Bishopric of Lausanne

Diocese of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg Dioecesis Lausannensis, Genevensis, et Friburgensis Diocèse de Lausanne, Genève et Fribourg
Fribourg Cathedral, see of the Diocese of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg
Location
Country	Switzerland
Territory	Lausanne, Genève and Fribourg
Metropolitan	Immediately Subject to the Holy See
Statistics
Area	5,557 km2 (2,146 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2013) 1,609,440 711,000 (44.2%)
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Rite	Latin
Established	6th Century (As Diocese of Lausanne) 30 January 1821 (As Diocese of Lausanne and Genève) 17 October 1924 (As Diocese of Lausanne, Genève and Fribourg)
Cathedral	Fribourg Cathedral
Patron saint	St Nicholas
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Charles Morerod
Auxiliary Bishops	Pierre Farine Alain de Raemy
Map
Map of the diocese of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg within Switzerland
Website
Website of the Diocese

The Diocese of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg (Latin: Dioecesis Lausannensis, Genevensis et Friburgensis) is a Latin Roman Catholic diocese in Switzerland, which is (as all sees in the Alpine country) exempt (i.e. immediately subject to the Holy See, not part of any ecclesiastical province).

It comprises the Cantons of Fribourg, Geneva, Vaud and Neuchâtel, with the exception of certain parishes of the right bank of the Rhône belonging to the Diocese of Sion (Sitten). It was created by the merger in 1821 of the Diocese of Lausanne and the Diocese of Geneva, both prince-bishoprics until they were secularized during the Reformation. Until 1924, it was called the Diocese of Lausanne and Geneva. The diocese has its seat at Fribourg; it has 680,000 Catholics, constituting 51% of the population of its district (as of 2004). The current bishop is Charles Morerod, O.P., who was ordained and installed on 11 December 2011.

Despite the name, it has no direct link with the former Roman Catholic Diocese of Geneva (400-1801), which was merged into the then Diocese of Chambéry, which was promoted a Metropolitan see but lost former Genevan territory to the bishopric of Lausanne in 1819.

The origin of the See of Lausanne can be traced to the ancient See of Windisch (Vindonissa). Bubulcus, the first Bishop of Windisch, appeared at the imperial Synod of Epaone for th Arelatian Kingdom of Burgundy in 517. The second and last known Bishop of Windisch was Gramatius (Grammatius), who signed the decrees of the Synods of Clermont in 535, of Orléans, 541, and that of Orléans in 549. It was generally believed that shortly after this the see was transferred from Windisch to Konstanz, until investigations, particularly by Marius Besson, made it probable that, between 549 and 585, the see was divided and the real seat of the bishops of Windisch transferred to Avenches (Aventicum), while the eastern part of the diocese was united with the Diocese of Konstanz.