Diocese of Blois
Blesen(sis)
Suffragan diocese · Latin Church · Blois, France
The Diocese of Blois is a Latin rite diocese covering the Loir-et-Cher department in central France, erected on 1 July 1697 from the Diocese of Chartres. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Tours. Its seat is the Cathedral of St. Louis in Blois.
The see
- Rank
- Suffragan diocese
- Tradition
- Latin Church
- Erected
- 1 July 1697
- Latin
- Blesen(sis)
- Patron
- St. Louis IX of France
- Annuario code
- 001000912
The see in figures
- Catholics
- 187,000
- Population
- 343,000
- Catholic share
- 54.5%
- Priests
- 50
- Catholics per priest
- 3,740
- Extent
- 6,422 km²
- Catholics per km²
- 29
of the people living within its bounds
Figures as recorded in the register, from the Annuario Pontificio and the see's own published statements. Shares and ratios are computed from the two figures shown beside them.
The bishop
- Bishop
- Francis Bestion
- Born
- 8 May 1957
- Birthplace
- Fontans
A see whose chair stands empty is recorded as vacant rather than filled with a guess. On what a bishop is, see the bishop.
The cathedral
Cathedral of St. Louis, Blois stands in Blois, the church that holds the cathedra from which this see takes its name.
On what a cathedral is, see the cathedral; every see church on earth is gathered at the cathedrals.
The province of Tours
A suffragan of Archdiocese of Tours.
The sees of this province:
- Archdiocese of BourgesBourges
- Archdiocese of ToursTours
- Diocese of ChartresChartres
- Diocese of OrléansOrléans
On how the Church is ordered into provinces, see the diocese.
History
In western France, the department of Loir-et-Cher forms the territory of the Diocese of Blois (Latin: Dioecesis Blesensis; French: Diocèse de Blois), a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church that has been a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Tours since 2002. The episcopal seat is presently vacant, following the appointment of Jean-Pierre Batut as auxiliary bishop of Toulouse on 26 June 2023. In 2022 the diocese counted one priest for every 2,833 Catholics.
What is kept by invitation
The record above is published because it is public: what this see is, when it was erected, who holds its chair, and where it stands among its neighbours.
The working record is not. The chancery's address, telephone and email, the clergy of the see, and the hours of Mass, confession and adoration in the parishes within it are kept for members, and a person reads every request.
Sources
The see's own website · Wikipedia
This record is compiled from the published statements of the see and the references of the Holy See, among them the Annuario Pontificio. On the method, see the keeping of the record. Whoever finds an error is asked, in charity, to write: [email protected].