Originally erected in the 5th century, the Diocese of Rodez lost territory when the Diocese of Vabres was created by Pope John XXII on 11 July 1317. In 1801, the diocese was suppressed and its territory split and merged with the Diocese of Cahors and the Diocese of Saint-Flour.
In 1817, the diocese was restored and given jurisdiction over the ancient Diocese of Rodez, with the exception of (1) the deanery of Saint Antonin, which was incorporated with the Diocese of Montauban; (2) the ancient Diocese of Vabres; and (3) a few scattered communes of the Diocese of Cahors.
In 2022, in the Diocese of Rodez there was one priest for every 3,109 Catholics.
Foundation
Modern tradition attributes to St. Martial the foundation of the church of Rodez and the sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin at Ceignac, for according to Cardinal Bourret,[citation needed] the church of Rodez honoured St. Martial as early as the sixth century. There were evidently bishops of Rodez before 475, since Sidonius Apollinaris, in a letter of AD 475, mentions that the Goths left it at that date without bishops.[3]
Middle Ages
Vabres
The Benedictine Abbey of Vabres, founded in 862 by Raymond I, Count of Toulouse.[4] In 1061 or 1062 the abbey was in such a state of decay both in personnel and good order that its abbot, Deusdedit, arranged for it to submit itself to the control of the Abbey of S. Victor in Marseille; the abbot may have been encouraged or ordered by Pope Nicholas II to do so.[5] The abbey and its territory was raised to episcopal rank in 1317, and its diocesan territory was taken from the southeastern portion of the Diocese of Rodez.[6]
Some scholars hold that within the limits of the modern Diocese of Rodez there existed in Merovingian times the See of Arisitum which, according to Louis Duchesne, was in the neighbourhood of Alais.
Conques
The Diocese of Rodez is famous also through the Abbey of Conques and the cult of Saint Faith (Sainte Foy). Some Christians, flying from the Saracens about 730, sought a refuge in the "Val Rocheux" of the Dourdou and built an oratory there. In 790 the hermit Dadon made this his abode and aided by Louis the Pious, then King of Aquitaine, founded an abbey, which Louis named Conques. In 838 Pepin, King of Aquitaine, gave the monastery of Figeac to Conques. Between 877 and 883 the monks carried off the body of the youthful martyr Faith or Foy from the monastery of Sainte Foy to Conques, where it became the object of a great pilgrimage.
Abbot Odolric built the abbey church between 1030 and 1060; on the stonework over the doorway is carved the most artistic representation in France of the Last Judgment. Abbot Begon (1099–1118) enriched Conques with a superb reliquary of beaten gold and cloisonne's enamels of a kind extremely rare in France. Pope Paschal II gave him permission for the name of Sainte-Foy to be inserted in the Canon of the Mass after the names of the Roman virgins. At this time Conques, with Agen and Schelestadt in Alsace, was the centre of the cult of Saint Faith which soon spread to England, Spain, and America. The statue of St. Faith seated, which dates from the tenth century, was originally a small wooden one covered with gold leaf. In time, gems, enamels, and precious stones were added in such quantities that it is a living treatise on the history of the goldsmiths' art in France between the eleventh and sixteenth centuries. It was known during the Middle Ages as the "Majesté de Sainte Foy". The shrine enclosing the relics of the saint, which in 1590 was hidden in the masonry connecting the pillars of the choir of the abbey church, was rediscovered in 1875, repaired, transferred to the cathedral of Rodez for a novena, and brought back to Conques, a distance of 40 km, on the shoulders of the clergy.[7]
Other monastic foundations
The Cistercian Abbeys of Silbanès, Beaulieu, Loc-Dieu, Bonneval, and Bonnecombe were model-farms during the Middle Ages. Attacked by brigands in the Rouergue country on his way to Santiago di Compostella, Adalard, Viscount of Flanders, erected in 1031 a monastery known as the Domerie d'Aubrac, a special order of priests, knights, lay brothers, ladies, and lay sisters for the care and protection of travellers. At Milhau, Rodez, Nazac, and Bozouls, hospitals, styled "Commanderies", of this order of Aubrac adopted the rule of St. Augustine in 1162.
