Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint-Flour
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Diocese of Saint-Flour Dioecesis Sancti Flori Diocèse de Saint-Flour |
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| Location | |
| Country | France |
| Ecclesiastical province | Clermont |
| Metropolitan | Archdiocese of Clermont |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 5,726 km2 (2,211 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics |
(as of 2014) 162,400 141,700 (87.3%) |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Established | 20 February 1317 |
| Cathedral | Cathedral of St Peter and St Flour in Saint-Flour, Cantal |
| Patron saint | Saint Flour of Lodeve |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Bishop | Bruno Grua |
| Metropolitan Archbishop | François Kalist |
| Emeritus Bishops | René Séjourné Bishop Emeritus (1990-2006) |
| Website | |
| Website of the Diocese of Saint-Flour | |
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint-Flour is a Diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the department of Cantal. Erected in 1317, the diocese was suffragan of (subject to) the Archdiocese of Bourges until 2002. With the general reorganization of the structure of the French church by Pope John Paul II, Saint-Flour became the suffragan of the Archdiocese of Clermont. The seat of the bishop is located in Saint-Flour, Cantal.
The current bishop is Bruno Grua, who was appointed in March 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI. Like many French bishops, he was compelled to face the problem created by the dwindling number of priests in the Roman Catholic Church. In 1970 in Saint-Flour there were 264 priests; in 2010 there were 85. The number of parishes was 161 in 2010, and half did not have a full-time priest. Bishop Grua therefore reorganized the parish structure, reducing the number of parishes from 161 to 32 to ensure that every Catholic had a priest who was responsible for his/her spiritual needs. In 2014 there was one priest for every 1,914 Catholics.
The diocese is named after St. Florus (Flour), who is said to have been the first Bishop of Lodève and to have died at Indiciat (later Saint-Flour) while evangelizing Haute-Auvergne. These traditions have been the subject of numerous discussions. In two documents concerning the foundation of the second monastery of St-Flour, drawn up in 1013 and 1031, and in a letter written to Pope Urban IV in 1261 by Pierre de Saint-Haon, prior of Saint-Flour, St. Flour is already considered as belonging to the Apostolic times, and the Speculum sanctorale of Bernard Gui in 1329 relates at length the legend of this "disciple of Christ". Marcellin Boudet believes it more likely that St. Flour lived in the fifth century, and that it was he who attended the Council of Arles in 450 or 451.
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