Diocese of Aire and Dax

The Diocese of Aire and Dax (Latin: Dioecesis Adurensis et Aquae Augustae; French: Diocèse d'Aire et Dax) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in France. It comprises the département of Landes, in the région of Gascony in Aquitaine.

CountryFrance

Ecclesiastical provinceBordeaux

MetropolitanArchdiocese of Bordeaux

Area9,364 km² (3,615 sq mi)

Quick facts Diocese of Aire et DaxDioecesis Aturensis et Aquae Augustae Diocèse d'Aire et Dax, Location ...

Diocese of Aire et Dax Dioecesis Aturensis et Aquae Augustae Diocèse d'Aire et Dax

Cathedral of St-Jean-Baptiste, Aire
Location
Country	France
Ecclesiastical province	Bordeaux
Metropolitan	Archdiocese of Bordeaux
Statistics
Area	9,364 km² (3,615 sq mi)
Population Total Catholics	(as of 2022) 407,444 272,000 (66.8%)
Information
Denomination	Catholic Church
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	Name Changed: 3 June 1857
Cathedral	Cathedral of St-Jean-Baptiste, Aire
Co-cathedral	Cathedral of Nôtre Dame in Dax
Patron saint	Notre-Dame de Buglose
Secular priests	78 (Diocesan) 14 (Religious Orders) 25 (Permanent Deacons)
Current leadership
Pope	Leo XIV
Bishop	Nicolas Jean-Marie Souchu
Metropolitan Archbishop	Jean-Paul James
Bishops emeritus	Herve Gaschignard (2012-2017)
Map

Website
Website of the Diocese

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It was a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Auch under the Ancien Régime, but was not re-established until 1822, when it was again made a suffragan of the re-established Archdiocese of Auch, and was assigned the territory of the former Diocese of Aire and Diocese of Acqs (Dax).^[1] It is now a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Bordeaux.

It has been known since 1857 as the Diocese of Aire and Dax.^[2] It is a co-cathedral diocese, with cathedras in the Cathedral St-Jean-Baptiste d' Aire^[3] and in Nôtre Dame de Dax.

On April 6, 2017, the resignation letter of recent Bishop Herve Gaschignard was officially accepted by Pope Francis following allegations that Gaschignard engaged in inappropriate behavior with young people.^[4]^[5]

History

The first reference to a bishop of Aire, on the river Adour, in history is to Marcellus, represented at the Council of Agde, 506.^[1] Aire was also the home of St. Philibert; it numbered among its bishops during the second half of the sixteenth century François de Foix, Count of Candale, an illustrious mathematician, who translated Euclid and founded a chair of mathematics at the University of Bordeaux,^[1] though he never visited his diocese.

In 1572, on the death of Bishop Christophe de Candale, the Capitular Vicar of Aire submitted a status report (pouillé) to King Charles IX, providing a picture of the diocese at that time. There were two Archdeacons, that of Marsan and that of Chalosse. In addition to the two archdeacons, the Cathedral Chapter was composed of ten Canons and seven Prebendaries, two semi-Prebendaries, the Master of the Children of the Choir, and the Basse-Contre. The Statutes of the Chapter were confirmed by Bishop Tristan d'Aure in 1459 or 1460.^[6]

Religious establishments included:

the Abbaye du Mas d'Aire^[7] (O.S.B.: four religious, a Prior, a Sacristan, a Chamberlain and an Almoner; eleven other positions vacant)
the Abbaye de St-Jean de la Castelle (Premonstratensians: six religious priests, a child servant, and a soldier, though there were places for 18-20 religious and four novices)
the Abbaye of Saint-Loubouer (Collegiate church: Abbot, eight Canons, Cantor)
the Collegiate Church of Pimbo (Abbot, seven Canons and a Cantor)
the Abbaye of Pontaut (Cistercians: Abbot, seven religious and a soldier)
the Convent of Augustine Religious at Geune.^[8]
the Priory of Mongaillard (O.S.B.)
the Commanderie of St-Antoine
the Abbaye of Saint-Sever^[9] (O.S.B.) (Abbot commendatory: Archbishop of Turin, thirteen religious, a vicar, and a soldier)
the Jacobins, or Frères Prêcheurs de Ste-Ursule (six religious)
the Priory of Nervis
the Collegial Church of Saint-Girons (Abbot and eight Canons)
the Commanderie of the Holy Spirit.^[10]
the Priory of Roquefort (O.S.B.)
the Commanderie de Bessaut
the Commanderie de St-Antoine de Gelonies
the Priory of Mont-de-Marsan (O.S.B.)
the Priory of Sen a Labrit.^[11]

Bishops

To 1000

506, 533 : Marcellus^[12]
585 : Rusticus
614 : Palladius
ca. 620–630 : Philibaud
ca. 633–675 : Ursus
ca. 788 : Asinarius
ca. 977 : Gombaud