The Franciscans had four houses, at Rodez, Villefranche, Millau, and Saint-Antonin. The Carmelites had two houses, at Millau, and Saint-Antonin. The Benedictines had two houses, at Sévérac-le-Chateau and at Rieupayroux. The Carthusians had two houses, at Rodez and at Villefranche. The Capuchins had four houses, at Rodez, Villefranche, Millau, and Saint-Antonin. There were Augustinian Canons at Villefranche and Saint-Geniès-d'Olt.[8]
Town of Rodez
During the Middle Ages the Bishop of Rodez held temporal dominion over that portion of the town known as the Cité while in the eleventh century the Bourg became the County of Rodez. Until the expulsion of the English, the Rouergue was subject to the ducs de Guyenne, who were kings of England.[9] In 1770 the Bishop was the Count of Rodez, and was possessed of high, middle and low justice.[10] In 1770 the town itself had a population of around 5,000 persons, and was divided into two parishes, Saint-Amans (with 2,800 inhabitants) and Saint Martin-des-Près, in addition to the Cathedral parish.[11] The cathedral of Rodez (thirteenth and fourteenth centuries) is a beautiful Gothic building, famous for its belfry (1510–26) and unique rood-beam. The design of the façade is attributed to Guillaume Philandrier, who had been secretary of Bishop Georges d'Armagnac, and who had been given a Canonry in the cathedral. It was spared during the Revolution for dedication to Marat.[clarification needed] In 1772 the Cathedral Chapter was composed of twenty-five Canons, including 4 Archdeacons (Rodez, Millau, Saint-Antonin and Conques[12]), a Sacristan, a Master of the Works, and the Precentor. There were twenty-five choral vicars, 4 hebdomidaires, a sub-cantor, and twenty-five choristers.[13] The primary education of young children in the town was in the hands of four members of the Brothers of Christian Doctrine.[14]
There were also eleven collegiate churches in the diocese, each with Canons:[15]
Villefranche (a Provost, Sacristan, ten canons).
Saint-Foy de Conques (twenty canons, including the Abbot commendatory, Provost, Dean, Sacristan, Precentor, Treasurer, and Primicier).
Saint-Christophe (Prior and eleven Canons).
Varen (Dean, Sacristan, eight canons, two prebendaries).
Mur-de-Barrès (Dean, Sacristan, ten canons, two hebdomidaires, and ten prebendaries).
Salles-Curan (six canons and two clerics), founded by Bishop Delatour.
Saint-Léons (Prior and ten canons).
Lapanouse (five priests named by the Archdeacon of Rodez).
Saint-Laurent-d'Olt (seven members).
Saint-Antonin (twelve canons-regular and twelve secular prebendaries).
Aubrac (twelve to fourteen canons-regular).
Early modern period
The town of Millau (Milhau or Milhaud) adopted Calvinism in 1534, and in 1573 and 1620 was the scene of two large assemblies of Protestant deputies.[16] It was at Millau in the summer of 1574 that Henri, Prince of Condé (1552–1588) was elected 'Protector' of the Calvinist community in France (chef et gouverneur général des églises de France), beginning the Fifth War of Religion. There was, for a time, a Protestant college in Millau. In 1629 Milhau and Saint-Afrique, another Protestant stronghold, were taken and dismantled by order of Louis XIII.[17]
In 1628 a plague at Villefranche carried off 8000 inhabitants within six months; Father Ambroise, a Franciscan, and the chief of police Jean de Pomayrol saved the lives of many little children by causing them to bo suckled by goats.[citation needed][dubious – discuss]
In 1772, at the end of the Ancien Regime, the Diocese of Rodez had about 275,500 inhabitants. It was composed of 475 parishes and 66 annexes (churches maintained for the convenience of parishioners who lived too far from the parish church); they were divided into 48 districts, each with a Vicar Forane (supervisory priest) who was generally resident in the principal village of his district.[18]
Hilarian [fr], martyred by the Moors in the time of Charlemagne (eighth and ninth century);
Guasbert, founder and first abbot of the monastery of Montsalvy in the modern Diocese of St. Flour (eleventh century).
The chief shrines of the diocese are: Notre Dame de Ceignac, an ancient shrine rebuilt and enlarged in 1455, which over 15,000 pilgrims visited annually before World War I; Notre Dame du Saint Voile at Coupiac, another ancient[vague] shrine; Notre Dame des Treize Pierres at Villefranche, a pilgrimage site dating from 1509.[citation needed]
Denis Auguste Affre (1793–1848), born at Saint-Rome-de-Tarn and, while Archbishop of Paris, accidentally shot at the Barricades in 1848, despite clear warnings of the danger.
^Bouillet, Auguste; iServières, Louis (1900). Sainte Foy, vierge & martyre (in French). Rodez: E. Carrère. pp. 417–420. Auguste Bouillet; L. Servières (1904). Sainte Foy (in French). Rodez: Carrère. pp. 49–52, 62–63.
^Lempereur, p. 432. The parish priest of Saint-Amans noted (p. 436), however, that Henri IV was the last Count of Rodez, and that the title and high justice thereupon belonged to the King.
