Archdiocese of Cambrai
Encyclopedia
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cambrai is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic church
in France
, comprising the arrondissements of Avesnes-sur-Helpe
, Cambrai
, Douai
, and Valenciennes
within the département of Nord, in the region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The current archbishop is François Charles Garnier, appointed in December 2000. Since 2002 the archdiocese has been a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Lille
, reversing the prior arrangement.
(Vaast) was relocated here from Arras
. Though subordinate to the Archdiocese of Reims, Cambrai's jurisdiction was immense and included even Brussels
and Antwerp.
In the early Middle Ages the Diocese of Cambrai was included in that part of Lotharingia
which at first had been allocated to the West Frankish king Charles the Bald
by the 870 Treaty of Meerssen
but, after various vicissitudes, passed under the rule of the German
king Henry the Fowler in 925. After the revolt by Duke Gilbert of Lorraine
collapsed at the 939 Battle of Andernach
, King Louis IV of France
renounced the Lotharingian lands and in 941 Henry's son and successor King Otto I of Germany
ratified all the privileges that had been accorded the Bishop of Cambrai by the Frankish rulers.
In 1007, the Bishops gained an immediate secular territory, when Emperor Henry II the Saint
invested them with authority over the former County of Cambrésis; the Bishop of Cambrai was thus the overlord of the twelve "peers of Cambresis". The Prince-Bishop
ric of Cambrai became an Imperial State
, located between the County of Hainaut
and the border with Flanders
and Vermandois
in the Kingdom of France
, while the citizens of Cambrai struggled to gain the autonomous status of an Imperial city
. In the 14th and 15th century, the bishopric temporarily was a protectorate
of the Burgundian dukes
, which, with the heritage of Mary the Rich
, passed to her husband Maximilian I of Habsburg
in 1482.
Cambrai from 1512 was part of the Imperial Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle and – like the Prince-Bishopric of Liège – not incorporated into the Seventeen Provinces
of the Burgundian Circle
. Neverteheless the creation in 1559 of the new metropolitan See of Mechlin and of eleven other dioceses in the Southern Netherlands
was at the request of King Philip II of Spain
in order to facilitate the struggle against the Reformation
. The change greatly restricted the limits of the Diocese of Cambrai which, when thus dismembered, was made by way of compensation an archiepiscopal see with the dioceses of St. Omer, Tournai and Namur as suffragans. The councils of Leptines, at which Saint Boniface
played an important role, were held in what was then the Belgian part of the former Diocese of Cambrai.
Under King Louis XIV
the Bishopric of Cambrai finally became French
according to the 1678/79 Treaties of Nijmegen
, from 1790 part of the Nord department. By the Napoleonic Concordat of 1801
, Cambrai was again reduced to a simple bishopric, suffragan to Paris
, and included remnants of the former dioceses of Tournai, Ypres
, and St. Omer. In 1817 both the pope and the king
were eager for the erection of a see at Lille
, but Bishop Louis de Belmas (1757–1841), a former constitutional bishop
, vigorously opposed it. Immediately upon his death, in 1841, Cambrai once more became an archbishopric with the diocese of Arras as suffragan.
For the first bishops of Arras and Cambrai, who resided at the former place, see Arras
. On the death of Saint Vedulphus (545-580) the episcopal residence was transferred from Arras to Cambrai. Among his successors were:
The Jesuits Cortyl and du Béron, first apostles of the Pelew Islands, were martyred in 1701, and Chomé (1696–1767), who was prominent in the Missions of Paraguay
and Argentina
in the province of Misiones, also the Oratorian Gratry (1805–1872), philosopher and member of the French Academy, were natives of the Diocese of Cambrai. The English college of Douai, founded by William Allen in 1568, gave in subsequent centuries a certain number of apostles and martyrs to Catholic England. Since the promulgation of the law of 1875 on higher education, Lille has been the seat of important Catholic faculties.
