Roman Catholic Diocese of Béziers



The Roman Catholic Diocese of Béziers was situated in France. It is no longer an independent diocese, and is part of the Diocese of Montpellier.

Traditionally, the first Bishop of Béziers is considered to be the Egyptian saint, Aphrodisius, said to have sheltered the Holy Family at Hermopolis and to have become a disciple of Christ, also to have accompanied Sergius Paulus to Gaul when the latter went thither to found the Church of Narbonne, and to have died a martyr at Béziers.

Local traditions made St. Aphrodisius arrive at Béziers mounted on a camel. Hence the custom of leading a camel in the procession at Béziers on the feast of the saint; this lasted until the French Revolution but was revived in the late 20th century.

The first historically known bishop is Paulinus mentioned in 418; St. Guiraud was Bishop of Béziers from 1121 to 1123; St. Dominic refused the See of Béziers to devote himself to the crusade against the Albigenses. Among the fifteen synods held at Béziers was that of 356 held by Saturninus of Arles, an Arian archbishop, which condemned Hilary of Poitiers. Later synods of 1233, 1246 and 1255 condemned the Cathars. A Papal Brief of 16 June 1877, authorized the bishops of Montpellier to call themselves bishops of Montpellier, Béziers, Agde, Lodève and Saint-Pons, in memory of the different dioceses united in the present Diocese of Montpellier.

To 1000

 * Saint Aphrodisius (Aphrodise) 250 ?
 * Paulin I 408
 * Dyname 451
 * Hermès 461
 * Sedatus (Saint Sédat) 589
 * Pierre I 639
 * Crescitaire 683
 * Pacotase 688
 * Ervige 693
 * Wulfégaire 791
 * Etienne I 833
 * Alaric 875–878
 * Agilbert 887–897
 * Fructuarius 897–898
 * Matfred I 898
 * Reginald (Raynald) I de Béziers 906–933 or 930
 * Rodoaldus (Raoul) 930 or 936–957
 * Bernard I Géraud 957–978 or 980
 * Matfred II 990–1010 or 1011

1000 to 1300

 * Urbain 1016
 * Etienne II 1017–1036 or 1037
 * Bernard II 1035 or 1037–1046
 * Bèrenger I 1050–1053
 * Bernard III Arnaud 1053–c. 1060
 * Bèrenger II 1061–c. 1066
 * Matfred III 1077–1096 or c. 1070–c. 1093
 * Arnaud de Lévézon 1096–1121
 * Saint Guiraud (Geraldus, Geraud) 1121–1123
 * Guillaume I de Serviez (Servian, Cerviez) 1127
 * Bermond de Lévezon 1128–1152
 * Guillaume II 1152–1154 or 1157
 * Raymond I 1159
 * Guillaume III 1159–1167
 * Bernard IV de Gaucelin 1167–1184
 * Geofroy (Gausfred) de Marseille 1185–1199
 * Guillaume de Rocozels (Rocozels) 1199–1205
 * Ermengaud 1205–1208
 * Reginald( Renaud) II de Montpeyroux 1208–1211
 * Pierre II d'Aigrefeuille 1211–1212
 * Bertrand de Saint Gervais 1212–1215
 * Raymond II Lenoir January–20 April 1215
 * Bernard V de Cuxac 1215–1242
 * R. 1243
 * P. 1244
 * Raymond III de Salles (Salle) 1245–1247
 * Raymond IV de Vaihauquez (Valhauquès) 1247–1261
 * Pons de Saint Just 1261–1293
 * Raymond V de Colombiers 1293–1294
 * Berengar Fredol the Elder, 1294–1305, cardinal

1300 to 1500

 * Richard Neveu 1305–1309
 * Berengar Fredol the Younger, 1309–1312, cardinal
 * Guilhaume V Frédol 1313–1349
 * Guilhaume VI de Landorre (Laudun) 1349–1350 or 1349–1349
 * Hugues I de la Jugie 1353 ou 1349–1371, later bishop of Carcassonne (1371)
 * Sicard d'Ambres de Lautrec 1371–1383
 * Gui de Malsec 1383, promoted to Poitiers
 * Simon de Cramaud 1383–1385, promoted bishop of Poitiers (1385)
 * Barthelemy de Montcalve 1384–1402
 * Bertrand II de Maumont 1408–1422, later bishop of Tulle (1422)
 * Hugues II de Combarel 1422–1424, promoted bishop of Poitiers (1424)
 * Guilhaume VII de Montjoie 1424–1451
 * Louis de Harcourt 13 October 1451 – 10 December 1451, promoted archbishop of Narbonne(1451)
 * Pierre III Bureau 1451–1456 or 1457
 * Jean I Bureau 1457–1490
 * Pierre IV Javailhac 1490–1503

From 1500

 * Antoine Dubois 1504–1537
 * Jean II de Lettes 1537–1543, resigned (1543)
 * Jean III de Narbonne 1543–1545
 * François Gouffier 1546–1547 or 12 February–5 December 1547
 * Lorenzo Strozzi 1547–1561, later bishop of Albi (1561)
 * Julien de Medicis 1561–1571 or 1574, later archbishop of Aix (1574)
 * André Etienne 1572
 * Thomas I de Bonsi 1573–1596, resigned 1596, died 1603
 * Jean de Bonsi 1596–1611, cardinal in 1611, died 1621
 * Dominique de Bonzi (Bonsi) 1615–1621
 * Thomas II de Bonsi 1622 or 1621–1628
 * Clément de Bonsi 1628–1659
 * Pierre de Bonzi 1659–1669, later bishop of Toulouse (1669)
 * Armand Jean de Rotondy de Biscaras 1671–1702
 * Louis-Charles des Alris de Rousset 1702–1744
 * Léon-Louis-Ange de Ghistelle de Saint-Floris 1744–1745
 * Joseph-Bruno de Bausset de Roquefort 1745–1771
 * Aymar Claude de Nicolaï 1771–1790, last bishop of Béziers. The diocese was suppressed in 1790.
 * Dominique Pouderous, (constitutional bishop of l'Hérault, installed at Béziers) 1791–1799 (died at Béziers 10 April 1799)
 * Alexandre Victor Rouanet, (constitutional bishop of l'Hérault, installed at Béziers) 1799–1801 (dismissed)

From 1802, the constitutional bishops of l'Hérault resided at Montpellier.


 * Jean-Paul-Gaston de Pins 1817–1822

Reference works

 * (Use with caution; obsolete)
 * (in Latin)
 * (in Latin)

Studies

 * Bellaud Dessalles, Mathilde (1901), Les évèques italiens de l'ancien diocèse de Béziers, 1547-1669. Paris: A. Picard.
 * second edition (in French)
 * second edition (in French)
 * second edition (in French)