The Roman Catholic Diocese of Fréjus-Toulon is a diocese

Diocese

A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...

 of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. In 1957 it was renamed as the Diocese of Fréjus-Toulon.

A suffragan of the Archbishopric of Aix

Archbishopric of Aix

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Aix is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic church, in France. The Archepiscopal see is located in the city of Aix-en-Provence. The diocese comprises the department of Bouches-du-Rhône , in the Region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...

, it comprised the whole département of Var

Var (département)

The Var is a French department in the region Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur in Provence, in southeast France. It takes its name from the river Var, which used to flow along its eastern boundary, but the boundary was moved in 1860...

. It was suppressed by the Concordat of 1801

Concordat of 1801

The Concordat of 1801 was an agreement between Napoleon and Pope Pius VII, signed on 15 July 1801. It solidified the Roman Catholic Church as the majority church of France and brought back most of its civil status....

, re-established by that of 1817, and definitively established in 1823.

The arrondissement of Grasse

Arrondissement of Grasse

The arrondissement of Grasse is an arrondissement of France, located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region...

, which until 1860 belonged to the département of Var, when it was annexed to that of the Alpes-Maritimes

Alpes-Maritimes

Alpes-Maritimes is a department in the extreme southeast corner of France.- History : was created by Octavian as a Roman military district in 14 BC, and became a full Roman province in the middle of the 1st century with its capital first at Cemenelum and subsequently at Embrun...

, was, in 1886, separated from Fréjus and attached to the diocese of Nice. A Papal Brief

Papal brief

The Papal Brief is a formal document emanating from the Pope, in a somewhat simpler and more modern form than a Papal Bull.-History:The introduction of briefs, which occurred at the beginning of the pontificate of Pope Eugenius IV , was clearly prompted for the same desire for greater simplicity...

 of 1852 authorized the bishop to assume the title of Bishop of Fréjus and Toulon. The present diocese comprises the territory of the ancient Diocese of Fréjus as well as that of the ancient diocese of Toulon.

History

Christianity would seem to have been introduced into Fréjus in the time of Emperor Constantine. History relates that in 374 a certain Acceptus falsely declared himself guilty of some crimes in order to rid himself of the episcopal dignity, and that the Council of Valencia besought the Church to name another in his stead.

The following are named among the bishops of this see:

• St. Leontius
  Leontius of Fréjus
  Saint Leontius was a bishop of Fréjus, in Provence. He was born probably at Nîmes, towards the end of the fourth century; he died in his episcopal town in 488, according to some authorities, though others say 443 or even 448...
  
   (419-433), brother of St. Castor
  Castor of Apt
  Saint Castor of Apt was a bishop of Apt, in Gaul.He was born in Nîmes and may have been the brother of Saint Leontius of Fréjus. Castor was a lawyer and married to a wealthy widow. He lived in Marseilles. His wife, however, allowed him to enter the religious life; she herself entered a nunnery....
  
   and friend of John Cassian, who dedicated to him his first ten "Collationes", and of St. Honoratus, founder of the monastery of Lérins
  Lérins Abbey
  Lérins Abbey is a Cistercian monastery on the island of Saint-Honorat, one of the Lérins Islands, on the French Riviera, with an active monastic community....
  
  
• Theodore (433-455), Abbot of the Iles d'Hyères
  Îles d'Hyères
  The Îles d'Hyères is a group of three islands off Hyères in the Var département, in the south-east of France. The three mediterranean islands are named Porquerolles, Port-Cros and Île du Levant. Together, they make up an area of .-See also:...
  
  , to whom Cassian dedicated the last seven "Collationes"
• St. Auxilius (c. 475), formerly a monk of Lérins, and later a martyr under Euric
  Euric
  Euric, also known as Evaric, Erwig, or Eurico in Spanish and Portuguese , Son of Theodoric I and the younger brother of Theodoric II and ruled as king of the Visigoths, with his capital at Toulouse, from 466 until his death in 484.He inherited a large portion of the Visigothic possessions in the...
  
  , Arian King of the Visigoths
• Riculfus (973-1000), who restored the ruins made by the Saracens, and built the cathedral and the episcopal palace
• Bertrand (1044–91), who founded the collegiate church of Barjols
• Raymond Berengarius (1235–1248), who arranged the marriage of Beatrice, daughter of the Count of Provence, with Charles of Anjou
• Jacques d'Euse (1300–1310), preceptor of St. Louis of Toulouse, and later pope under the name of John XXII
• Cardinal Nicolò Fieschi (1495–1524), who at the time of his death was dean of the Sacred College
• André-Hercule de Fleury (1698–1715).

