Diocese of Coutances and Avranches
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Diocese of Coutances (–Avranches) Dioecesis Constantiensis (–Abrincensis) Diocèse de Coutances (–Avranches) |
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| Location | |
| Country |  France |
| Ecclesiastical province | Rouen |
| Metropolitan | Archdiocese of Rouen |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 5,991 km2 (2,313 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics |
(as of 2013) 506,300 412,400 (81.5%) |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Established | 5th Century (As Diocese of Coutances) 12 July 1854 (As Diocese of Coutances-Avranches) |
| Cathedral | Coutances Cathedral |
| Patron saint |
Blessed Virgin Mary St. Laud of Coutances |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Bishop | Laurent Le Boulc'h |
| Metropolitan Archbishop | Jean-Charles Marie Descubes |
| Emeritus Bishops | Jacques Louis Marie Joseph Fihey Bishop Emeritus (1989-2006) |
| Website | |
| http://www.coutances.catholique.fr/ | |
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Coutances (–Avranches) (Latin: Dioecesis Constantiensis (–Abrincensis); French: Diocèse de Coutances (–Avranches)) is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in France. Its mother church is the Cathedral of Coutance in the commune of Coutances in France. The diocese is suffragan of the Archbishop of Rouen and comprises the entire department of Manche. It was enlarged in 1802 by the addition of the former Diocese of Avranches and of two archdeaconries from the Diocese of Bayeux. Since 1854 its bishops have held the title of Bishop of Coutances (–Avranches).
The Bishop of Coutances exercised ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the Channel Islands, mostly in Alderney where the Bishop also held partial authority over the Leader of Alderney, until the Reformation, despite the secular division of Normandy in 1204. The final rupture occurred definitively in 1569 when Queen Elizabeth I demanded that the Bishops hand the island over to the Bishop of Winchester.
In 1757 the city of Coutances had a population of about 12,000 Catholics. The Cathedral was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Its Chapter was composed of eight dignities (the Cantor, four Archdeacons, the Scholasticus, the Treasurer, and the Penitentiary) and twenty-five Canons. There were also six Choral Vicars, forty-two chaplains, fourteen choristers and six boy singers, and a body of musicians. The Cantor has existed from the 11th century. The four archdeacons were: Coutances, Baptois, Val-de-Vire and Cotentin. In the city were two parishes (Saint-Pierre and Saint-Nicolas), two houses of male religious, and two monasteries of monks. The entire diocese had some 500 parishes.
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