The Diocese of Verdun is a territorial subdivision of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The diocese is subdivided into 577 parishes. The Archbishopric of Besançon was a tiny ecclesiastical state in the Holy Roman Empire. ... Latin Rite, in the singular and accompanied, in English, by the definite article (the Latin Rite), designates the particular Church, within the Catholic Church, which developed in western Europe and northern Africa, when Latin was the language of education and culture, and so also of the liturgy. ... Square kilometre (US spelling: Square kilometer), symbol km², is an SI unit of surface area. ... Verdun (German (old): Wirten, official name before 1970 Verdun-sur-Meuse) is a city and commune in the Lorraine région, northeast France, in the Meuse département, of which it is a sous-préfecture. ... 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 to the original Christian community founded by Jesus Christ and led by the Twelve Apostles, in particular Saint Peter. ...

History

The diocese dates back to the 4th century. On November 29 1801 it was suppressed and added to the Diocese of Nancy. On October 6 1822 the diocese was re-established. Until 1801, it was part of the ecclesiastical province of the Archbishop of Trier. The Diocese of Nancy is a Roman Catholic diocese in France. ... An ecclesiastical province is a unit of religious government existing in certain Christian churches. ... The Archbishopric of Trier was one of the important ecclesiastical principalities of the Holy Roman Empire. ...

The Bishopric of Verdun was also a state of the Holy Roman Empire; it was located at the western edge of the Empire and was bordered by France, the Duchy of Luxembourg, and the Duchy of Bar. It was annexed to France in 1552; this was recognized by the Holy Roman Empire in the Peace of Westphalia of 1648. It then was a part of the province of the Three Bishoprics. The double-headed eagle A portrait of Charlemagne wearing the crown of the Holy Roman Empire (15th century painting by Albrecht Dürer) The Holy Roman Empire was a mainly Germanic conglomeration of lands in Central Europe during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. ... In the middle of the 10th century, the territory of Bar (Barrois) formed a dependency of the Holy Roman Empire. ... Events April - War between Henry II of France and Emperor Charles V. Henry invades Lorraine and captures Toul, Metz, and Verdun. ... The Ratification of the Treaty of Münster by Gerard Terborch (1648) Banquet of the Amsterdam Civic Guard in Celebration of the Peace of Münster by Bartholomeus van der Helst, 1648 The Peace of Westphalia, also known as the Treaties of Münster and Osnabrück, refers to the... The Three Bishoprics (French: Trois-Évêchés) were a province of pre-Revolutionary France. ...

Famous bishops

• Jacques Pantaléon, later Pope Urban IV (1251–1255)
• John, Cardinal of Lorraine (1523–1544)
• Nicholas, Duke of Mercoeur (1544–1547)

Urban IV, born Jacques Pantaléon (Troyes, ca. ... John of Lorraine (April 9, 1498, Bar-le-Duc – May 18, 1550, Neuvy-sur-Loire) was cardinal of Lorraine, archbishop of Reims, Lyon and Narbonne, bishop of Metz, Toul, Verdun, Thérouanne, Luçon, Albi, Valence, Nantes and Agen. ... Nicholas of Lorraine-Mercoeur, Duke of Mercoeur (October 16, 1524, Bar-le-Duc – January 23, 1577) was the second son of Antoine, Duke of Lorraine and Renée of Bourbon-Montpensier. ...

External links

• Website of the diocese
• Catholic hierarchy