The Island of Lérins

Lérins Islands

The Lérins Islands are a group of four Mediterranean islands off the French Riviera, near Cannes. The two largest islands in this group are the Île Sainte-Marguerite and the Île Saint-Honorat...

, well known as the site of the celebrated monastery founded there in 410, was sold in 1859 by the bishop of Fréjus to an English purchaser. A number of the saints of Lérins are especially honoured in the diocese. Among them are Sts. Honoratus, Caesarius, Hilary

Hilary of Arles

Saint Hilary of Arles was a bishop of Arles. He is recognized as a saint by the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches, with his feast day celebrated on 5 May.- Life :...

, and Virgilius

Virgilius of Arles

Virgilius of Arles was Archbishop of Arles in Gaul.According to a life written in the eighth century he was born in a village of Aquitaine, became a monk, Abbot of Lérins, and Bishop of Arles, where he built a basilica of Saint Stephen and another of the Saviour...

, all of whom became archbishop of Arles; Quinidius

Quinidius

Quinidius was a French saint. He was born at Vaison-la-Romaine to a noble Christian family. As a young man, he became a hermit near Toulon and then at Lérins Abbey to devote himself to a life of prayer and asceticism....

, Bishop of Vaison; Valerius, Bishop of Nice; Maximus, Bishop of Riez; Veranus and Lambertus, both Bishop of Vence; Vincent of Lérins

Vincent of Lérins

Saint Vincent of Lérins was a Gallic author of early Christian writings.In earlier life he had been engaged in secular pursuits, whether civil or military is not clear, though the term he uses, "secularis militia," might possibly imply the latter...

, author of the Commonitorium, and his brother Lupus

Lupus of Troyes

Saint Lupus was an early bishop of Troyes. Born at Toul, he was brother-in-law to Hilary of Arles, as he had married one of Hilary's sisters, Pimeniola. Lupus worked as a lawyer. However, after being married for six years, he and his wife parted by mutual agreement.Lupus renounced all of his...

, Bishop of Troyes; Agricola

Agricola of Avignon

Saint Agricola of Avignon was a bishop of Avignon. According to tradition, Agricola was the son of Saint Magnus, also a bishop of the city....

, Bishop of Avignon; Aigulphus and Porcarius, martyrs; St. Tropesius, martyr during the persecution of Emperor Nero; St. Louis of Toulouse

Louis of Toulouse

Saint Louis of Toulouse was a cadet of the royal French house of Anjou who was made a Catholic bishop. The California mission, city and county of San Luis Obispo, California, are named after him....

 (1274–1297), a native of Brignoles

Brignoles

Brignoles is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.It was the summer residence of the counts of Provence...

, in the Diocese of Toulon, and later Archbishop of Toulouse; and the virgin St. Roseline, prioress of the monastery of La Celle-Roubaud, who died in 1329, and whose shrine, situated at Les Arcs near Draguignan, has been for six centuries a place of pilgrimage, are likewise especially honoured in the diocese.

The sojourn in 1482 of St. Francis of Paola at Bormes and at Fréjus, where he caused the cessation of the plague, made a lasting impression.

To 1000

• 400?–433: Leonce
  Léonce
  Édouard-Théodore Nicole , known as Léonce, was a French actor and singer.-Biography:Léonce was born in Paris. After studying law, he made his stage debut at the Théâtre de Belleville....
  
  
• 433–455: Theodor
• 463–465: Asterius
• 475?: Ausile
• 484?–506: Victorin
• 524: John I
• 527–529: Lupercien
• 541: Didier
• 549–554: Expectat
• 582: Epiphane
• 636: Martin
• ...
• 909–911: Benedict
• 949–952: Gontar
• 973–1000?: Riculfe

1000 to 1300

• 1010–1044: Gaucelme
• 1044–1091: Bertrand I.
• 1091–1131: Berenger
• 1131–1145: Bertrand II.
• 1154–1157: Pierre de Montlaur
• 1166–1197?: Fredol d'Anduze
• 1197–1202: Guillaume du Pont
• 1203–1206: Raimond de Capella
• 1206–1212: Bermond Cornut
• 1212?–1215: Raimond de Puyricard
• 1220: Olivier
• 1224–1233?: Bertrand III. de Favas
• 1235–1248: Raimond Berenger
• 1248–1264: Bertrand de Saint-Martin
  Bertrand de Saint-Martin
  Bertrand de Saint-Martin was a French cardinal.He entered the Order of Benedictines and by 1238 was dean of the abbey of Saint-André de Villeneuve at Avignon. In 1248 he was elected bishop of Fréjus. In 1264 he was transferred to the see of Avignon, and in 1266 to the metropolitan see of Arles...
  
