Roman Catholic Diocese of Metz
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Diocese of Metz Dioecesis Metensis Diocèse de Metz |
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| Location | |
| Country | France |
| Metropolitan | Immediately Subject to the Holy See |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 6,226 km2 (2,404 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics |
(as of 2004) 1,023,447 829,000 (81%) |
| Information | |
| Rite | Latin |
| Cathedral | Cathedral of St. Stephen in Metz |
| Patron saint | Saint Stephen |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Bishop | Jean-Christophe André Robert Lagleize |
| Emeritus Bishops | Pierre René Ferdinand Raffin Bishop Emeritus (1987-2013) |
| Website | |
| Website of the Diocese | |
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Metz is a Diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic church in France. In the Middle Ages it was in effect an independent state (prince-bishopric), part of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by the prince-bishop who had the ex officio title of count. It was annexed to France by King Henry II in 1552; this was recognized by the Holy Roman Empire in the Peace of Westphalia of 1648. It then was part of the province of the Three Bishoprics. Since 1801 the Metz diocese is a public-law corporation of cult (établissement public du culte).
Metz was definitely a bishopric by 535, but may date from earlier than that. Metz's Basilica of Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains is built on the site of a Roman basilica which is a likely location for the one of the earliest Christian congregations of France.
Originally the diocese was under the metropolitan of Trier. After the French Revolution, the last prince bishop, Cardinal Louis de Montmorency-Laval (1761-1802) fled and the old organization of the diocese was broken up. With the Concordat of 1801 the diocese was re-established covering the departments of Moselle, Ardennes, and Forêts, and was put under the Archdiocese of Besançon. In 1817 the parts of the diocese which became Prussian territory were transferred to the Diocese of Trier. In 1871 the core areas of the diocese became part of Germany, and in 1874 Metz diocese, then reconfined to the borders of the new German Lorraine department became immediately subject to the Holy See. As of 1910 there were about 533,000 Catholics living in the diocese of Metz.
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