Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Fort-de-France–Saint-Pierre
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint-Pierre and Fort-de-France (Latin: Archidioecesis Sancti Petri et Arcis Gallicae; French: Archidiocèse de Saint-Pierre et Fort-de-France), more simply known as the Archdiocese of Fort-de-France, is a Metropolitan Archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in the Caribbean. The Archdiocese comprises the entirety of the French overseas department of Martinique.
Archdiocese of Saint-Pierre and Fort-de-France Archidioecesis Sancti Petri et Arcis Gallicae Archidiocèse de Saint-Pierre et Fort-de-France | |
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| Location | |
| Country |  |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 1,080 km2 (420 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics | (as of 2006) 390,000 312,000 (80.0%) |
| Information | |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Cathedral | St. Louis Cathedral in Fort-de-France |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Bishop | David Macaire, O.P. |
| Bishops emeritus | Gilbert Marie Michel Méranville Archbishop Emeritus (2015-); Maurice Rigobert Marie-Sainte Archbishop Emeritus (1972–2004) |
| Website | |
| Website of the Archdiocese | |
The Metropolitan's ecclesiastical province includes the suffragan dioceses of Cayenne and Basse-Terre, and all are members of the Antilles Episcopal Conference.
Archbishop Gilbert Marie Michel Méranville's retirement for age reasons was accepted by Pope Francis on Saturday, 7 March 2015; he is succeeded by Msg. David Macaire, O.P., a Dominican priest who until then had been serving as prior of the convent La Sainte-Baume, in Toulon, France and as of now, the incumbent prelate.
As of 2006, the diocese contained 47 parishes, 35 active diocesan priests, 23 religious priests and 310,000 Catholics. It also has 171 Women Religious and 33 Religious Brothers.
History
The diocese received its present status on 27 September 1850, when the Apostolic Prefecture of Îles de la Terre Ferme (which had lost French Guyana in 1731) was promoted from the missionary status of Apostolic Prefecture to Diocese of Martinique (Latin: Dioecesis Martinicensis; French: Diocèse de la Martinique), but also lost territory to establish the Roman Catholic Diocese of Guadeloupe et Basse-Terre.
1853.09.12, it was renamed as Diocese of Saint-Pierre, 1902.05.08 again as Diocese of Fort-de-France–Saint-Pierre.
It was elevated to an Archdiocese on 26 September 1967.
Bishops
Episcopal incumbents
- Bishops of Saint-Pierre
- Etienne Jean François Le Herpeur (1850–1858; till 1853 as Bishop of Martinique)
- Louis-Martin Porchez (1858–1860)
- Amand-Joseph Fava (1871–1875)
- Julien-François-Pierre Carmené (1875–1897)
- Étienne-Joseph-Frédéric Tanoux (1898–1899)
- Maurice-Charles-Alfred de Cormont (1899–1902 see below)
- Bishops of Fort-de-France–Saint-Pierre
- Maurice-Charles-Alfred de Cormont (see above 1902–1911)
- Joseph Félix François Malleret C.S.Sp. (1912–1914)
- Paul-Louis-Joseph Lequien (1915–1941)
- Henri-Marie-François Varin de la Brunelière C.S.Sp. (1941–1967 see below)
- Metropolitan Archbishops of Fort-de-France–Saint-Pierre
- Henri-Marie-François Varin de la Brunelière C.S.Sp. (see above 1967–1972)
- Maurice Rigobert Marie-Sainte (1972–2004)
- Gilbert Marie Michel Méranville (2004–2015)
- David Macaire, O.P. (2015–present)
Auxiliary bishop
- Maurice Rigobert Marie-Sainte (1968-1972), appointed Archbishop here
References
Sources and external links
- GigaCatholic, with episcopal incumbent biographies
- Archdiocese of Fort-de-France page at catholichierarchy.org retrieved July 18, 2006
- Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.