Roman Catholic Diocese of Basse-Terre

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Basse-Terre and Pointe-à-Pitre (Latin: Dioecesis Imae Telluris et Petrirostrensis; French: Diocèse de Basse-Terre et Pointe-à-Pitre), more simply known as the Diocese of Basse-Terre, is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church in the Caribbean.

Diocese of Basse-Terre and Pointe-à-Pitre

Dioecesis Imae Telluris et Petrirostrensis

Diocèse de Basse-Terre et Pointe-à-Pitre
Basilique-Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Guadeloupe
Location
Country Guadeloupe, France

 Saint Barthélemy, France

 Saint Martin, France
Ecclesiastical provinceProvince of Fort-de-France
MetropolitanArchdiocese of Fort-de-France
Coordinates15.9959°N 61.7298°W / 15.9959; -61.7298
Statistics
Area1,780 km2 (690 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics		(as of 2012)
467,000
390,000 (83.5%)
Parishes42
Information
DenominationRoman Catholic
RiteLatin Rite
Established27 September 1850 (173 years ago)
CathedralBasilique-Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Guadeloupe
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
BishopSede vacante
Bishops emeritusJean-Yves Riocreux Bishop Emeritus (2012-2021)
Website
www.catholique-guadeloupe.info

The diocese comprises the entirety of the French overseas department of Guadeloupe, one of the Leeward Lesser Antilles. It is also responsible for parishes in the small overseas departments of Saint Barthélemy and Saint Martin. 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 de Basse-Terre or the Basse-Terre Cathedral.

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 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 19 July 1951, 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.

Bishops

All Latin (Roman Rite). Most bishops were secular; a few belonged to specified religious congregations.

Incumbent ordinaries
Bishops of Guadeloupe and Basse-Terre
Bishops of Basse-Terre(-Pointe-à-Pitre)

Coadjutor bishop
  • Jean Gay, C.S.Sp. (1943–1945)

Auxiliary bishop

See also
  • Diocèse de Guadeloupe Archived 2016-12-26 at the Wayback Machine official site (in French)
  • GigaCatholic, with incumbent biographies
  • "Diocese of Basse-Terre". Catholic-Hierarchy. Retrieved 2007-02-24.


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