died in the present village of Saint-Flour. The legend is without foundation and unworthy of credit.Fisquet, pp. 293–295.
Bishops of Lodève are believed to have existed since 421.Duchesne, p. 313. The first bishop known by name is Maternus, who was present at the Council of Agde in 506.Duchesne, p. 314, no. 1. The bishops of Lodève possessed the title of Comte de Montbrun. All the nobles in the diocese were his vassals and owed him an oath of fidelity.Fisquet, p. 290.
Among the bishops of Lodève are: (863–884), who had been a Benedictine monk of Conques and then of Vabres, was granted the royalties (teloneum) of the city of Lodève by Charles the Bald.Fisquet, p. 303. St. Fulcran (949–1006) in 975 dedicated the cathedral of St. Genès and founded the Abbey of St. Sauveur;Fulcran's life was written by Bernard Gui. Fisquet, p. 385. The brothers Guillaume Briçonnet (1489–1516)Fisquet, pp. 413–420. and Denis Briçonnet (1516–1520).Fisquet, pp. 420–421 were sons of Cardinal Guillaume Briçonnet, who had been the principal minister of state of King Charles VIII of France; both father and sons participated in the false council of Pisa in 1511, against Pope Julius II.
In 1210, King Philip II confirmed the possessions and rights of the Church of Lodève, and granted the bishops full temporal and ecclesiastical jurisdiction.Gallia christiana VI, "Instrumenta," p. 284. On 13 May 1302, King Philip IV confirmed the complete jurisdiction temporal and ecclesiastical, of the bishops of Lodève over the diocese of Lodève.Fisquet, p. 369.
The Dominican inquisitor and historian, Bernard Gui (1324–1331), who had been Bishop of Tuy (Spain), was appointed Bishop of Lodève by Pope John XXII on 20 July 1324.Eubel, Hierarchia catholica I, pp. 310, 501. He made his ceremonial entry on 15 October, the feast day of the dedication of the cathedral.Rouquette, p. 33: "Dominus Bernardus Guidonis, ordinis Predicatorum, fuit translatus de Tudensi Ecclesia ad Ecclesiam Lodovensem, et successit prefato Johanni, et receptus a dominis canonicis, et clero et populo rocessionaliter, ut moris est, nonis Octobris, dominica die qua festum Dedicationis cathedralis ecclesiae agebatur, anno M.III.XXIII (sic!). He had notaries compile four volumes of the old documents concerning feudal grants and other privileges of the bishops; another volume entitled Registrum privilegiorum et ecclesiarum episcopatus Lodovensis; and a Cronica de episcopis Lodovensibus.Rouquette, pp. 55–56. He also wrote books on the popes and the Inquisition.
Chapter and Cathedral The cathedral of Saint Genesius was served and administered by a corporation called the Chapter, consisting of thirteen canons, including the dignities of archdeacon, sacristan, precentor, and archpriest.Rouquette, p. 4. In May 1336, Bishop Bernard Gui(donis) changed the dignity of archpriest into the office of archpriest and vicar general, with the care of souls, though still retaining his place in the choir and his vote in the Chapter.Rouquette, pp. 74–75. In 1625, there were three dignities and nine canons.Gauchat, Hierarchia catholica IV, p. 223, note 1. In 1690 and in 1750, three dignities and twelve canons are recorded.Ritzler & Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica V, p. 246, note 1; VI, p. 264, note 1. Bishop Pierre de la Treille (1430–1441) and the Chapter agreed on a set of statutes for the Chapter in 1440.Roquette, pp. 120–129.
In 1573, the cathedral was invaded by Huguenots, and the body of Bishop Fulcran was removed from its tomb in the chapel of S. Michel in the bell tower, drug through the streets, and burned; what was left was thrown in the river. One of his hands, it was said, was rescued by faithful Catholics, and it was seen to work miracles.Fisquet, p. 315.
Bishop Christophe de Lestang
Christophe de Lestang (L'Estaing), had been a page and then a protégé of Cardinal René de Birague, Chancellor of France since 1570. On 28 November 1580, at the age of 20, he was made bishop of Lodève by papal dispensation of Pope Gregory XIII. Lestang made it his mission to destroy the power of the Protestants in Languedoc, for which he was given an annual grant of 12,000 ecus by King Henry III. His work brought him into great favor with the Catholic League. In May 1582, he was ordered by Henry de Montmorency, Governor of Languedoc, to tear down the great tower of the episcopal palace, including the prisons which had been built by Bishop Bernard de Gui, because it raised disquiet both among Huguenots and Catholics; the keys to the city gates were to be held by a Calvinist and a Catholic. In 1583, King Henri III personally informed the bishop that Duke Henri was trying to draw Languedoc away from obedience to himself. Working with and receiving funding from the Duke de Joyeuse, Bishop Lestang levied troops for the defense of Lodève, Clermont and other strategic places, actions which enraged Montmorency. He besieged Lodève in September 1585, and the bishop was forced to arrange a negotiated withdrawal, leaving the city to the duke. The bishop lived sometimes at Toulouse, sometimes at Narbonne. In 1586, Henri III granted him the right to live in the episcopal palace in Carcassonne and to enjoy the revenues of that diocese. In 1591 he was sent by the Catholic League to Spain, to thank King Philip II for his assistance, and to request its continuation. He then presided over the Estates of Toulouse in 1591, in cooperation with the Duke de Joyeuse. He presided over the Estates of the League again in 1596. Lestang was transferred to the diocese of Alet on 5 September 1594, but refused the transfer and never took possession of that diocese; the nomination came from Henry IV, whose excommunication was not lifted until 17 September 1595.Fisquet, pp. 446. Lestang's nephew, Pierre de Polverel, was appointed bishop of Alet on 19 February 1603.Pierre died in Rome on 20 August 1603, and his brother Étienne de Polverel was appointed in his place in 1607. Fisquet, p. 445. Eubel III, p. 181 with notes 3 & 4. Lestang was named bishop of Carcassonne on 26 May 1603. He died on 11 August 1621.Fisquet, pp. 445–450. Eubel III, pp. 191 with note 12; 227; Gauchat, Hierarchia catholica IV, p. 134 with note 3.
