The diocese was created in 1788, but the new bishop, Étienne-Jean-Baptiste-Louis des Gallois de la Tour,[1] although appointed by King Louis XVI on 29 May 1789, had not been approved (preconized) by Pope Pius VI before the outbreak of the French Revolution in July 1789.[2]
Under the Civil Constitution of the Clergy (12 July 1790) there was erected a diocese of Allier, with a Constitutional Bishop resident at Moulins. The French government, however, did not have the canonical power to erect dioceses, and therefore this new diocese was in schism with Rome.
The first Constitutional Bishop, Msgr. François-Xavier Laurent, had been a curé in the diocese of Autun before becoming a member of the Estates General; after his election by the voters of Allier, he was consecrated in Paris on 6 March 1791 by Constitutional Bishop Gobel.[3] In 1793, he abdicated and married. Laurent died in 1796,[4] or 10 May 1821.[5]
The appointment and consecration of Laurent, as well as the erection of the Diocese of Allier, were annulled by Pope Pius VI. Laurent's consecration was labelled blasphemous and schismatic.[6]
Under the Concordat of 11 June 1817 between King Louis XVIII and Pope Pius VII, the diocese of Moulins was re-established, from parts of the dioceses of Autun, Bourges, and Clermont-Ferrand, to cover the department of Allier. The implementation of the Concordat was delayed, however, by various circumstances brought about by the Hundred Days and the occupation of France by the Allies, as well as by the lack of funds both on the part of the French monarchy and the Papacy,[7] to say nothing about the machinations of ministers and diplomats.[8]
On 6 October 1822, Pope Pius VII issued a bull which created fourteen dioceses in France, including Moulins.[9] The first bishop was appointed in 1822, and in the same year the medieval collegiate church at Moulins was established as the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, the seat of the diocese. The diocese of Moulins was made a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Sens. This situation continued until 8 December 2002, when a major reorganization of the French diocesan structure made Moulins a suffragan of the Archbishop of Clermont.[10]
The current bishop is Marc Beaumont, appointed in 2021.
^Bullarii Romani continuatio (in Latin). Vol. Tomus septimus, Pars 2. Prato: Typographia Aldina. 1852. pp. 2295–2304.
^David M. Cheney, Catholic-Hierarchy.org, Diocese of Moulins, retrieved: 2017-01-29.
^Gallois had been vicar-general to the Bishop of Autun, Yves-Alexandre de Marboeuf (1767–1788). He was appointed Bishop of Moulins in 1788, as his patron was being promoted to the See of Lyon, but was not formally confirmed before the outbreak of the Revolution in 1789. Armand Jean, Les évêques et les archevêques de France depuis 1682 jusqu'à 1801 (Paris: A. Picard 1891), p. 218.
^Butaud-Dupoux, curé of the church of Saint-Pierre de Moulins, was elected by the 'electors' of Allier as their bishop in 1798. He was consecrated on 28 October 1798 in Paris by Constitutional Bishop Henri Grégoire. He died on 19 August 1803. Fisquet, pp. 166–167.
^Pons was born at Riom, a suburb of Clermont, of the local aristocracy, in 1759. He held a canonry in the Cathedral of Clermont, and held the post of Vicar General of the diocese. When the Civil Constitution of the Clergy was promulgated, he refused to take the required oath, and emigrated along with his bishop, to Piedmont. During his exile, he became Almoner to the Duchess of Angoulême. He returned in 1801. When the Concordat of 1817 was finally put into effect by papal action in 1822, Pons was appointed Bishop of Moulins by King Louis XVIII on 6 January 1822. His appointment was confirmed (preconized) by Pope Pius VII on 16 May 1823, and a royal ordinance of 2 July 1823 permitted Pons to receive the bulls for his consecration and installation. He was consecrated in Paris on 13 July by the Archbishop of Paris, Hyacinthe-Louis de Quelen, and took possession of his diocese by proxy on 29 July 1823. He set up the Cathedral Chapter, in accordance with a royal ordonance of 6 December 1823, and also a Major Seminary at Moulins. Subsequently he opened a Minor Seminary at Yseure in 1829. He died on 23 September 1849 in his 90th year. Fisquet, pp. 168–170. Abbé Clément, in: Société bibliographique (France) (1907), L'épiscopat français..., pp. 377–378.
