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The Diocese of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg (Latin: Dioecesis Lausannensis, Genevensis et Friburgensis) is a Latin Catholic diocese in Switzerland, which is (as all sees in the Alpine country) exempt (i.e. immediately subject to the Holy See, not part of any ecclesiastical province). The original diocese of Lausanne was a suffragan of the archdiocese of Besançon until 1801. The diocese of Geneva was a suffragan of the archdiocese of Vienne.
The diocese covers the cantons of Fribourg, Geneva, Vaud and Neuchâtel, with the exception of certain parishes of the right bank of the Rhône belonging to the Diocese of Sion (Sitten). It was created by the merger in 1821 of the Diocese of Lausanne and the Diocese of Geneva, both prince-bishoprics until they were secularized during the Reformation. Until 1924, it was called the Diocese of Lausanne and Geneva. The diocese has its seat at Fribourg. The current bishop is Charles Morerod, O.P., who was ordained and installed on 11 December 2011.
Despite the name, it has no direct link with the former Diocese of Geneva (400-1801), which was merged into the then Diocese of Chambéry, which was promoted to a Metropolitan see but lost former Genevan territory to the Diocese of Lausanne in 1819.
The origin of the See of Lausanne can be traced to the ancient See of Windisch (Vindonissa). Bubulcus, the first Bishop of Windisch, appeared at the imperial Synod of Epaone for the Arelatic Kingdom of the Burgundians in 517. The second and last known Bishop of Windisch was Gramatius (Grammatius), who signed the decrees of the Synods of Clermont in 535, of Orléans, 541, and that of Orléans in 549. It was generally believed that shortly after this the see was transferred from Windisch to Konstanz, until investigations, particularly by Marius Besson, made it probable that, between 549 and 585, the see was divided and the real seat of the bishops of Windisch transferred to Avenches (Aventicum), while the eastern part of the diocese was united with the Diocese of Konstanz.
Lausanne was originally a suffragan of the archbishopric of Lyon (certainly about the seventh century), later of Besançon, from which it was detached by the French Napoleonic Concordat of 1801.
In medieval times, as attested by the charter of the Emperor Henry IV, the diocese extended from the Aar, near Solothurn, to the northern end of the Valley of St. Imier, thence along the Doubs and the ridge of the Jura Mountains to where the Aubonne flows into Lake Geneva, and thence along the north of the lake to Villeneuve whence the boundary-line followed the watershed between Rhône and Aar to the Grimsel, and down the Aar to Attiswil. In addition to confirming previous grants, Henry gave the diocese the places called Muratum, Lustriacum, Carbarissa, Corise, Cubizaca, Leuco and Natres. These are mentioned in the bull "Cogit nos" of Pope Alexander III of 17 October 1179, in which he takes the diocese of Lausanne under papal protection at the request of the recently elected Bishop Roger.
Thus the diocese included the town of Solothurn and part of its territory that part of the Canton of Bern which lay on the left bank of the River Aar, also Biel/Bienne, the Valley of St. Imier, Jougne and Les Longevilles in the Franche-Comté, the countships of Neuchâtel and Valangin, the greater part of the Canton of Vaud, the Canton of Fribourg, the countship of Gruyère and most of the Bernese Oberland.
The present diocese includes the Cantons of Fribourg, Vaud and Neuchâtel.
Bishop Marius of Avenches attended the Synod of Mâcon of 585. The "Chartularium of Lausanne" affirms that St. Marius was born in the Burgundian Diocese of Autun about 530, was consecrated Bishop of Avenches in May 574 and died on 31 December 594. Marius wrote an addition (455–581) to the Chronicle of St. Prosper of Aquitaine. The episcopal see of Avenches may have been transferred to Lausanne by Marius, or possibly not before 610.
