On 16 December 2002, the see – officially Archdiocese of Avignon (-Apt, Cavaillon, Carpentras, Orange, and Vaison) – lost its Metropolitan status and became instead a suffragan see of Marseille. In 2009 its name was changed to Archdiocese of Avignon, the secondary titles being suppressed.
History
There is no evidence that either Saint Rufus, disciple of Saint Paul according to certain traditions the son of Simon of Cyrene, or Saint Justus, likewise held in high honour throughout the territory of Avignon, was venerated in antiquity as bishop of that see. The first bishop known to history is Nectarius,[2] who took part in several councils about the middle of the fifth century. Saint Agricol (Agricolus), bishop between 650 and 700, is the patron saint of Avignon.
In 1475 Pope Sixtus IV raised the diocese of Avignon to the rank of an archbishopric, in favour of his nephew Giuliano della Rovere who later became Pope Julius II.[3]
^Henning, Christophe (12 January 2021). "Pope appoints retired bishop to heal divided French diocese". La Croix International. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
^Gagnière et al. 1979, p. 109.
^Girard 1958, pp. 71–72.
^ a b c d e f g h i jDuprat 1909b, p. 151.
^ a b cPalanque 1951, pp. 132–133.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l mEubel 1913, p. 123.
^Gams 1857, p. 504.
^ a bEubel 1913, p. 124.
^ a b cEubel 1914, p. 100.
^Eubel 1923, p. 126.
^Eubel 1923, p. 127.
^ a b cGauchat 1935, p. 105.
^Gauchat 1935, pp. 105–106.
^ a bGauchat 1935, p. 106.
^ a b c d eRitzler & Sefrin 1952, p. 109.
^ a b cRitzler & Sefrin 1958, p. 111.
^ a b c d e fDelaunay 2016.
Sources
Delaunay, Cécile (20 June 2016). "L'Épiscopat francais depuis 1919" (PDF). Centre national des Archives de l'Église de France. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
Duprat, E. (1908). "Les origines de l'église d'Avignon". Mémoires de l'Académie de Vaucluse (in French). 8: 373–405.
Duprat, E. (1909a). "Les origines de l'église d'Avignon (suite)". Mémoires de l'Académie de Vaucluse (in French). 9: 1–50.
Duprat, E. (1909b). "Les origines de l'église d'Avignon (suite et fin)". Mémoires de l'Académie de Vaucluse (in French). 9: 105–168.
Eubel, Conradus, ed. (1913). Hierarchia catholica (in Latin). Vol. 1 (1198–1431) (2nd ed.). Münster: Libreria Regensbergiana. pp. 123–124.
Eubel, Conradus, ed. (1914). Hierarchia catholica (in Latin). Vol. 2 (1431–1503) (2nd ed.). Münster: Libreria Regensbergiana. p. 100.
Eubel, Conradus, ed. (1923). Hierarchia catholica (in Latin). Vol. 3 (1503–1592) (2nd ed.). Münster: Libreria Regensbergiana. pp. 126–127.
Gagnière, Sylvain; et al. (1979). Histoire d'Avignon (in French). Aix-en-Provence, France: Édisud. ISBN 2-85744-056-1.
Gams, Pius Bonifacius (1857). Series episcoporum Ecclesiae catholicae (in Latin). Graz: Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt. pp. 503–505.
Gauchat, Patritius (Patrice) (1935). Hierarchia catholica (in Latin). Vol. 4 (1592–1667). Münster: Libraria Regensbergiana. pp. 105–106.
Girard, Joseph (1958). Évocation du Vieil Avignon (in French). Paris: Les Éditions de Minuit. OCLC 5391399.
Palanque, Jean-Rémy (1951). "Les évêchés provençaux à l'époque romaine" (PDF). Provence Historique (in French). 1 (3): 105–143.
Ritzler, Remigium; Sefrin, Pirinum, eds. (1952). Hierarchia catholica (in Latin). Vol. 5 (1667–1730). Münster: Monasterii Sumptibus. p. 109.
Ritzler, Remigium; Sefrin, Pirinum, eds. (1958). Hierarchia catholica (in Latin). Vol. 6 (1730–1799). Münster: Monasterii Sumptibus. p. 111.
Further reading
Albanes, J. H.; Chevallier, Ulisse (1920). Gallia christiana novissima: Avignon : (évêques, archevêques, prévots) (in Latin). Montbéliard: Soc. Anonyme d'Impr. Montbéliardaise.
Duchesne, Louis (1907). Fastes épiscopaux de l'ancienne Gaule (in French). Vol. Tome 1: Provinces du Sud-Est. Paris: Albert Fontemoing. pp. 266–270.
Girard, Joseph (1931). "Avignon (Diocèse)". Dictionnaire d'Histoire et de Géographie ecclésiastiques (in French). Vol. 5: Athéisme – Azzon. Paris: Letouzey et Ané. Columns 1142–1153. OCLC 163130941.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Avignon.
Official site of the Diocese of Avignon
Diocese of Avignon on the website of the Église catholique en France
"Archdiocese of Avignon France". GCatholic.org.
Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Avignon" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.