The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Fort-de-France is an Archdiocese 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 the Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

. The Archdiocese comprises the entirety of the former French dependency of Martinique

Martinique

Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...

. The Archdiocese is the Metropolitan for the suffragan dioceses of Cayenne

Roman Catholic Diocese of Cayenne

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Cayenne is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Fort-de-France. It was elevated on to the Vicariate Apostolic of French Guiana-Cayenne on 10 January 1933 and to the Diocese of Cayenne on 29 February 1956.-Ordinaries:*Giustino Fabre *Leone Delaval, C.S.Sp...

 and Basse-Terre

Roman Catholic Diocese of Basse-Terre

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Basse-Terre is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in the Caribbean. The diocese comprises the entirety of the former French dependency of Guadeloupe...

, and is a member of the Antilles Episcopal Conference

Antilles Episcopal Conference

The Antilles Episcopal Conference is a Roman Catholic episcopal conference. Its members are bishops and archbishops from current and former British, Dutch, and French colonies and dependencies in the Caribbean , Central America, and northern South America. The conference's membership includes five...

.

Erected as the Diocese of Martinique in 1850, the diocese was elevated to an Archdiocese in September 1967. It is currently led by Archbishop Gilbert Marie Michel Méranville

Gilbert Marie Michel Méranville

Gilbert Marie Michel Méranville has been the Roman Catholic archbishop of the Archdiocese of Fort-de-France in Martinique since 2003. Méranville was ordained a priest in 1959 and on 14 November 2003 succeeded Maurice Rigobert Marie-Sainte as the archbishop of Fort-de-France.-External links:*...

. As of 2004, the diocese contains 47 parishes, 35 active diocesan priests, 27 religious priests, and 290,000 Catholics. It also has 178 Women Religious and 37 Religious Brothers.

Ordinaries

• Etienne Jean François Le Herpeur (1850–1858)
• Louis-Martin Porchez (1858–1860)
• Amand-Joseph Fava (1871–1875)
• Julien-François-Pierre Carmené (1875–1897)
• Étienne-Joseph-Frédéric Tanoux (1898–1899)
• Maurice-Charles-Alfred de Cormont (1899–1911)
• Joseph Félix François Malleret C.S.S. (1912–1914)
• Paul-Louis-Joseph Lequien (1915–1941)
• Henri-Marie-François Varin de la Brunelière C.S.S. (1941–1972)
• Maurice Rigobert Marie-Sainte (1972–2004)
• Gilbert Marie Michel Méranville
  Gilbert Marie Michel Méranville
  Gilbert Marie Michel Méranville has been the Roman Catholic archbishop of the Archdiocese of Fort-de-France in Martinique since 2003. Méranville was ordained a priest in 1959 and on 14 November 2003 succeeded Maurice Rigobert Marie-Sainte as the archbishop of Fort-de-France.-External links:*...
  
  (2004–present)

External links

• Archdiocese of Fort-de-France page at catholichierarchy.org retrieved July 18, 2006