Ecclesiastical province Tours Parishes 293 Phone +33 2 54 56 40 50 | Metropolitan Archdiocese of Tours Denomination Roman Catholic Area 6,422 km² Country France | |
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Population- Total- Catholics (as of 2012)338,503185,097 (54.7%) Address 2 Rue Porte Clos Haut, 41000 Blois, France Similar Blois Cathedral, Diocésaine Blois, Nicolas, Basilique Notre Dame de, Presbytère Saint Saturnin | ||
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Blois, is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic church in France. The diocese lies in western France, and encompasses the department of Loir-et-Cher. Since 2002 it has been a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Tours.
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History
On 1 July 1697 Pope Innocent XII canonically erected the Bishopric of Blois from territory of the Diocese of Chartres. Before the French Revolution, the Diocese of Blois was less extensive than at present, almost the entire arrondissement of Romorantin being subject to the Bishopric of Orléans, and the Bas-Vendômois to the Bishop of Le Mans.
The Concordat of 1802 gave Loir-et-Cher to the Diocese of Orléans, and in 1822 the Diocese of Blois was re-established. Monseigneur de Thémines, who was Bishop of Blois in 1776 and died in exile in 1829, was one of the most obstinate enemies of the Concordat.