Notable French and Flemish composers who served as maître de chapelle at Cambrai include Guillaume Dufay
, Robert de Févin
, Johannes Lupus and Jean de Bonmarché
.
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...
, comprising the arrondissements of Avesnes-sur-Helpe
Avesnes-sur-Helpe
Avesnes-sur-Helpe is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department Nord-Pas Calais. Avesnes-sur-Helpe is known as "the little Switzerland of the north." This region is filled with spacious country parks areas and leisure facilities, including Val...
, Cambrai
Cambrai
Cambrai is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.Cambrai is the seat of an archdiocese whose jurisdiction was immense during the Middle Ages. The territory of the Bishopric of Cambrai, roughly coinciding with the shire of Brabant, included...
, Douai
Douai
-Main sights:Douai's ornate Gothic style belfry was begun in 1380, on the site of an earlier tower. The 80 m high structure includes an impressive carillon, consisting of 62 bells spanning 5 octaves. The originals, some dating from 1391 were removed in 1917 during World War I by the occupying...
, and Valenciennes
Valenciennes
Valenciennes is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.It lies on the Scheldt river. Although the city and region had seen a steady decline between 1975 and 1990, it has since rebounded...
within the département of Nord, in the region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The current archbishop is François Charles Garnier, appointed in December 2000. Since 2002 the archdiocese has been a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Lille
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lille
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lille is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic church in France. Erected in 1913 as the Diocese of Lille, the archdiocese encompasses the arrondissements of Dunkerque and Lille, within the department of Nord in the Region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais...
, reversing the prior arrangement.
History
Originally erected in the late 6th century as the Diocese of Cambrai, when the episcopal see after the death of the Frankish bishop Saint VedastVedast
Saint Vedast or Vedastus, also known as Saint Vaast or Saint Waast and Saint Gaston in French, Saint Vedast or Vedastus, also known as Saint Vaast (in Flemish, Norman, and Picard) or Saint Waast (also in Picard and Walloon) and Saint Gaston in French, Saint Vedast or Vedastus, also known as Saint...
(Vaast) was relocated here from Arras
Arras
Arras is the capital of the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. The historic centre of the Artois region, its local speech is characterized as a Picard dialect...
. Though subordinate to the Archdiocese of Reims, Cambrai's jurisdiction was immense and included even Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
and Antwerp.
In the early Middle Ages the Diocese of Cambrai was included in that part of Lotharingia
Lotharingia
Lotharingia was a region in northwest Europe, comprising the Low Countries, the western Rhineland, the lands today on the border between France and Germany, and what is now western Switzerland. It was born of the tripartite division in 855, of the kingdom of Middle Francia, itself formed of the...
which at first had been allocated to the West Frankish king Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald , Holy Roman Emperor and King of West Francia , was the youngest son of the Emperor Louis the Pious by his second wife Judith.-Struggle against his brothers:He was born on 13 June 823 in Frankfurt, when his elder...
by the 870 Treaty of Meerssen
Treaty of Meerssen
The Treaty of Meerssen or Mersen was a partition treaty of the Carolingian Empire concluded on 8 August 870 by the two surviving sons of Emperor Louis the Pious, King Charles the Bald of West Francia and Louis the German of East Francia, at Meerssen north of Maastricht, in the present-day...
but, after various vicissitudes, passed under the rule of the German
Kingdom of Germany
The Kingdom of Germany developed out of the eastern half of the former Carolingian Empire....
king Henry the Fowler in 925. After the revolt by Duke Gilbert of Lorraine
Gilbert, Duke of Lorraine
Gilbert was the duke of Lotharingia until 939.The beginning of the reign of Gilbert is not clear. A dux Lotharingiae is mentioned in 910 and this may have been Gilbert...
collapsed at the 939 Battle of Andernach
Battle of Andernach
The Battle of Andernach, between the followers and the opponents of King Otto I of Germany, took place at 2 October 939 in Andernach on the Rhine river and ended with a decisive defeat of the rebels and the death of their leaders....