^Ritzler, VI, p. 361, note 1. Cf. Lempereur, p. 432; 436-440.
^A survey (pouillé) of the entire diocese was taken by order of Bishop de Cice, beginning on 15 October 1771. Lempereur, pp. i-ii; viii-ix.
^Maisonabe (ed.), "Sicard, 'Ruthena christiana'", pp. 331–333; Touzery, pp. 17–35, rejecting all critical scholarship in favor of local tradition, local amateur historians and dilettantes, and dubious scholarly procedures (such as arguments e silentio); he affirms that Martial was a disciple of St. Peter, and that he was accompanied by Amadour (also known as Zachaeus) and his wife Veronica (who owned the veil with the image of Christ imprinted on it).
^Amantius is known from a 9th century life. Duchesne, p. 40, no. 2.
^Quintianus assisted at the Councils of Agde (508) and Orléans (511). Jacques Sirmond (1789). Conciliorum Galliae tam editorum quam ineditorum collectio (in Latin). Vol. Tomus primus. Paris: P. Didot. pp. 796 and 843. He fled from the Goths to Auvergne, and was later Bishop of Clermont (Civitas Arvernorum). Gams, p. 612. Duchesne, p. 40, no. 2.
^Dalmatius participated in the Councils of Auvergne (535) and Orleans (541). He died ca. 580, according to Gregory of Tours, Historia Francorum V. 46. Gams, p. 612. Duchesne, p. 40, no. 3.
^Theodosius: Gregory of Tours, Historia Francorum V. 46 and VI 38. Gallia christiana I, pp. 199–200. Gams, p. 612. Duchesne, p. 40, no. 4.
^Innocentius was Count of Gévaudan, and appointed following the death of Theodosius. Gallia christiana I, p. 200. Gams, p. 612. Duchesne, p. 40, no. 5.
^Deusdedit: Gallia christiana I, p. 200. Gams, p. 612. He is not recognized by Duchesne, p. 40.
^Verus attended the Council of Paris in 614, and the Council of Clichy in 627. Gallia christiana I, p. 201. Gams, p. 612. Duchesne, p. 40-41, no. 7.
^Aredius: Gallia christiana I, p. 201. Gams, p. 612.
^Faraldus: Gallia christiana I, p. 201. Desjardins (1863), p. 146. Duchesne, p. 41, no. 8.
^Elizachar: Gallia christiana I, pp. 201–202. Desjardins (1863), p. 146. Duchesne, p. 41, no. 9.
^Aymar was present at the council of Ponthyon in 876. Jacques Sirmond, Concilia antiqua Galliae tres in tomos ordine digestaTomus III (Paris 1629), p. 444. He received a letter from Pope John VIII in 879: Desjardins (1863), p. 147.
^Vivianus was papal notary of Pope Innocent IV. Gallia christiana I, pp. 211–213. Eubel, I, p. 427, note 2.
^Raymond was a canon of the Cathedral of Rodez. Gallia christiana I, pp. 213–215. Eubel, I, p. 427.
^P. Calmet, "Pierre de Castelnau, évêque de Rodez (1318–1334)," Annales de Saint-Louis-des-Français (in French). Rome: St. Louis-des-Français. 1897. pp. 103–139.
^Faydite d'Aigrefeuille held the Licenciate in Canon Law. He had been Chancellor of the Church of Bourges. He was transferred to the diocese of Avignon on 18 July 1371. Eubel, I, pp. 124; 427 with n. 9.
^Marie-Henriette, Jullien de Pommerol (1986). "Guillaume d'Ortolan, Évêque de Rodez (1397-1417), et la bibliothèque de l'Éveché". Bibliothèque de l'École des Chartes. 144 (2): 259–298. doi:10.3406/bec.1986.450418. JSTOR42959223.
^Guillaume resigned, and was appointed titular Bishop of Diospolis in Egypt. Eubel, I, p. 427; II, p. 226, note 1.
^Abelly (Abely) was born in Paris, and obtained a doctorate in theology from the University of Bordeaux. He resigned the office in order to become a follower of St. Vincent of Paul, whose biography he subsequently wrote. Gauchat, IV, p. 299.
^Voyer de Paulmy: Ritzler, V, p. 338, with note 2.
^De Lézay was born in Paris and held a Licenciate in theology. He was nominated bishop of Rodez by King Louis XIV on 31 May 1684, but, due to the conflict between the King and Pope Innocent XI he did not receive papal approval until 12 October 1693. He therefore enjoyed the income of Rodez as its Administrator, but he had no spiritual powers in the diocese until 1684. Ritzler, V, p. 338, with note 3.