The most distinguished subsequent bishops are: Heinrich von Lenzburg (d. 1019), who rebuilt the cathedral, which was completed c. 1000; Hugo (1019–1037), a son of Rudolf III of Burgundy, in 1037 proclaimed the "Peace of God"; Burkart von Oltingen (1057–1089), one of the most devoted adherents of Emperor Henry IV, with whom he was banished, and made the pilgrimage to Canossa; Guido von Merlen (1130–1144), a correspondent of Bernard of Clairvaux; Amadeus of Hauterive, a Cistercian (1144–1459), who wrote homilies in honour of the Blessed Virgin. During the administration of Bishop Amedeus, Pope Eugenius III visited Lausanne between 14 and 20 May 1148.
Boniface of Brussels (1231–1239) was formerly a master in the Sorbonne University of Paris and head of the cathedral school at Cologne; he resigned because of physical ill-treatment, and was later appointed auxiliary bishop at Liège and then at Utrecht. The Benedictine Louis de la Palud (1432–1440) took part in the Councils of Konstanz (1414), Pavia-Siena (1423) and Basel (1431) and at Basel, in January 1432, was chosen Bishop of Lausanne, against Jean de Prangins, the chapter's choice; Palud was later vice-chamberlain of the conclave, in which Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy was elected Antipope Felix V, by whom he was made a cardinal.
Bishop George of Saluzzo was a notable episcopal legislator. On 17 May 1453, he formalised an agreement with the canons of the cathedral as a set of Statutes. On 2 June 1453, he published statutes and regulations for the episcopal court of the Official. He also published synodical constitutions for the reform of the clergy; Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere (1472–1476) in 1503 ascended the papal throne as Pope Julius II.
Meanwhile, the bishops of Lausanne, who had been Counts of Vaud since the time of Rudolph III of Burgundy (1011), and until 1218 subject only to imperial authority, were in 1270 granted the status of prince of the Holy Roman Empire, but their temporal power only extended over a small part of the diocese, namely over the city and district of Lausanne, as well as a few towns and villages in the Cantons of Vaud and Fribourg; on the other hand, the bishops possessed many vassals among the most distinguished of the patrician families of what is now western Switzerland.
For the government of the diocese there were, besides the bishop, two vicars-general, one living at Geneva, the other at Fribourg. Though the office existed in the church for more than a century, the earliest known vicar-general in Lausanne was Bishop Joannes of Lacedaemon (1299–1300). There was, moreover, a provicarius generalis, who is also chancellor of the diocese, and a secretary.
At least as early as 813, at the Council of Mainz, summoned by Charlemagne, the bishops advised all bishops and abbots, as well as the whole clergy, that they should have good vicedomini, provosts, and advocates or defenders. An advocate Trogo is known at Lausanne in 885, and an Elduin in 896. A count Anselm, perhaps a count of Equestres, is recorded between 926 and 954.
The guardianship of the ecclesiastical property (advocati, avoués) of the see was in the hands of the counts of Genevois by the end of the 11th century; then the lords of Gerenstein, the dukes of Zähringen (c. 1156); the counts of Kyburg (1218); and finally the counts (later dukes) of Savoy. These guardians, whose only duty originally was the protection of the diocese, enlarged their jurisdiction at the expense of the diocesan rights and even filled the episcopal see with members of their families.
On 18 December 1480, Abbot Franciscus de Villarsel of the Benedictine abbey of S. John Erlacensis, acting as arbiter, published the negotiated terms of an agreement between Bishop Benoit de Montferrand and the Syndics of the community of Lausanne concerning the reciprocal rights of the two parties. In July 1481, upper Lausanne (the city) and lower Lausanne (the bourg) united into one community, giving all the burghers greater influence in civil affairs. Quarrels broke out between the city of Lausanne and the bishop, which in 1482 ended up being litigated in the council of the Duke of Savoy. Quarrels continued, during which the city of Lausanne, with the aid of Bern and Fribourg, acquired new rights, and gradually freed itself from episcopal suzerainty. When Bishop Sebastian de Montfaucon (1517–1560) took sides with the Duke of Savoy in a battle against Bern, the Bernese used this as a pretext to seize the city of Lausanne.