, King Louis IV of France
Louis IV of France
Louis IV , called d'Outremer or Transmarinus , reigned as King of Western Francia from 936 to 954...
renounced the Lotharingian lands and in 941 Henry's son and successor King Otto I of Germany
Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor
Otto I the Great , son of Henry I the Fowler and Matilda of Ringelheim, was Duke of Saxony, King of Germany, King of Italy, and "the first of the Germans to be called the emperor of Italy" according to Arnulf of Milan...
ratified all the privileges that had been accorded the Bishop of Cambrai by the Frankish rulers.
In 1007, the Bishops gained an immediate secular territory, when Emperor Henry II the Saint
Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry II , also referred to as Saint Henry, Obl.S.B., was the fifth and last Holy Roman Emperor of the Ottonian dynasty, from his coronation in Rome in 1014 until his death a decade later. He was crowned King of the Germans in 1002 and King of Italy in 1004...
invested them with authority over the former County of Cambrésis; the Bishop of Cambrai was thus the overlord of the twelve "peers of Cambresis". The Prince-Bishop
Prince-Bishop
A Prince-Bishop is a bishop who is a territorial Prince of the Church on account of one or more secular principalities, usually pre-existent titles of nobility held concurrently with their inherent clerical office...
ric of Cambrai became an Imperial State
Imperial State
An Imperial State or Imperial Estate was an entity in the Holy Roman Empire with a vote in the Imperial Diet assemblies. Several territories of the Empire were not represented, while some officials were non-voting members; neither qualified as Imperial States.Rulers of Imperial States were...
, located between the County of Hainaut
County of Hainaut
The County of Hainaut was a historical region in the Low Countries with its capital at Mons . In English sources it is often given the archaic spelling Hainault....
and the border with Flanders
County of Flanders
The County of Flanders was one of the territories constituting the Low Countries. The county existed from 862 to 1795. It was one of the original secular fiefs of France and for centuries was one of the most affluent regions in Europe....
and Vermandois
Vermandois
Vermandois was a French county, that appears in the Merovingian period. In the tenth century, it was organised around two castellan domains: St Quentin and Péronne . Pepin I of Vermandois, the earliest of its hereditary counts, was descended in direct male line from the emperor Charlemagne...
in the Kingdom of France
France in the Middle Ages
France in the Middle Ages covers an area roughly corresponding to modern day France, from the death of Louis the Pious in 840 to the middle of the 15th century...
, while the citizens of Cambrai struggled to gain the autonomous status of an Imperial city
Free Imperial City
In the Holy Roman Empire, a free imperial city was a city formally ruled by the emperor only — as opposed to the majority of cities in the Empire, which were governed by one of the many princes of the Empire, such as dukes or prince-bishops...
. In the 14th and 15th century, the bishopric temporarily was a protectorate
Protectorate
In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
of the Burgundian dukes
Duchy of Burgundy
The Duchy of Burgundy , was heir to an ancient and prestigious reputation and a large division of the lands of the Second Kingdom of Burgundy and in its own right was one of the geographically larger ducal territories in the emergence of Early Modern Europe from Medieval Europe.Even in that...
, which, with the heritage of Mary the Rich
Mary of Burgundy
Mary of Burgundy ruled the Burgundian territories in Low Countries and was suo jure Duchess of Burgundy from 1477 until her death...
, passed to her husband Maximilian I of Habsburg
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian I , the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky...
in 1482.
Cambrai from 1512 was part of the Imperial Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle and – like the Prince-Bishopric of Liège – not incorporated into the Seventeen Provinces
Seventeen Provinces
The Seventeen Provinces were a personal union of states in the Low Countries in the 15th century and 16th century, roughly covering the current Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, a good part of the North of France , and a small part of Western Germany.The Seventeen Provinces were originally held by...
of the Burgundian Circle
Burgundian Circle
The Burgundian Circle was an Imperial Circle of the Holy Roman Empire created in 1512 and significantly enlarged in 1548. In addition to the Free County of Burgundy , the circle roughly covered the Low Countries, i.e...
