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Diocese of Saint-Étienne

*Dioecesis Sancti Stephani*

Diocèse de Saint-Étienne
Diocese of Saint-Étienne; Dioecesis Sancti Stephani; Diocèse de Saint-Étienne
	Cathedral of S. Charles Borromeo
Location
Country	France
Ecclesiastical province	Lyon
Metropolitan	Archdiocese of Lyon
Statistics
Area	3,035 km2 (1,172 sq mi)
Population; - Total; - Catholics	(as of 2022); 603,000 (est.) ; 473,000 (est.)
Parishes	25
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	26 December 1970
Cathedral	Cathedral of Saint Charles Borromeo in Saint-Étienne
Patron saint	Saint Stephen
Secular priests	62 diocesan ; 15 (Religious Orders) ; 36 Permanent Deacons
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Sylvain Bataille
Metropolitan Archbishop	Olivier de Germay
Map
Website
	Website of the Diocese

The Diocese of Saint-Étienne (Latin: Dioecesis Sancti Stephani; French: Diocèse de Saint-Étienne) is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in France, based in the Loire department, on the left (western) bank of the Loire River, opposite Vienne. The distance by road from Vienne to Saint-Étienne is 51 km (32 mi).

History

Since the mid-19th century, it was realized that the diocese of Lyon, consisting of the two civil departments of Loire and Rhône, was too large for efficient administration. Several attempts to reform the situation were made, notably in 1916, when a group of Catholics from Saint-Étienne petitioned the Vatican unsuccessfully for a division of the two departments.^[1] The Vatican's response was to appoint an auxiliary bishop of Lyon, who would reside at Saint-Étienne, a solution which persisted until 1971. Bishop Hyacinthe-Jean Chassagnon served as Auxiliary Bishop from 28 June 1917 to 19 June 1922, when he was appointed bishop of Autun. Bishop Etienne Bornet was Auxiliary Bishop from 16 December 1937 to 4 June 1958.^[2] Bishop Paul-Marie François Rousset was Auxiliary Bishop from 24 January 1966 to 23 February 1971, when he became the first bishop of Saint-Étienne.

The Diocese of Saint-Étienne was established on 26 December 1970 by Pope Paul VI, out of the Archdiocese of Lyon-Vienne and consists of the arrondissements of Saint-Étienne, and Montbrison, thus constituting the greater part of the department of the Loire, except the arrondissement of Roanne.^[3] In the preamble of the bull, Paul VI remarks that the principal driving force behind the legislation was the decree of the Second Vatican Council, Christus Dominus, promulgated on 28 October 1965. It called for a reorganization of dioceses and of diocesan boundaries in the light of demographic changes which had taken place in the 20th century.^[4] Negotiations were held, therefore, with the French Episcopal Conference, the archbishop of Lyon and his suffragan bishops. the papal nuncio in France, and the Vatican administration, and the decision was reached to establish a new diocese,^[5] which was made a suffragan of the archdiocese of Lyon.^[6]

Pope Paul was specifically insistent that a seminary be established, citing the Second Vatican Council's decree Optatam totius.^[7] Nonetheless, the number of priests in the diocese has declined from 384 (1980) to 77 (2022).^[8]

The seat of the bishop is the cathedral of Saint-Charles, in the city of Saint-Étienne, dedicated to Saint Charles Borromeo (French: Cathédrale Saint-Charles-de-Borromé de Saint-Étienne). The first stone of the church of S. Charles, which became the cathedral, was laid on 3 November 1912. Work was interrupted by World War I, and only resumed in 1919. The church was finally consecrated by Cardinal Archbishop Louis-Joseph Maurin (1916–1936) on 23 May 1933.^[9]

List of bishops

Paul-Marie François Rousset, 1971–1987^[10]
Pierre Jacques Joatton, 1988–2006^[11]
Dominique Lebrun, 2006–2015^[12]
Sylvain Bataille (18 May 2016– )^[13]

References

^ Nizay, p. 243.
^ Nizay, p. 244.
^ Pope Paul VI, "Signa Temporum," 26 December 1970, in: Acta Apostolicae Sedis Vol. 63 (1971), pp. 724-726.
^ Christus Dominus,, § 22: "... a fitting revision of diocesan boundaries be undertaken prudently and as soon as possible. This can be done by dividing dismembering or uniting them, or by changing their boundaries, or by determining a better place for the episcopal see or, finally, especially in the case of dioceses having larger cities, by providing them with a new internal organization."
^ Pope Paul VI, "Signa Temporum," p. 724: "Quapropter venerabilis Frater Noster Alexander Carolus S. R. E. Cardinalis Renard, Archiepiscopus Lugdunensis, eiusque Suffraganei, audita Conferentia Episcoporum Galliae, ab Apostolica Sede postulaverunt ut eiusdem archidioecesis territorium dismembraretur, nova exinde ecclesiastica circumscriptio erigeretur...."
^ Pope Paul VI, "Signa Temporum," p. 725: "Constitutam dioecesim suffraganeam metropolitanae Sedi Lugdunensi facimus, eius vero Ordinarium metropolitano iuri eiusdem Ecclesiae Archiepiscopi."
^ Pope Paul VI, "Signa Temporum," p. 725: "item ad Seminarii erectionem quod attinet alumnorumque educationem serventur praescripta Iuris Canonici, normae decreti Concilii Vaticani II « Optatam totius » et regulae peculiares a Sacra Congregatione pro Institutione Catholica statutae.
^ Cheney, "Diocese of Saint-Étienne"
^ Soleil, pp. 38-39.
^ On 24 January 1966, Rousset was named titular BIshop of Utimma and Auxiliary-Bishop of Lyon; he had special oversight of the region of Saint-Étienne. He was appointed the first bishop of the new diocese of Saint-Étienne by Pope Paul VI on 23 February 1971. He resigned on 28 September 1987, at the age of 66.
^ Jotton had been a collaborator of Cardinal Albert Decourtray (1985–1994), Archbishop of Lyon (1981–1994). Bishop Joatton was president of the Comité épiscopal des migrations of the French Episcopal Conference (CEF) until 1994, and a signatory of its report, Un peuple en devenir: l'Église et les migrants, in 1995.
^ Lebrun was named Archbishop of Rouen on 10 July 2015. "Rinunce e nomine" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 10 July 2015. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
^ "Rinunce e nomine, 18.05.2016" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 18 May 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2023. A native of Soissons, Bataille had been Rector of the Pontifical French Seminary in Rome from 2009 to 2014. He was then Vicar-general of the diocese of Beauvais (2014–2016). Mathilde Montagnon, "Sylvain Bataille, nommé évêque de Saint-Étienne," (in French), Ici, par France Bleu et France 3 Mercredi 18 mai 2016 à 14:17; retrieved: 3 August 2024.

Sources

Nizan, Jean (1993). "Le diocèse de Saint-Étienne....sans Roanne!...," (in French), in: R. Bergeron (ed.), Le Roannais: une région? un pays? Université de Saint-Etienne, Centre d'études foréziennes, 1993. pp. 243–250.
Soleil, Christian (2017). Saint-Étienne: retour à la beauté. (in French). Saint-Denis: Editions Publibook, 2017.