  
• 1264–1266: Pierre de Camaret
• 1267–1280?: Guillaume de la Fonte
• 1280?–1299: Bertrand V. Comarque

1300 to 1500

• 1300–1310: Jacques Arnaud Duèze, later Pope John XXII
• 1318–1318: Bertrand VI. d'Aimini
• 1318–1340: Barthélémy Grassi
• 1340–1343: Jean d'Arpadelle
• 1343–1346: Guillaume d'Aubussac
• 1346–1348: Pierre Alamanni
• 1348: Pierre du Pin
• 1349–1360: Guillaume Amici (also Bishop of Apt and Bishop of Chartres)
• 1360–1361: Pierre Artaudi
• 1361–1364: Guillaume de Ruffec
• 1364–1371: Raimond Daconis
• 1371–1385: Bertrand de Villemus
• 1385: Emanuel I.
• 1385–1405: Louis de Bouillac
• 1408–1422: Gilles Juvenis
• 1422–1449?: Jean Bélard
• 1449–1452: Jacques Juvénal des Ursins
• 1452–1453: Jacques Séguin
• 1453–1455: Guillaume d'Estaing
• 1455–1462: Jean du Bellay
• 1462–1472: Léon Guérinet
• 1472: Réginald d'Angline
• 1472–1485: Urbain de Fiesque
• 1485–1488: Nicolas de Fiesque
• 1488–1494: Rostan d'Ancesune
• 1495–1524: Nicolas de Fiesque

1500 to 1800

• 1524–1534: Franciot des Ursins
• 1525–1564: Léon des Ursins
• 1565–1579: Bertrand de Romans
• 1579–1591: François de Bouliers
• 1591–1599?: Gérard Bellenger
• 1599–1637: Barthélémy Camelin
• 1637–1654: Pierre Camelin
• 1658–1674: Zongo Ondedei
• 1676–1678: Antoine de Clermont
• 1679–1680: Louis d’Anglure de Bourlemont
• 1681–1697: Luc d'Aquin
• 1697–1699: Louis d'Aquin
• 1699–1715: André-Hercule de Fleury (1. November 1698 bis 3. Mai 1715)
• 1715–1739: Pierre de Castellane
• 1739–1765: Martin du Bellay
  Martin Du Bellay
  Martin Du Bellay, Sieur de Langey was a French nobleman and chronicler. His memoirs of the Italian Wars form one of the most significant primary sources for the period.-Works:...
  
  
• 1766–1801: Emmanuel de Bausset

From 1800

• Suppressed 1801–1822
• Charles-Alexandre de Richery (8 August 1817 to 8 February 1829) (also Archbishop of Aix)
• Louis-Charles-Jean-Baptiste Michel (16 April 1829 to 22 February 1845)
• Casimir-Alexis-Joseph Wicart (29 March 1845 to 3. July 1855) (also Bishop of Laval)
• Joseph-Antoine-Henri Jordany (6 November 1855 to March 1876)
• Joseph-Sébastien-Ferdinand Terris (17 March 1876 to 8 April 1885)
• Fédéric-Henri Oury (2 March 1886 to 3 June 1890) (also Bishop of Dijon)
• Eudoxe-Irénée-Edouard Mignot (3 June 1890 to 7 December 1899) (auch Archbishop of Albi)
• Aloys-Joseph-Eugène Arnaud (7 December 1899 to 17 June 1905)
• Félix-Adolphe-Camille-Jean-Baptiste Guillibert (21 February 1906 to 31 May 1926)
• Auguste-Joseph-Marie Simeone (30 July 1926 to 22 October 1940)
• Auguste Joseph Gaudel (24 September 1941 to 30 June 1960)
• Henri-Louis-Marie Mazerat (30 July 1960 to 11 December 1961) (also Bishop of Angers)
• Gilles-Henri-Alexis Barthe (4 May 1962 to 8 February 1983)
• Joseph Théophile Louis Marie Madec
  Joseph Théophile Louis Marie Madec
  Joseph Théophile Louis Marie Madec is a French Prelate of Roman Catholic Church.Joseph Théophile Louis Marie Madec was born in Ploërmel, France, ordained a priest on April 5, 1947. Madec was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Fréjus-Toulon on February 8, 1983 and ordained bishop on April 10, 1983...
  
   (8 February 1983 to 16 May 2000)
• Dominique Marie Jean Rey (16 May 2000–present)