The Archdiocese of Tours (; ) is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. The archdiocese has roots that go back to the 3rd century, while the formal erection of the diocese dates from the 5th century.
The ecclesiastical province of Tours corresponds with the late Roman province of Tertia Lugdunensis. During Breton independence the see of Dol briefly exercised metropolitical functions (mainly tenth century). In 1859 the Breton dioceses except that of Nantes were constituted into a province of Rennes. Tours kept its historic suffragans of Le Mans, Angers together with Nantes and a newly constituted Diocese of Laval. In 2002 Tours lost all connection with its historic province, all its previous suffragans depending henceforth on an expanded province of Rennes (corresponding to the Brittany and Pays de la Loire administrative regions). Tours since 2002 has become the ecclesiastical metropolis of the Centre administrative region.
In 2022, in the Archdiocese of Tours there was one priest for every 5,284 Catholics.
History
Ancient According to Louis Duchesne, the See of Tours was probably founded in the time of Constantine; however, Gregory of Tours says it was founded in the reign of Emperor Decius by Gatianus. As the city, (called "Caesarodunum"), was important as a crossing point of the Loire, it became a stop on the route to Santiago de Compostela. The fourth bishop was Brice of Tours. Stories about his tenure suggest tensions between the regular clergy and the secular priests in Tours at that time. Saint Perpetuus was bishop from 460 to 490. During his administration Christianity was further developed and consolidated in the province of Touraine. He was followed by Volusianus of Tours, a relative of Ruricius of Limoges. The first cathedral, dedicated to Saint Maurice, was built by Bishop Lidoire, sometime in the fourth century; it burned down in 561, but was restored by Gregory of Tours.
Bishop Chrotbert (Robert) is mentioned in the earliest grant of privileges to the Monastery of St. Martin in Tours,Gallia christiana XIV, Instrumenta pp. 5–6. made by Pope Adeodatus (672–676). The document survives only in two copies which differ significantly between them;P. Jaffe and S. Loewenfeld, Regesta pontificum Romanorum I (Leipzig 1885), p. 237, no. 2105: "Duo sunt tradita exemplaria, alterum ab altero discrepans, sed aequo modo suspecta." both are suspect.
Medieval
In May 858, which was the third year of his pontificate, Archbishop Herardus held a diocesan synod, in which a codification was issued of the capitula ('regulations') of the diocese. The document contained 140 chapters.Gallia christiana XIV, Instrumenta, pp. 39–46.
On 21 January 1216, Pope Innocent III confirmed an agreement entered into between the Archbishop of Tours and the Chapter of the cathedral on the election of a Dean and Provosts. August Potthast, Regesta pontificum Romanorum I (Berlin 1874), p. 444 no. 5054. The printed texts have Iuellum, an incorrect expansion of J.; he was Archbishop Jean.
After the death of Archbishop Jean de la Faye in April 1228, there appears to have been considerable difficulty in finding a new archbishop. Jean Maan, Dean of Mans, was brought to Tours, but he refused the see, or was unable to muster sufficient votes. Then the see was offered to Master Pierre de Collomedio of Champagne, a Canon of Thérouanne and Papal Legate, but, though the election was canonically carried out, he refused the offer.Gallia christiana XIV, p. 104. This is according to the chronicle of Abbot Guillaume of Andres, in: Monumenta Germaniae Historica Scriptorum Tomus XXIV, p. 768.
