Roman Catholic Diocese of Basse-Terre
| Diocese of Basse-Terre Dioecesis Imae Telluris et Petrirostrensis Diocèse de Basse-Terre et Pointe-à-Pitre | |
|---|---|
 Basilique-Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Guadeloupe | |
| Location | |
| Country | Guadeloupe |
| Ecclesiastical province | Province of Fort-de-France |
| Metropolitan | Archdiocese of Fort-de-France |
| Coordinates | 15°59′45″N 61°43′47″W / 15.9959°N 61.7298°WCoordinates: 15°59′45″N 61°43′47″W / 15.9959°N 61.7298°W |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 1,780 km2 (690 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics |
(as of 2012) 467,000 390,000 (83.5%) |
| Parishes | 42 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Rite | Latin Rite |
| Established | 27 September 1850 (165 years ago) |
| Cathedral | Basilique-Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Guadeloupe |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Bishop | Jean-Yves Riocreux |
| Emeritus Bishops | Ernest Mesmin Lucien Cabo Bishop Emeritus (1984-2008) |
| Website | |
| www.catholique-guadeloupe.info | |
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Basse-Terre(-Pointe-à-Pitre) (Latin: Dioecesis Imae Telluris et Petrirostrensis) is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in the Caribbean.
The diocese comprises the entirety of the French overseas department of Guadeloupe, one of the Leeward Lesser Antilles. The diocese is a suffragan of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Fort-de-France, and both are members of the Antilles Episcopal Conference.
Its cathedral, dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe (the island's eponymous 'Mexican' patron saint), which has the status of a minor basilica, is hence known as the Basilique-Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Guadeloupe, at Basse-Terre.
History
It was erected in 1850, as the Diocese of Guadeloupe and Basse-Terre, on territory split off from the then Apostolic Prefecture of Îles de la Terre Ferme (an Antillian missionary jurisdiction, which the was promoted to diocese of Martinique and meanwhile became the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Fort-de-France), its present Metropolitan.
The bishopric was renamed in 1951 to the present name, Diocese of Basse-Terre. Also on 1951.07.19, it was united with the thus suppressed diocese of Pointe-à-Pitre (on Grande Terre, which still has its former cathedral of St. Peter and Paul), so its incumbents' (rarely used) full title is bishop of Basse-Terre-Pointe-à-Pitre.
Incumbent Ordinaries
All Latin (Roman Rite). Most bishops were secular, a few belonged to specified religious congregations
- Bishops of Guadeloupe and Basse-Terre
- Pierre-Marie-Gervais Lacarrière (1850–1853)
- Théodore-Augustin Forcade, Paris Foreign Missions Society (M.E.P.) (1853–1860)
- Antoine Boutonnet (1862–1868)
- Joseph-Clair Reyne (1869–1872)
- François-Benjamin-Joseph Blanger (1873–1883)
- Fédéric-Henri Oury (1884–1886)
- Pierre-Marie Avon (1899–1901)
- Emmanuel-François Canappe (1901–1907)
- Pierre-Louis Genoud, Holy Ghost Fathers (C.S.Sp.) (1912–1945)
- Jean Gay, C.S.Sp. (1945–see below)
- Bishops of Basse-Terre(-Pointe-à-Pitre)
- Jean Gay, C.S.Sp. (as above–1968)
- Siméon Oualli (1970–1984)
- Ernest Mesmin Lucien Cabo (1984-2008)
- Jean-Yves Riocreux (2012–present)
Sources and External Links
- Diocèse de Guadeloupe official site (French)
- GigaCatholic, with incumbent biographies
- "Diocese of Basse-Terre". Catholic-Hierarchy. Retrieved 2007-02-24.