The cathedral chapter of Lausanne was in existence by the 9th century. The earliest known canons are attested in 856. By 1228, the Chapter had 32 canons. It was suppressed at the time of the Protestant Reformation and has never been re-established, in consequence of which the choice of a bishop rests with the Holy See.
The Second Lateran Council (1139) recognised the right of chapters to participate in the election of bishops, but forbade them to exclude from the process "religious persons" (laity). Without their presence and assent, the election was void. The document called the "Rights of the Bishops of Lausanne and the Customs of the City" recognises the right of the canons to engage in the free election of a bishop. The Fourth Lateran Council (1215) ruled that elections for a bishop were to be conducted by the college of canons, and clandestine elections were forbidden; anyone elected through the abuse of secular power became ineligible for the office and could not hold another dignity. Since the Reformation, the bishops of Lausanne have been directly appointed by the pope.
The leaders of the town of Fribourg had built the church of Saint Nicholas, and staffed it with seven priests who carried on its liturgical functions. They were eager to increase its status and stability, and had petitioned the cardinal legate, Reymond Perrault (1502–1504), to carry their case to the papal court. The cardinal, however, died in 1505. In 1512 Pope Julius II finally agreed to their petition, and established a collegiate chapter in the church of St. Nicholas at Fribourg, which was made immediately subject to the Holy See, with a provost, a dean, a cantor, and twelve canons. The citizens of Fribourg were granted the right to nominate candidates to a vacancy, but the right to approve and institute the provost was reserved to the pope; the bishop had the right to institute the dean; and the cantor and canons were instituted by the provost. This collegiate church served in the place of a diocesan cathedral, lacking since the cathedral of St. Pierre at Geneva and that of Notre-Dame at Lausanne were given over to Protestantism at the time of the Reformation.
The cantons of Vaud, Neuchâtel and Bern were entirely lost by the See of Lausanne to the Reformation. Due to the political union of Bern, Fribourg and Lausanne, the Protestant preacher William Farel was able to preach in public in Lausanne in 1529.
On 31 March 1536, Hans Franz Nägeli, the leader of Bern, who was making war with the duke of Savoy over the Vaud, occupied Lausanne, banned the practice of the Catholic religion, and began a religious revolution. The bishop was obliged to flee, the ecclesiastical treasure was taken to Bern, the cathedral chapter was dissolved (and never re-established), while the cathedral was given over to the Swiss Reformed Church. Bishop Sebastian died an exile in 1560, and his three successors were likewise exiles. It was only in 1614, under Bishop Jean de Watteville, that the bishop's residence was provisionally established at Fribourg, where it has since remained.
Shortly after the relocation of the bishops of Lausanne to Fribourg, efforts began to institute a seminary for priests, in accordance with the directives of the Council of Trent. An approach was made to the Cantonal Government in 1583, but the project was rejected. In the meantime, a "maison d'exercices" was established in Fribourg in the 1680s, for a year's study before a priest took up a parish position. Finally, Bishop Pierre de Montenach established a proper seminary at the village of Surpierre, in the valley of the Broye, which lasted from 1692 to 1709. In November 1795, a diocesan seminary was established in Fribourg, conducted by the directors of the seminary of Besançon who had been expelled from their diocese by agents of the French revolution.
By the French revolutionary "Constitution Civile du Clergé" (24 August 1790), it was decreed that the country was to be divided into 83 departments, and each department was to have one diocese; the dioceses were organised into 10 "metropoles". In the neighborhood of Geneva, the parishes of the French Jura fell to the Diocese of Belley, which surrounded the city, and the department of Doubs was created with its center at Besançon. The diocese of Belley was assigned to the Métropole de l'Est, governed by the archbishop of Besançon. By the Concordat of 29 November 1801 between the First Consul Napoleon and Pope Pius VII, the diocese of Belley was assigned as a suffragan of the archdiocese of Besançon, while the territory of the diocese of Geneva was assigned to the ecclesiastical province of Vienne, and its title was suppressed.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Prince-Bishopric of Lausanne”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.