Revolution The leaders of the French Revolution, as part of their program, planned to bring the religions in France under their control. The Roman Church was rich, and therefore powerful. The Revolution needed to redirect that power and acquire that wealth to finance their own projects. One device was to transfer old loyalties by breaking up the traditional units of political, social and religious organization. The property of the religious organizations was to be confiscated for the benefit of the people of France, and all clergy would become state employees, with their salaries fixed and paid by the government. The new political unit was to be the "département", of which eighty-four were planned. It was determined by the Constituent Assembly that the Church was overloaded with bishops; therefore the number of dioceses needed to be reduced, from the 135 of the Ancien Régime, to 82 or 83, and that to the extent possible they were to have the same borders as the new political departments. The Diocese of Tours was therefore abolished and subsumed into a new diocese, coterminous with the new 'Departement d'Indre-et-Loire', which was to be a suffragan of the 'Metropole du Centre' (composed of the dioceses of Allier, Cher, Creuse, Indre, Indre-et-Loire, Loire-et-Cher, Nièvre and Vienne, with its center at Bourges) in the "Constitutional Church".Text of Civil Constitution of the Clergy (in English) Retrieved: 2016-09-02. The clergy were required to swear and oath to the Constitution, and under the terms of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy a new bishop was to be elected by all the voters of the département, who did not even need to be Catholics. This placed them in schism with the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope. Archbishop de Conzié of Tours refused to take the oath,Conzié made his refusal in a letter of 11 February 1791, in reply to a letter from the members of the Directory of Tours of 25 January 1791. Arnault, pp. 190–192. and his bishopric was therefore declared to be vacant.
On 13 March 1791 the electors of Indre-et-Loire met in Tours in the cathedral. They were harangued by members of the Société des Amis de la Constitution, who pressed for the election of their president, a former Oratorian by the name of Ysabeau, who, however, could not muster a majority. Instead on the next day the electors chose Pierre Suzor, the curate of Ecueillé.Arnault, pp. 205–209. He proceeded to Paris, where he was consecrated a bishop on 10 April by Constitutional Bishops Massieu, Delcher, and Sibille. His consecration was valid, but uncanonical and schismatic, and brought him excommunication. As bishop, he was at first conservative and somewhat rigorous, refusing to sanction the marriage of clergy, but later he succumbed to pressure. At the end of 1793, when Religion was abolished and replaced by Reason and the churches closed, most of the 360 clergy of Indre-et-Loire abdicated or apostasized. Religion was restored in 1795, but Suzor did not regain possession of the cathedral until 13 May 1797. Suzor suffered a stroke in 1797; the bishops of the Metropolitanate were allowed to assemble at Bourges in 1800 to find him a successor. On 1 February 1801 Hyacinthe Tardiveau accepted the position, and Suzor died on 13 April 1801, having approved of his successor. Tardiveau was never bishop, since he made his acceptance conditional upon receiving the traditional bulls from the pope, which never happened. In May 1801 First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte required the resignation of all Constitutional bishops; he was in the process of completing a concordat with the Papacy, and the Constitutional Church was an obstacle.Pisani, pp. 42–44.
After the Concordat went into effect, Pius VII was able to issue the appropriate bulls to restore many of the dioceses and to regulate their boundaries, most of which corresponded closely to the new 'départements'. (Latin, with French translation) The Diocese of Tours, which was coterminous with the Department of Indre-et-Loire, had as suffragans: Le Mans, Angers, Rennes, Nantes, Quimper, Vannes, Saint-Pol, Treguier, Saint-Brieux Saint-Mâlo and Dol.
Pilgrimages The main pilgrimage sites in the diocese besides the grottos of Marmoutier, are: Notre-Dame-la-Riche, a sanctuary erected on the site of a church dating from the third century, and where the founder St. Gatianus is venerated; Notre-Dame-de-Loches; St. Christopher and St. Giles at St-Christophe, a pilgrimage dating from the ninth century; the pilgrimage to the Oratory of the Holy Face in Tours, managed by Priests of the Holy Face canonically erected on 8 December 1876.Georges Goyau. "Archdiocese of Tours." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. Retrieved: 7 May 2017.Diocèse de Tours, Hauts lieux spirituels, retrieved: 2017-05-07.
