The Archdiocese of Bourges is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in France. Since 2000 it is led by Archbishop Hubert Barbier. Pope Pius XI blesses Bishop Stephen Alencastre as fifth Apostolic Vicar of the Hawaiian Islands in a Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace window. ... The Roman Catholic Church or Catholic Church (see Terminology below) is the Christian Church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, currently Pope Benedict XVI. It traces its origins and sees itself as the true Church founded by Jesus of Nazareth and maintained through Apostolic Succession from the Twelve... In Christianity, an archbishop is an elevated bishop. ...

History

The diocese was founded in the 3rd century. Its first bishop was St. Ursinus of Bourges. In the Middle Ages there was a dispute between the bishop of Bourges and the bishop of Bordeaux about the primacy of Aquitaine. Bourges was the place of many synods. The synods 1225 and 1226 are the most important and dealt with the Albigenses. // Overview Events 212: Constitutio Antoniniana grants citizenship to all free Roman men 212-216: Baths of Caracalla 230-232: Sassanid dynasty of Persia launches a war to reconquer lost lands in the Roman east 235-284: Crisis of the Third Century shakes Roman Empire 250-538: Kofun era, the first... Saint Ursinus of Bourges ( Ursin) (3rd century) is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church and is considered the first bishop of Bourges. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... The archdiocese of Bordeaux comprises the entire départment of the Gironde and was established conformably to the Concordat of 1802 by combining the ancient Diocese of Bordeaux (diminished by the cession of Born to the Bishopric of Aire) with the greater part of the suppressed Diocese of Bazas. ... Location Administration Capital Bordeaux Regional President Alain Rousset (PS) (since 1998) Départements Dordogne Gironde Landes Lot-et-Garonne Pyrénées-Atlantiques Arrondissements 18 Cantons 235 Communes 2,296 Statistics Land area1 41,309 km² Population (Ranked 6th)  - January 1, 2005 est. ... Events Births Thomas Aquinas, Christian philosopher and theologian (d. ... Events Carmelite Order approved by Pope Honorius III Frederick II calls Imperial Diet of Cremona Births June 21 - King Boleslaus V of Poland (died 1279) Abul-Faraj, Syriac scholar (died 1286) Bar-Hebraeus, Syriac historian and bishop (died 1286) Deaths March 7 - William de Longespee, 3rd Earl of Salisbury, English... Albigenses were a group named for Albi, a city in southern France. ...

List of Bishops

• Ursinus of Bourges (3rd century)
• Sevitianus
• Aetherius
• Thecretus
• Marcellus (all prior to 337)
• Palladius (377-384)
• Leo (453)
• Simplicius (472-480)
• Desideratus (549-550)
• Probianus
• Felix
• Remedius
• Sulpicius I. of Bourges (all in the second half of the sixth century)
• Austregisilus (612-624)
• Sulpicius II. of Bourges (624-644)
• David (793-802)
• Agilulfus (c. 820-840)
• Guillaume de Donjeon (1200-09)
• Aegidius a Columnis (1298-1316)
• Jean Coeur
• Hubert Barbier (2000-)