Diocese of La Rochelle
Rupellen(sis)
Suffragan diocese · Latin Church · La Rochelle, France
The Diocese of La Rochelle and Saintes is a Latin rite diocese covering the Charente-Maritime department in western France; La Rochelle was erected on 4 May 1648 and united with the title of Saintes on 22 January 1852. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Poitiers. Its seat is La Rochelle Cathedral (St. Louis), with Saintes Cathedral as co-cathedral. Bishop Georges Colomb has been assisted by Coadjutor Bishop Pierre-Antoine Bozo since August 2025.
The see
- Rank
- Suffragan diocese
- Tradition
- Latin Church
- Erected
- 4 May 1648
- Latin
- Rupellen(sis)
- Patron
- St. Eutropius of Saintes
- Annuario code
- 001001960
The see in figures
- Catholics
- 400,000
- Population
- 648,199
- Catholic share
- 61.7%
- Priests
- 81
- Catholics per priest
- 4,938
- Extent
- 6,863 km²
- Catholics per km²
- 58
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
- Georges Colomb
- Born
- 15 June 1953
- Birthplace
- Saint-Anthème
- Institute
- SOCIETÀ PER LE MISSIONI ESTERE DI PARIGI
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
La Rochelle Cathedral stands in La Rochelle, the church that holds the cathedra from which this see takes its name.
Its co-cathedral is Saintes Cathedral.
On what a cathedral is, see the cathedral; every see church on earth is gathered at the cathedrals.
The province of Poitiers
A suffragan of Archdiocese of Poitiers.
The sees of this province:
- Archdiocese of PoitiersPoitiers
- Diocese of AngoulêmeAngoulême
- Diocese of LimogesLimoges
- Diocese of TulleTulle
On how the Church is ordered into provinces, see the diocese.
History
The département of Charente-Maritime, together with the French overseas collectivity of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, forms the territory of the Diocese of La Rochelle and Saintes (Latin: Dioecesis Rupellensis et Santonensis; French: Diocèse de La Rochelle et Saintes), a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in France. Its bishop is a suffragan of the Archbishop of Poitiers. The episcopal seat is La Rochelle Cathedral, with Saintes Cathedral serving as a co-cathedral. As of 2021 the diocese had one priest for every 4,081 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].