1000 to 1300

ca. 1017 : Arsius-Racca
1060 : Raymond le Vieux
1060–1092 : Peter I.
1092–1099 : Peter II.
1100–1115 : Wilhelm
1116–1147 : Bonhomme
1148–ca. 1176 : Vital de Saint-Hermes
ca. 1176–1179 : Odon d’Arbéchan
? : Bertrand de Marsan
? : Guillaume Bernard
1211 : Vital de Beufmort
1211 : Jourdain
? : Gauthier
1224–1237 : Auger
1237–1266 : Pierre III. et Raymond de Saint-Martin
1266–1295 : Pierre IV. de Betous
1295–1307 : Martin

1300–1500

1308–January 1326 : Bernard de Bats^[13]
1326–1327 : Anesanche de Toujouse^[14]
1327–1349 : Garsias de Fau
1349 – 15 November 1354 : Dauphin de Marquefave
1354 : Bernard
1361–end May 1386 : Jean de Montaut
- 4 June 1386 – 1390 : Robert Waldeby, O.E.S.A. (nominated by Urban VI of the Roman Obedience)^[15]
- 14 November 1390 – 1393 : Maurice Usk, O.P. (appointed by Boniface IX of the Roman Obedience)
- 1393–1418 : Arnaud-Guillaume de Lescun (appointed by Boniface IX of the Roman Obedience)
1386–1397 : Garsias-Arnaud de Navailles (appointed by Avignon Pope Clement VII)
1397–1418 : Bernard de Brun, O.P. (appointed by Benedict XIII of the Avignon Obedience)
1423–1440 : Roger de Castelbon (appointed by Martin V)^[16]
1440–1445 : Pierre de Gachefret
16 January 1445 to 30 July 1460 : Louis d'Albret (Administrator, 1445–1449; then Bishop)^[17]
1460–1475 : Tristan d'Aure (Bishop of Couserans, 1444–1460)^[18]
1475–1484 : Pierre de Foix
1484–1485 : Mathieu de Nargassie
15 February 1486 – 1512 : Bernard d'Abbadie

1500 to 1800

1512–1516 : Antoine du Monastey
1516 – 22 December 1521 : Arnaud-Guillaume d’Aydie
24 April 1523 – 1530 : Charles de Gramont
9 March 1530 – 6 February 1538 : Gabriel de Saluces
1538–1560 : Jacques de Saint-Julien
1560–4 September 1570 : Christophe de Foix-Candale
1576–5 February 1594 : François de Foix-Candale (never consecrated)^[19]
Vacant^[20]
4 December 1606 – 1621 : Philippe Cospéan^[21]
1621 – 17 January 1625 : Sébastien Bouthilier
1625–1649 : Gilles Boutault
1650–1657 : Charles-François de Bourlemont
1657 – 12 October 1672 - Bernard de Sariac
12 January 1673 – 18 December 1684 : Jean-Louis de Fromentières
1693 – 29 March 1698 : Armand Bazin de Bezons
1698–1706 : Louis-Gaston Fleuriau d’Armenonville
1706 – 30 June 1710 : François-Gaspard de la Mer de Matha
1710–1723 : Joseph-Gaspard de Montmorin de Saint-Hérem
1723–1734 : Gilbert de Montmorin de Saint-Hérem
1735–1757 : François de Sarret de Gaujac
1758–1783 : Playcard (or Playcourt) de Raigecourt^[22]
1783–1801 : Sébastien-Charles-Philibert de Cahuzac de Caux^[23]

From 1800 — Bishops of Aire and Dax

1823–1827 : Jean-François-Marie Le Pappe de Trévern (also Archbishop of Strasbourg)
1827–1839 : Dominique-Marie Savy
1839 – 30 June 1856 : François-Adélaïde-Adolphe Lanneluc^[24]
15 December 1856 – 6 June 1859 : Prosper-Michel-Armand Hiraboure^[25]
26 September 1859 – 23 July 1876 : Louis-Marie-Olivier Épivent
18 December 1876 – 7 August 1905 : Victor-Jean-Baptiste-Paulin Delannoy
21 February 1906 – 1911 : François Touzet
1911–1930 : Maurice Charles Alfred de Cormont
1930–1963 : Clément Mathieu
1963–1978 : Fernand Pierre Robert Bézac des Martinies
1978–2002 : Robert Pierre Sarrabère
2002–2012 : Philippe Breton
2012–2017 : Hervé Gaschignard (fr)
2017–present: Nicolas Jean-Marie Souchu

