Roman Catholic Diocese of Mende
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Diocese of Mende Dioecesis Mimatensis Diocèse de Mende |
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| Location | |
| Country |  France |
| Ecclesiastical province | Montpellier |
| Metropolitan | Archdiocese of Montpellier |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 5,180 km2 (2,000 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics |
(as of 2004) 73,830 58,000 (78.6%) |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Established | 3rd Century |
| Cathedral | Cathedral Basilica of Notre Dame and St. Privat in Mende |
| Patron saint | Saint Privat |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Bishop | François Jacolin |
| Metropolitan Archbishop | Pierre-Marie Carré |
| Emeritus Bishops | Paul Bertrand (since 2001) |
| Website | |
| Website of the Diocese | |
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Mende (Latin: Dioecoesis Mimatensis; French: Diocèse de Mende) is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The diocese covers the department of Lozère.
The diocese was already in existence in 314, since Genialis, a deacon of the Church of Gabalum (Gévaudan), was present at the Council of Arles in that year. Louis Duchesne chooses to place the earliest known bishop, Privatus, before 314, though he points out that his date depends on a synchronicity with an invasion of Aquitaine by a band of German marauders under the leadership of King Chrocus; Chrocus' date is variously placed between the third and fifth century. The notion that a Saint Severianus was the first apostle of the Gevaudan, or that Privatus held the same honor, and that the whole country was converted to Christianity in one stroke,has long been exploded, by a demonstration that the legends are based on representations made to Pope Urban V in the 14th century to obtain indulgences.
A suffragan of Bourges under the Ancien Régime, it was re-established by the Concordat of 1801 as a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Lyon and united with the department of Ardèche, which however it lost again in 1822 by the creation of the Diocese of Viviers, when Mende became suffragan to Albi. On December 16, 2002, Mende was made a suffragan to Montpellier. The Bishop has his seat at the Cathedral Basilica of Notre Dame and St. Privat in Mende. Funds to begin the cathedral were supplied by Pope Urban V. Before the French Revolution, the Cathedral Chapter consisted of a Praepositus (Provost), the Archdeacon and the Precentor; there were fifteen canons. There were approximately 200 parishes, and one abbey
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