Bishops to 700
St. Gatianus (c. 249–301)Gregory of Tours reports that he served for fifty years. Libri Historiarum Decem, X.31 St. Litorius 338–370 St. Martin 371–397 St. Bricius 397–443 St. Eustochius 443–460 St. Perpetuus 460–490 St. Volusianus 491–498 Verus (498–508)Verus was not present at the Council of Agde in 506, but was represented by a deacon named Leo. Duchesne, p. 305 no. 10. C. Munier, Concilia Galliae, A. 314 – A. 506 (Turnholt: Brepols 1963), p. 214: Leo diaconus missus a domino meo Vero episcopo Toronice. Licinius (508–520)Licinius was present at the Council of Orléans in 511. Duchesne, p. 305 no. 11. C. De Clercq, Concilia Galliae, A. 511 – A. 695 (Turnhout: Brepols 1963), pp. 13–15. Theodorus & Proculus (jointly) (520–521?)Gregory of Tours, Libri Historiarum Decem Book X.31, says that they came from Burgundy at the bidding of Queen Clotilde, having been driven out of their dioceses, and that they ruled conjointly at Tours for two years. However, at III.17, Gregory says that Theodorus and Proculus succeeded Bishop Leo (526) Dinfius (521?)Duchesne, pp. 305–306 no. 14. Ommatius (521–525)Duchesne, p. 306 no. 15. Leo (526?)Leo was bishop for six or seven months. Gallia christiana XIV, p. 18. Duchesne, p. 306 no. 16. Francilio (528? or 526–528?)Francilio was a Senator of Tours, and had a wife named Clara. He was bishop for two months and six days (or two years and six months), and was poisoned on Christmas night. Gallia christiana XIV, p. 19. Duchesne, p. 306 no. 17. Injuriosus (529–546)Injuriosus attended the Council of Orange in 533, and the Council of Orange in 541. Duchesne, p. 306 no. 18. De Clercq, pp. 102, 142. Baudinus (546–552)Baudinus had been (in the words of Gregory of Tours) domesticus and referendarius of King Chlothar I. Duchesne, p. 306 no. 19. Gunthar 552–554 St. Eufronius 555–573 St. Gregory (573–594) Pelagius I (595–602)A letter of Pope Gregory I, dated July 596, requests Pelagius and Bishop Serenus of Marseille to assist Augustine in his mission to Britain. Gallia christiana XIV, p. 26. P. Jaffé-S. Loewenfeld, Regesta pontificum Romanorum I (Leipzig 1885), p. 174 no. 1435. Duchesne, p. 308 no. 23. Leupacharius (602–614)Leupacharius: Gallia christiana XIV, p. 26. Duchesne, p. 308 no. 24. Agiricus (614–617)Agiricus: Gallia christiana XIV, p. 26. Duchesne, p. 308 no. 25. Gwalachus (617–618)Givaldus, Guvalachus: Gallia christiana XIV, p. 27. Duchesne, p. 308 no. 26. [Valatus 618–619]Valatus is the same as Guvalacus or Gwalachus. There is no name between Gwalachus and Sigilaicus in the episcopal lists of Tours. Sigilaicus 619–622Sigilaicus was bishop for two years and nine months. Duchesne, p. 292. Leobaldus 622–625Leobaldus was bishop for six years. Gallia christiana XIV, p. 27. Medegisilus (625–638)Medigisilus participated in the Council of Clichy on 27 September 627, and signed charters in 632 and 638. He was bishop for eleven years. Gallia christiana XIV, pp. 27–28. Duchesne, p. 292, 308 no. 29. De Clercq, p. 296. Latinus (638–650)Latinus was present at the Council of Chalons on 25 October 650. Abbot Betto signed on his behalf. Duchesne, p. 308 no. 30. De Clercq, p. 309. Charegiselus (Carégisile) 650–652 Rigobertus 652–654Rigobertus signed a diploma of Clovis II on 22 June 654. He sat for two years. Duchesne, p. 308, no. 32. Papolenus 654–660 Chrotbert 660–695 Pelagius II 695–700
700 to 1000
Evartius 700–709 Ibbon 709–724 Gontran II 724–732 Didon 732–733 Rimbert 733–752 Aubert 752–754