Roman Catholic Diocese of Metz

Diocese of Metz Dioecesis Metensis Diocèse de Metz
Metz Cathedral
Coat of arms
Location
Country	France
Metropolitan	Exemptdirectly to theHoly See
Statistics
Area	6,226 km2(2,404 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2013) 1,045,066 813,000 (77.8%)
Information
Denomination	Catholic Church
Sui iurischurch	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Cathedral	Cathedral of St. Stephen in Metz
Patron saint	Saint Stephen
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Philippe Ballot
Bishops emeritus	Jean-Christophe Lagleize
Website
metz-catholique.fr

TheDiocese of Metz(Latin:Dioecesis Metensis;French:Diocèse de Metz) is aLatin Churchecclesiastical territory ordioceseof theCatholic ChurchinFrance.In the Middle Ages it was aprince-bishopricof theHoly Roman Empire,ade factoindependent state ruled by theprince-bishopwho had theex officiotitle ofcount.It was annexed to France by KingHenry IIin 1552; this was recognized by the Holy Roman Empire in thePeace of Westphaliaof 1648. It formed part of the province of theThree Bishoprics.Since 1801 the Metz diocese has been a public-law corporation ofcult(French:établissement public du culte). The diocese is presentlyexemptdirectly to theHoly See.

History

Further information:Prince-Bishopric of Metz

Metz was definitely a bishopric by 535, but may date from earlier than that.Metz'sBasilica of Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnainsis built on the site of a Roman basilica which is a likely location for one of the earliest Christian congregations of France.

Originally the diocese was under the metropolitan ofTrier.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 theConcordat of 1801the diocese was re-established covering the departments of Moselle, Ardennes, and Forêts, and was put under theArchdiocese of Besançon.In 1817 the parts of the diocese which became Prussian territory were transferred to theDiocese 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 GermanLorraine departmentbecameimmediately subject to the Holy See.As of 1910 there were about 533,000 Catholics living in the diocese of Metz.

When the1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and the Statewas enacted, doing away with public-law religious corporations, this did not apply to the Metz diocese then being within Germany. After World War I it was returned to France, but the concordatory status has been preserved since as part of theLocal law in Alsace-Moselle.In 1940, after the French defeat, it came under German occupation till 1944 when it became French again. Together with theArchdiocese of Strasbourgthe bishop of the see is nominated by the French government according to the concordat of 1801. The concordat further provides for the clergy being paid by the government and Catholic pupils in public schools can receivereligious instructionaccording to diocesan guide lines.

Bishops

Main article:List of bishops of Metz

See also

• Catholic Church in France

External links

• Media related toRoman Catholic Diocese of Metzat Wikimedia Commons
• Website of the diocese
• Catholic hierarchy^{[self-published]}
• Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913)."Metz".Catholic Encyclopedia.New York: Robert Appleton Company.