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Archdiocese of Lyon

Lugdunen(sis)

Metropolitan see · Latin Church · Lyon, France

The Archdiocese of Lyon is a Latin rite metropolitan archdiocese in east-central France, one of the most ancient sees in Gaul, erected in the 2nd century; its archbishop bears the historic title Primate of the Gauls. The mother church is the Primatial Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Lyon, and the see heads the ecclesiastical province of Lyon.

The see

Rank
Metropolitan see
Tradition
Latin Church
Erected
2nd century
Latin
Lugdunen(sis)
Patron
St. Irenaeus of Lyon; St. Pothinus
Annuario code
001002083

The see in figures

Catholics
1,305,400
Population
2,038,830
Catholic shareof the people living within its bounds
64.0%
Priests
260
Catholics per priest
5,021
Extent
5,087 km²
Catholics per km²
257

Figures as recorded in the register, from the Annuario Pontificio and the see's own published statements. Shares and ratios are computed from the two figures shown beside them.

The bishop

Archbishop
Olivier de Germay
Born
18 September 1960
Birthplace
Tours

A see whose chair stands empty is recorded as vacant rather than filled with a guess. On what a bishop is, see the bishop.

The cathedral

Primatial Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Lyon stands in Lyon, the church that holds the cathedra from which this see takes its name.

On what a cathedral is, see the cathedral; every see church on earth is gathered at the cathedrals.

The province of Lyon

This see is the metropolitan of its province.

The sees of this province:

On how the Church is ordered into provinces, see the diocese.

History

France's oldest diocese, and among the oldest in Western Christianity, the Archdiocese of Lyon (Latin: Archidiœcesis Lugdunensis; French: Archidiocèse de Lyon) is a Latin Church metropolitan archdiocese of the Catholic Church, formerly the Archdiocese of Lyon-Vienne-Embrun. Its archbishops carry the honorary title of primates of Gaul and are traditionally elevated by the pope to the rank of cardinal. Olivier de Germay was appointed archbishop of Lyon on 22 October 2020, and is assisted by three auxiliary bishops: Patrick Le Gal (since 2009), Loïc Lagadec, and Thierry Brac de La Perrière (both since 2023).

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Sources

The see's own website · Wikipedia

Compiled from the published statements of the see and the references of the Holy See, among them the Annuario Pontificio. Corrections: hello@catholicintelligence.com.