Roman Catholic Diocese of Meaux

Creation

The present Diocese of Meaux is made up of the greater part of the former Diocese of Meaux, a large part of the former Diocese of Sens, a part of the former Diocese of Paris, and a few parishes of the former Dioceses of Troyes, Soissons and Senlis. Hildegar, who lived in the ninth century, says in his "Life of St. Faro" (Burgundofaro), that this bishop was the twentieth since St. Denis.

According to the tradition accepted by Hildegaire, St. Denis was the first Bishop of Meaux, and was succeeded by his disciple Saint Saintin, who in turn was succeeded by St. Antoninus; and another saint, named Rigomer, occupied the See of Meaux at the close of the fifth century. In 876 or 877, Hincmar showed Charles the Bald a document which he claimed had been transcribed from a very old copy and according to which St. Antoninus and Saint Saintin, disciples of Saint Denis, had brought to Pope Anacletus the account of the martyrdom of St. Denis, and on their return to Gaul had successively occupied the See of Meaux.

Councils

A council convoked in 845 at Meaux by Charles the Bald adopted important measures for the re-establishment of discipline in the three ecclesiastical provinces of Sens, Bourges, and Reims. Other councils were held at Meaux in 962, 1082, 1204, 1229 (ended in Paris), where the Count of Toulouse was reconciled with the Church; in 1240 a council was held in which the sentence of excommunication was pronounced against Frederick II by Joannes of Palestrina, legate of Gregory IX; there was held an important council in 1523. Four councils were held at Melun, in 1216, 1225, 1232, 1300. The city of Provins was famous in the Middle Ages for its burlesque ceremonies (fête de fous, fête do l'âne, fête des Innocents) held in the church. The church of Champigny has a magnificent crypt dating from the thirteenth century.

The cathedral of St-Etienne de Meaux is a fine Gothic edifice begun about 1170. The pouillé of 1353 shows that the Chapter of the Cathedral had six dignities and at least thirty-seven Canons (who are named). The dignities were: the Dean, the Archdeacon of Meaux, the Archdeacon of Brie, the Cantor, the Treasurer and the Chancellor.

Notable events

Pope Eugene III stayed some days at Meaux from 12 June to 30 June 1147.

In 1562 most of the inhabitants of Meaux had become Protestants. In the First War of Religion Joachim de Montluc, sent by the king, proceeded with rigour against them. They were still sufficiently powerful in 1567 to attempt to carry off, in the vicinity of Meaux, Catherine de' Medici and Charles IX; and so for that reason, shortly after St. Bartholomew's day in August 1572, Charles IX ordered the massacre of the Protestants of Meaux. At the château of Fontainebleau, built by Francis I, was held the theological conference of 4 May 1600, between the Catholics (Cardinal du Perron, de Thou, Pithou) and the Calvinists (du Plessis Mornay, Philippe Canaye, Isaac Casaubon).

In 1664 Blessed Eudes preached for two months at Meaux, Mme Guyon passed the first six months of 1695 at the Visitation convent of Meaux, where Bossuet had frequent conferences with her, but failed to make her abandon her mystic views.

The well-known Père Nicolas Loriquet (1767–1845) was superior of the preparatory seminary (the Pétit Seminaire) of Châage, in the Diocese of Meaux, from 1812 to 1814. He was particularly famous for his insistence on the importance of history in the curriculum, and for his elementary textbooks in the subject. His Histoire de France was anti-revolutionary and anti-Napoleonic, and caused controversy for some decades.

Revolution

The diocese of Meaux was abolished during the French Revolution by the Legislative Assembly, under the Civil Constitution of the Clergy (1790). Its territory was subsumed into the new diocese, called 'Seine-et-Marne', which was part of the Metropolitanate called the 'Metropole de Paris' (which included seven new 'départements'). The Civil Constitution mandated that bishops be elected by the citizens of each 'département', which immediately raised the most severe canonical questions, since the electors did not need to be Catholics and the approval of the Pope was not only not required, but actually forbidden. Erection of new dioceses and transfer of bishops, moreover, was not in the competence of civil authorities or of the Church in France. The result was schism between the 'Constitutional Church' and the Roman Catholic Church. The legitimate bishop of Meaux, Camille de Polignac, refused to take the oath, and therefore the episcopal seat was declared vacant. Two-thirds of the clergy of Meaux, however, took the oath.

On 27 February 1791 the electors of Seine-et-Marne were assembled, and on 18 March, after three ballots, they elected the parish priest of Dontilly, Pierre Thuin. Thuin travelled to Paris for his consecration, which was carried out on 27 March by Jean-Baptiste Gobel, the titular Bishop of Lydda, who had just been installed as Constitutional Bishop of Paris. Thuin's installation at Meaux was not attended by the Canons of the Cathedral or by the directors of the diocesan seminary. Bishop de Polignac emigrated to Switzerland and then to Hungary; he did not return until 1814. Thuin, and all the Constitutional Bishops, were required to resign in May 1801 by First Consul Bonaparte, who was negotiating a treaty with Pope Pius VII, the Concordat of 1801 (15 July 1801). Once 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'.

Bishop-Emeritus

The Bishop Emeritus is Albert-Marie Joseph Cyrille de Monléon (born 20 January 1937, in Paris, who was installed on 10 October 1999 following his transfer from the post of Bishop of Pamiers. On Thursday, August 9, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of Bishop de Monléon, who had reached the mandatory retirement age of 75, from the Diocese of Meaux, and appointed as the next Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Meaux, Auxiliary Bishop Jean-Yves Nahmias, Auxiliary Bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Paris.

Current Bishop

Bishop Jean-Yves Nahmias was born on September 16, 1957 in Saint-Mand, near Paris, in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Créteil in Créteil, France. He studied at the University of Paris I, where he has been a member of G.F.U. (Groupes de Formation Universitaire); he graduated with a License in Financial Law. He pursued his studies in philosophy and theology for two years at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, then as a student of the French Seminary in Rome, and then in the Institute of Theological Studies in Brussels, where he obtained a Licentiate in Sacred Theology in 1991. Nahmias was ordained to the priesthood on June 24, 1989, and was incardinated for service to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Paris. Nahmias served as Parochial Vicar (Assistant Pastor) at the Parish of Notre-Dame de la Croix, Paris, and as a Chaplain in Public Schools Jean-Baptiste-Clément, Etienne Dolet and Martin Nadaud (1990-1994). In addition, from 1992 to 1996, was in charge of the Diocesan Service for Vocations, and from 1993, Director of Office for Vocations. Later, he was the Parochial Vicar at the Parish Saint-Ambroise, and a Chaplain in Public Schools Voltaire and Alain-Fournier (1994-1996). He became Rector of the Archdiocesan Seminary of Paris and the Diocesan Delegate for the Seminarians (1996-2001); and finally, was the Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Paris under Cardinals Jean-Marie Lustiger and André Vingt-Trois (2001-2006). Father Nahmias was appointed as Titular Bishop of Termini Imerese and Auxiliary Bishop of Paris on June 1, 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI, and was consecrated a bishop on September 8, 2006. He serves as President of Radio Notre-Dame. Within the French Bishops' Conference, he serves on the Board for Communication.

Local saints

A number of saints are found in the traditions of the diocese of Meaux:

Pilgrimages

The principal pilgrimages of the diocese are: