Archbishopric of Auch
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Archdiocese of Auch-Condom-Lectoure-Lombez Archidioecesis Auxitanus-Condomiensis-Lectoriensis-Lomberiensis Archidiocèse d'Auch-Condom-Lectoure-Lombez |
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| Location | |
| Ecclesiastical province | Toulouse |
| Metropolitan | Archdiocese of Toulouse |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 6,171 km2 (2,383 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics |
(as of 2015) 196,800 (est.) 168,500 (est.) (85.6%) |
| Parishes | 26 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Established | 5th Century (Diocese) 9th century (Archdiocese) 29 June 1908 (Archdiocese of Auch-Condom-Lectoure-Lombez) |
| Cathedral | Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mary in Auch |
| Patron saint | Nativity of Our Lady |
| Secular priests | 71 8 Permanent Deacons |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Archbishop | Maurice Marcel Gardès |
| Metropolitan Archbishop | Robert Jean Louis Le Gall |
| Emeritus Bishops | Maurice Lucien Fréchard Archbishop Emeritus (1996-2004) |
| Map | |
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| Website | |
| Website of the Archdiocese | |
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Auch-Condom-Lectoure-Lombez (Latin: Archidioecesis Auxitanus-Condomiensis-Lectoriensis-Lomberiensis; French: Archidiocèse d'Auch-Condom-Lectoure-Lombez), more commonly known as the Archdiocese of Auch, is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church in France. The archdiocese now comprises the department of Gers in south-west France. The archdiocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Toulouse, and the current bishop, who therefore does not wear the pallium, is Maurice Marcel Gardès, appointed in 2004.
Originally erected in the 5th century as the diocese of Auch, the first Bishop of Auch known to history is the poet Orientius (first half of the fifth century), in honor of whom a famous abbey was founded in the seventh century. A local legend of the 13th century attributes to King Clovis (c. 466–511) the promotion of Auch to the status of an archbishopric, and also its status as primate of "Gascony".
Up to 1789 the Archbishops of Auch bore the title of Aquitaine, though for centuries there had been no Aquitaine. The archbishop enjoyed the primacy of Novempopulania and both Navarres, though Navarre became part of France when Henri IV acceded to the throne (1589).
A local tradition that dates back to the beginning of the twelfth century tells us that Taurinus, fifth Bishop of Eauze (Elusa), abandoned his episcopal city, which was destroyed by the Vandals, and transferred his see to Auch. Eauze, in fact, probably remained a metropolitan see till about the middle of the ninth century, at which time, owing to the invasions of the Vikings, it was reunited, to the Diocese of Auch, which had existed since the fifth century at and then became an archdiocese. The first bishop of Auch to be accorded the title Archbishop in the surviving evidence is Archbishop Airardus in 879. He was the recipient, along with his three suffragan bishops Involatus of Comminges, Wainard of Couserans, and Garston of Tarbes (Bigorre), of a letter of Pope John VIII, in which the Pope complained that their parishioners were a people heavy with iniquity; that they were marrying without regard to church rules or public decency (including incest); that people were appropriating church goods for their own private use; and that priest, clerics, and laity were failing to obey their bishops.
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