^Dreux-Brézé was born at Brézé (Maine-et-Loire), third son of Henry Evrard, Marquis de Dreux-Brézé, Grand Master of Ceremonies of France. He was educated at Saint-Sulpice and in Rome, where he obtained a doctorate in theology. He was ordained a priest in 1835 and named an honorary Canon of Notre-Dame by Archbishop Quelen. In 1837 he was given the title of Vicar General of Paris. He was nominated Bishop of Moulins on 28 October 1849 by President Napoleon Bonaparte, and was approved by Pius IX on 7 January 1850. He was consecrated on 14 April 1850 at Notre-Dame de Paris by Archbishop Sibour. He was enthroned in his cathedral at Moulins on 1 May 1850. Fisquet, pp. 170-175. Abbé Clément, in: Société bibliographique (France) (1907), L'épiscopat français..., pp. 378–379.
^Dubourg was born at Loguivy-Plougras (Côtes-du-Nord) in 1842. He studied at the Minor Seminary in Tréguier and the Major Seminary in Saint-Brieuc. He was a teacher at the Minor Seminary for four years after his ordination (1865–1869), and then became assistant Secretary of the Bishop David (1869), and Secretary (1870). He was made an honorary Canon of Saint-Brieuc in 1873, and Vicar General in 1882. He became Archdeacon of Saint-Brieuc in 1890. On 14 January 1893 he was named Bishop of Moulins, receiving papal approval on 19 January. He took possession of the diocese on 9 April by proxy, and was consecrated bishop on 16 April 1893 by Bishop Pierre-Marie-Frédéric Fallieres of Saint-Brieuc. On 6 August 1906 he was transferred to the Archdiocese of Rennes, and on 4 December 1916 he was named a cardinal by Pope Benedict XV. He died on 22 September 1921. Abbé Clément, in: Société bibliographique (France) (1907), L'épiscopat français..., pp. 379–380.
^Lobbedey was born in Bergues (diocese of Lille) in 1856. He studied in Rome, where he obtained a doctorate in theology and a licenciate in canon law. He served in several missions in northeastern France until he was appointed Vicar General of the diocese of Cambrai on 28 June 1897, and Archdeacon of Flanders. Lobbedey was appointed Bishop of Moulins on 5 August 1906, and was consecrated a bishop on 26 August in the Cathedral of Cambrai by Archbishop Monnier. He was enthroned on 11 September. On 5 May 1911 he was appointed Bishop of Arras. He was awarded the cross of the Legion of Honor in October 1916 for his service to wounded and dead French soldiers. He died on 26 December 1916.The Catholic Encyclopedia: Supplement 1. NY: Encyclopedia Press. 1922. p. 467. Yves-Marie Hilaire (1977). Une Chrétienté au XIXe siècle ?: La vie religieuse des populations du diocèse d'Arras (1840-1914) (in French). Lille: Presses Univ. Septentrion. pp. 780–783. ISBN978-2-85939-073-0.
^Gonon had previously been Archpriest of Chalon-sur-Saône.
^Jacquin was born at Algnay-le-Duc (Côte d'Or) on 2 April 1881. He was ordained a priest in 1906, and appointed bishop of Moulins on 7 October 1942. He was consecrated on 8 December 1942 by Bishop Guillaume-Marius Sembel of Dijon, and made his solemn entry into his diocese on 22 December. David M. Cheney, Catholic-Hierarchy.org, Bishop Georges-Clément-Joseph-Edouard Jacquin, retrieved: 2017-01-28.
^Bougon was born in Amiens in 1905. He was ordained a priest in 1928, and appointed Bishop of Moulins on 2 August 1956 by Pope Pius XII. He was consecrated a bishop on 16 October 1956 by Bishop René-Louis-Marie Stourm of Amiens. He resigned on 2 December 1975, and died on 26 November 1986. Annuario Pontificio (Vaticano 1969), p. 311.