^La Voue was born in the family chateau in the diocese of Chartres. He was a Doctor of theology (Paris). He became Canon of the Cathedral Chapter of Rouen, then Archdeacon, and Vicar-General. On 18 May 1716 he was nominated bishop of Rodez by King Louis XV (in fact, by the Regent Philippe d'Orleans), and was preconized (approved) by Pope Clement XI on 8 June 1718. He died on 18 September 1733. Ritzler, V, p. 338, with note 4.
^D'Yse was appointed Archbishop of Vienne on 19 December 1746. Ritzler, VI, p. 361, with note 2.
^Grimaldi held a Licenciate in theology (Paris). He was Vicar-General of Rouen and a royal eleemosynary. He was nominated bishop of Rodez by King Louis XV on 11 September 1746. He was consecrated on 22 Jan 1747. Ritzler, VI, p. 361, with note 3. Grimaldi's nephew was Louis-André Grimaldi, Bishop of Le Mans, who sometimes substituted for his uncle at Rodez, as in the case of the Sacrament of Confirmation in the Cathedral in 1768. The Bishop of Le Mans was also Prior of St.-Côme and Prior of Brousse. Lempereur, p. 382; p. 435, with note 5; p. 543.
^Champion was a doctor and fellow of the Sorbonne. He was nominated by King Louis XV on 24 June 1770, and preconized (approved) by Pope Clement XIV on 6 August 1770. He was nominated Archbishop of Bordeaux by King Louis XVI on 28 January 1781. He resigned the diocese of Rodez on 30 March 1781, and was appointed Archbishop of Bordeaux on 2 April 1781, and granted the pallium on the same day. Ritzler, VI, p. 134, with note 4; p. 361, with note 4.
^Seignelay was born on August 13th, 1735, in Inverness (the diocese of Moray), Scotland; his family alleged to be related to the famous Colbert. He held a Licenciate in Civil and Canon Law. He was Vicar General of Toulouse for 16 years. He was nominated Bishop of Rodez by Louis XVI on 28 January 1781, and preconized (approved) by Pope Pius VI on 2 April 1781. He died in London on July 15th, 1811. See the anonymous review in The Quarterly Review. Vol. 48. London: John Murray. 1832. pp. 468–469. Ritzler, VI, p. 361, with note 5.
^Bourret was born at Lubro in the Ardèche. He was Professor of Canon Law at the Sorbonne for 10 years. He became secretary of the Archbishop of Tours, and was Vicar-General of Périgueux. He was consecrated in Paris on 30 November 1871 by Archbishop Joseph Hippolyte Guibert. Martin Bräuer (27 February 2014). Handbuch der Kardinäle: 1846-2012 (in German). Berlin: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. pp. 166–167. ISBN978-3-11-026947-5.
^Église catholique en Aveyron: Diocèse de Rodez, Biographie de l'Évêque, retrieved: 2016-12-11. (in French)
Calmet, P. (1897). "L'abbaye de Vabres et son erection en évêché," in: Annales de Saint-Louis-des-Français (in French). Rome: St. Louis-des-Français. 1897. pp. 487–539.
Desachy, Matthieu (1997). "Tables et «pointes» de la cathédrale de Rodez (XIVe–XVIe siècle)," Bibliothèque de l'École des chartes (in French). Vol. Tome 155. Paris: Librairie Droz. 1997. pp. 575–606. ISBN9782600002387.
Desachy, Matthieu (ed.) (2002): Fasti Ecclesiae Gallicanae. Répertoire prosopographique des évêques, dignitaires et chanoines des diocèses de France de 1200 à 1500. VI. Diocèse de Rodez. Turnhout, Brepols. (in French)
Desjardins, Gustave (1863). "Éveques de Rodez au IXe, au Xe, et au XIIe siècle, supplément au catalogue publié dans la Gallia christiana". Bibliothèque de l'École des Chartes. 4: 145–171. JSTOR42998531.
Lourdou, Magali (2003). "Les protestants et le consulat millavois au temps des premières guerres de religion (vers 1560-vers 1574)," Revue du Rouergue. 2003 (73) : pp. 49–66.
Bourret, J.-C.-E. (1902). Documents sur les origines chrétiennes de Rouergue. Saint Martial. (Rodez, 1902).
Servières, Louis (1872). Les Saints du Rouergue (Rodez, 1872).
Bocsquet, Tableau chronologique et biographiqu des cardinaux, archevéques et évêques originaires du Rouergue (Rodez, 1850).
Acknowledgment
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Rodez". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. (written by Georges Goyau)