Jansenists Lodève had no seminary in the 17th century. Bishop François de Bosquet (1648–1655) installed the Congregation de la Doctrine ChretienneThe Congregation de la Doctrine Chretienne was involved in spreading Jansenist teachings, and Bishop de Bosquet is both faulted for his patronage of the members of the Congregation, and congratulated on his moderation. Émile Appolis, Le jansénisme dans le diocèse de Lodève au XVIIIe siècle (Albi: Imprimerie cooperative du Sud-ouest 1952), p. 7. in the collège of Lodève, and sent candidates for the priesthood there, though there were courses neither in philosophy nor theology. Advanced priestly education could only be had in institutions in other dioceses, though the costs made this expedient difficult. Bishop Jean-Antoine de La Garde de Chambonas (1671–1690) had to organize monthly seminars in an effort to raise the quality of his clergy.Émile Appolis, Le jansénisme..., p. 6.
Bishop de Bosquet also became heavily involved in the Jansenist controversy of the Five Propositions.Joseph Bergin (2004), Crown, Church, and Episcopate Under Louis XIV (New Haven CT USA: Yale University Press 2004), pp. 394–423. Pope Innocent X had written to his nuncio in Paris to have some bishops chosen who were conciliatory and well instructed. In 1653, Bosquet, who was a theologian and canonist,Bosquet was a doctor in utroque iure at the age of 17, and became a royal judge in Narbonne at the age of 29; he had acquired a knowledge of Hebrew, and was the author of five books. Honoré Fisquet, La France pontificale (Gallia Christiana): Montpellier, , Volume 1 (Paris: Etienne Repos, 1864), pp. 249–253 . and had been friendly to some of the Jansenists, was chosen by Cardinal Mazarin,Paule Jansen, Le Cardinal Mazarin Et Le Mouvement Janseniste Francais (Paris: Vrin, 1967), pp. 56–57; 64–67. on the advice of Pierre de Marca, to travel to Rome and represent the ninety French bishops, who were seeking a resolution to the impasse between the Jansenist bishops and the Papacy. His first audience with Pope Innocent X took place on 2 January 1654. His ultimate successes in persuading the pope and the cardinal to agree, and the Jansenist bishops to submit to papal authority, brought him, on 4 June 1654, the title of Assistant at the Papal Throne.Fisquet, p. 250. He returned to France in September 1654.Paul-Émile Henry, Francois Bosquet intendant de Guyenne et de Languedoc évêque de Lodève et de Montpellier: étude sur une administration civile et ecclésiastique au XVIIe siècle, (Cristin-Serre, 1889) pp. 364–403, esp. pp. 368–369. On 10 July 1655, Bosquet was nominated by King Louis XIV (that is, by Cardinal Mazarin) to be Bishop of Montpellier; on 31 January 1656, Pope Innocent confirmed the appointment.Gauchat, Hierarchia catholica IV, p. 248 with note 5.
Bosquet's successor, Roger de Harlay (1657–1669) was doubtless far more sympathetic to Jansenism than he had ever been.Appolis, Le jansénisme..., p. 8.
In 1698, the population of the diocese was approximately 26,700. In 1737, it was 28,364.Émile Appolis, p. 5. Protestants formed a small minority, in the south-east part of the diocese.Appolis, pp. 5–6. >Émile Appolis, "Les protestants dans le diocèse de Lodève dans 1659," , in: Bulletin philologique et historique (1936–1937), pp. 93–99.
French Revolution 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 "Hérault", and its meeting center rotated among Montpellier, Béziers, Lodève, and Saint-Pons.J. B. Duvergier, Collection complète des lois, décrets, ordonnances, règlemens avis du Conseil d'état, , Volume 1 (Paris: A. Guyot et Scribe, 1834), p. 106, col. 1: "33. HÉRAULT.- La première assemblée de ce département se tiendra à Montpellier, et alternera entre Béziers, Lodève, Saint-Pons et Montpellier. Ce département est divisé en quatre districts, dont les chefs-lieux sont: Montpellier, Béziers, Lodève, Saint-Pons."