Bishopric of Albi
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Archdiocese of Albi-Castres-Lavaur Archidioecesis Albiensis-Castrensis-Vauriensis Archidiocèse d'Albi-Castres-Lavaur |
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| Location | |
| Ecclesiastical province | Toulouse |
| Metropolitan | Archdiocese of Toulouse |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 5,780 km2 (2,230 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics |
(as of 2015) 393,877 287,923 (73.1%) |
| Parishes | 509 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Established | c. 5th Century 3 October 1678 (Archdiocese of Albi) 17 February 1922 (Archdiocese of Albi-Castres-Lavaur) |
| Cathedral | Cathedral Basilica of St. Cecilia in Albi |
| Patron saint | Saint Cecilia |
| Secular priests | 131 (diocesan) 42 (Religious Orders) |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Archbishop | Jean Marie Henri Legrez |
| Metropolitan Archbishop | Robert Jean Louis Le Gall |
| Website | |
| Website of the Archdiocese | |
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Albi (–Castres–Lavaur) (Latin: Archidioecesis Albiensis (–Castrensis–Vauriensis); French: Archidiocèse d'Albi (–Castres–Lavaur)), usually referred to simply as the Archdiocese of Albi, is a non-metropolitan archdiocese (one having no suffragan dioceses) of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church in southern France. The archdiocese comprises the whole of the department of Tarn, and is itself currently suffragan to the Archdiocese of Toulouse, a metropolitan archdiocese.
The current Archbishop of Albi is Jean Legrez, O.P. appointed archbishop by Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday, February 2, 2011. He formerly served as Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint-Claude in France. In 2015, in the Diocese of Albi there was one priest for every 1,740 Catholics.
Originally erected around the 5th century as the Diocese of Albi, the diocese was for centuries a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Bourges.
In 1145 Pope Eugenius sent Cardinal Albericus, the Bishop of Ostia, as his Legate, to Toulouse, against the Petrobusian heretics, and Cardinal Albericus took the Cistercian monk Bernard of Clairvaux along with him. Gofridus of Clarivaux, an associate of Bernard, left a highly-colored account of Bernard's work in confuting the Petrobosian leader Henry of Lausanne; after several days of preaching in Toulouse, Bernard caused Henri to flee, but he was quickly captured and turned over to the bishop of Toulouse. Bernard also preached against the Manichaean heretics of the neighborhood, though at the castle-town of Verfeil, some ten miles east of Toulouse, he was completely unsuccessful.
The Cardinal, followed some days later by Bernard, then visited Albi. The Cardinal's reception was cold and jeering, reflecting no doubt the well-known anti-clerical attitudes of the Albigensians, in particular the luxury and arrogance of the higher clergy. Bernard's reception was more friendly, his reputation as an ascetic and celibate approximating the Albigensian view of "the good men". He was favorably received in his sermon in the Cathedral on 29 June, and, at least in his own imagination, he persuaded large numbers to return to the true and orthodox faith. His companion and biographer, Geoffrey of Auxerre, was less certain, an evaluation which appeared more realistic in the outcome. Geoffrey also wrote to the monks at Clairvaux that Bernard's return should be expected some time after the Octave of the Assumption (the last week of August). The Cardinal was back with the Pope in time for Christmas in Rome.
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Wikipedia