References

[1]
Goyau, Georges (1907). "Diocese of Aire" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
[2]
Catholic Hierarchy: see below^{[self-published source]}
[3]
Cazauran, Pouillé, pp. 45-49.
[4]
French bishop resigns amid accusations of “inappropriate behavior” Crux Staff, 2017-04-06 Archived on 2017-04-07
[5]
"French bishop fired over 'inappropriate' behavior with youth". Fox News. 6 April 2017.
[6]
Cazauran, Pouillé, pp. 17-18 and 47.
[7]
Jean Cabanot; Georges Fabre; Françoise Legrand (1985). Aire-sur-l'Adour: l'église et l'abbaye du Mas (in French). Mont-de Marsan: Amis des Églises Anciennes des Landes.
[8]
Cazauran, pp. 18-20.
[9]
Charles Higounet and Jean-Bernard Marquette, "Les origines de l'abbaye de Saint-Sever: Revision critique," Jean Cabanot, ed. (1986). Saint-Sever, millénaire de l'abbaye: colloque international, 25, 26 et 27 mai 1985 (in French). Mont-de-Marsan, France: Comité d'études sur l'histoire et l'art de la Gascogne. pp. 27–37. ISBN 9782950158406. Jean Cabanot; Georges Pon (2014). Une abbaye au coeur de la Gascogne: Saint-Sever (988-1791) (in French). Dax: Comité d'études sur l'histoire et l'art de la Gascogne, CEHAG. ISBN 978-2-9501584-9-9.
[10]
Cazauran, pp. 20-23.
[11]
Cazauran, pp. 24-29.
[12]
For the meager evidence on the first millennium, see: Louis Duchesne (1910). Fastes épiscopaux de l'ancienne Gaule: II. L'Aquitaine et les Lyonnaises. Paris: Fontemoing. p. 100.
[13]
Degert, pp. 92–103.
[14]
Degert, pp. 103–108.
[15]
Waldeby was later Archbishop of Dublin (1390–1395), Bishop of Chichester (1395–1396), and then Archbishop of York (1397–1398): Eubel, I, pp. 187, 229, 233)
[16]
On 13 January 1440, Roger de Castelbon was confirmed as Bishop of Tarbes. He died in 1461: Eubel, II, p. 246.
[17]
Eubel, II, p. 80, note 4. Louis d'Albret was only 21 when appointed, and too young to be consecrated a bishop. He was consecrated at the age of 26.
[18]
Eubel, II, p. 134.
[19]
Cazauran, Pouillé, p. 12. François was the elder brother of Christophe de Foix-Candale, his predecessor. He never visited the diocese, and left temporal affairs in the hands of his Vicars-General, Robert Philippe, François Barbier, and Mathieu de la Tousche. Degert, p. 203. The Chapter of the Cathedral claimed and exercised the spiritualities. The Bishop of Bayonne conducted the ordinations.
[20]
The Duc d'Epernon claimed the benefices of his wife's uncle, François de Foix Candale, on behalf of a future son. Henri IV acquiesced, and for a decade the See was vacant. Temporal business was conducted by Epernon's agents, and spiritual business by Vicars-General elected by the Chapter of the Cathedral. Degert, pp. 206–207.
[21]
Degert, pp. 206–218.
[22]
Raigecourt was in exile from his diocese during his episcopate (at least from 1764-1767), allegedly because of some offensive remarks made about the Royal Court and the Throne: Cazauran, p. 151. Degert, pp. 304–309. He was consecrated at Meaux, with the assistance of the Bishops of Troyes and Condom.
[23]
Degert, pp. 310–331. Cahuzac refused to take the oath required by the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. He emigrated to Spain. When Pope Pius VII called for the resignations of all of the bishops of France in 1801, thirty-eight refused, including Cahuzac, and were dismissed. Cahuzac retired to Paderborn, and then to England. He returned with the Bourbons in 1814, but still refused to submit his resignation, unless it was guaranteed that the Diocese of Aure would be restored. He died in Paris on 30 October 1817.
[24]
On 11 July 1839 Msgr. Lanneluc, Vicar-General of Toulouse, was named titular Bishop of Agathopolis, and Coadjutor Bishop of Aire, by Pope Gregory XVI. Recueil général des lois, décrets et arrêtés. IX série (in French). Vol. 9. Administration du Journal des Notaires et des Avocats. 1839. p. 212. He succeeded to the bishopric on 29 December 1839: P. Gams, Series episcoporum, p. 481.
[25]
His accident, death, and obituary: L'Ami de la religion et du roi: journal ecclésiastique, politique et littéraire (in French). Vol. I. Paris: A. Le Clère. 1859. pp. 735–736.

Diocese of Aire and Dax

History

Bishops

To 1000

1000 to 1300

1300–1500

1500 to 1800

From 1800 — Bishops of Aire and Dax

See also

References

Sources

Reference works

Studies

External links

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