. Neverteheless the creation in 1559 of the new metropolitan See of Mechlin and of eleven other dioceses in the Southern Netherlands
Southern Netherlands
Southern Netherlands were a part of the Low Countries controlled by Spain , Austria and annexed by France...
was at the request of King Philip II of Spain
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
in order to facilitate the struggle against the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
. The change greatly restricted the limits of the Diocese of Cambrai which, when thus dismembered, was made by way of compensation an archiepiscopal see with the dioceses of St. Omer, Tournai and Namur as suffragans. The councils of Leptines, at which Saint Boniface
Saint Boniface
Saint Boniface , the Apostle of the Germans, born Winfrid, Wynfrith, or Wynfryth in the kingdom of Wessex, probably at Crediton , was a missionary who propagated Christianity in the Frankish Empire during the 8th century. He is the patron saint of Germany and the first archbishop of Mainz...
played an important role, were held in what was then the Belgian part of the former Diocese of Cambrai.
Under King Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
the Bishopric of Cambrai finally became French
Early Modern France
Kingdom of France is the early modern period of French history from the end of the 15th century to the end of the 18th century...
according to the 1678/79 Treaties of Nijmegen
Treaties of Nijmegen
The Treaties of Peace of Nijmegen were a series of treaties signed in the Dutch city of Nijmegen between August 1678 and December 1679...
, from 1790 part of the Nord department. By the Napoleonic 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....
, Cambrai was again reduced to a simple bishopric, suffragan to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, and included remnants of the former dioceses of Tournai, Ypres
Diocese of Ypres
The former Roman Catholic Diocese of Ypres, in present-day Belgium, existed from 1559 to 1801. Its seat was Saint Martin's Cathedral in Ypres.-History:...
, and St. Omer. In 1817 both the pope and the king
Charles X of France
Charles X was known for most of his life as the Comte d'Artois before he reigned as King of France and of Navarre from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. A younger brother to Kings Louis XVI and Louis XVIII, he supported the latter in exile and eventually succeeded him...
were eager for the erection of a see at Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
, but Bishop Louis de Belmas (1757–1841), a former constitutional bishop
Constitutional bishop
During the French Revolution, a constitutional bishop was a Roman Catholic bishop elected from among the clergy who had sworn to uphold the Civil Constitution of the Clergy between 1791 and 1801. Constitutional bishops were often priests with less or more moderate Gallican and partisan ideas, of a...
, vigorously opposed it. Immediately upon his death, in 1841, Cambrai once more became an archbishopric with the diocese of Arras as suffragan.
Notable Bishops
Arras
Arras is the capital of the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. The historic centre of the Artois region, its local speech is characterized as a Picard dialect...
. On the death of Saint Vedulphus (545-580) the episcopal residence was transferred from Arras to Cambrai. Among his successors were:
- Saint Gaugericus (580-619)
- Saint Berthoaldus (about 625)
- Saint AubertSaint AubertSaint Aubert was bishop of Avranches in the 8th century and is credited with founding Mont Saint Michel.He lived in France during the reign of Childebert III and died in 720. According to legend, in 708 he had a vision in which the Archangel Michael instructed him to build an oratory on the rocky...
(d. 667) - Saint Vindicianus (667-693), who brought King Theuderic IIITheuderic IIITheuderic III was the king of Neustria on two occasions and king of Austrasia from 679 to his death in 691. Thus, he was the king of all the Franks from 679...
of the FranksFranksThe Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
to account for the murder of Saint Léger of Autun - Saint Hadulfus (d. 728)
- Alberic and HildoardHildoardHildoard was bishop of Cambrai from 790 to 816.He was a liturgical reformer, closely tied to the court of Charlemagne. His sacramentary is the only surviving exact copy, made around 812, of the Sacramentarium Hadrianum, sent out by Pope Hadrian I to Charlemagne.He restored Maubeuge Abbey....
, contemporaries of CharlemagneCharlemagneCharlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
, who gave to the diocese a sacramentary and important canons - HalitgarHalitgarHalitgar was a ninth-century bishop of Cambrai . He is known also as an apostle to the Danes, and the writer of a widely-known penitential.-Life:...
(Halitgarius, Halitgaire) (817-831), an ecclesiastical writer and apostle of the Danes - Saint John of Cambrai (866-879)
- Saint Rothadus (879-886)
- Wiboldus (965-966), author of the ludus secularis which "furnished amusement to clerkly persons"
- Gerard of FlorennesGerard of FlorennesGerard of Florennes , bishop of Cambrai as Gerard I, had formerly been chaplain to Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor, and helpful to the latter in his political negotiations with Robert the Pious, King of France...
(1013–1051), formerly chaplain to Saint Henry II, Holy Roman EmperorHenry II, Holy Roman EmperorHenry II , also referred to as Saint Henry, Obl.S.B., was the fifth and last Holy Roman Emperor of the Ottonian dynasty, from his coronation in Rome in 1014 until his death a decade later. He was crowned King of the Germans in 1002 and King of Italy in 1004...
, and helpful to the latter in his negotiations with Robert the Pious, King of France (Gerard also converted by persuasion the Gondulphian heretics, who denied the EucharistEucharistThe Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
) - Saint Lietbertus (1057–1076), who defended Cambrai against Robert the Frisian
- Blessed Odo of Cambrai (1105–1113), celebrated as a professor and director of the school of Tournai, also as a writer and founder of the monastery of St. Martin near TournaiTournaiTournai is a Walloon city and municipality of Belgium located 85 kilometres southwest of Brussels, on the river Scheldt, in the province of Hainaut....
- Burchard of Cambrai (1115–1131), who sent Saint NorbertNorbert of XantenSaint Norbert of Xanten was a Christian saint and founder of the Norbertine or Premonstratensian order of canons regular.- Life and work :...
and the PremonstratensianPremonstratensianThe Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré, also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines, or in Britain and Ireland as the White Canons , are a Catholic religious order of canons regular founded at Prémontré near Laon in 1120 by Saint Norbert, who later became Archbishop of Magdeburg...
s to Antwerp to combat the heresy of Tanquelin's disciples concerning the Blessed Eucharist - Guiard of Laon (1238–1248)
- Robert II of Geneva (1368–1371), antipope in 1378 under the name of Clement VII
- Jan IV T'serclaes (1378–1389), during whose episcopate John the Fearless, son of the Duke of BurgundyDuke of BurgundyDuke of Burgundy was a title borne by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, a small portion of traditional lands of Burgundians west of river Saône which in 843 was allotted to Charles the Bald's kingdom of West Franks...
, married Margaret of BavariaMargaret of BavariaMargaret of Bavaria, , was the fifth child of Albert, Duke of Bavaria-Straubing, Count of Hainault, Holland, and Zeeland and Lord of Friesia, and Margaret of Brieg. She was the regent of the Burgundian Low countries during the absence of her spouse in 1404–1419 and the regent in French Burgundy...
at Cambrai (1385) - Pierre d'AillyPierre d'AillyPierre d'Ailly was a French theologian, astrologer, and cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church....
(1396–1411) - John of BurgundyJohn of Burgundy, Bishop of CambraiJohn of Burgundy , also known as Jean de Bourgogne, was appointed Archbishop of Trier, served as Bishop of Cambrai from 1439–1479, Provost of St. Donatian's Cathedral and St. Peter's Cathedral at Lille, and was the illegitimate son of John II, Duke of Burgundy, through his mistress Agnes de Croy,...
illegitimate son of Duke John the Fearless of Burgundy (1439–1479) - William de CroyWilliam de Croÿ (archbishop)William de Croÿ was Archbishop of Toledo from 1517–1521...
, cardinal in 1517, apostolic administrator of Toledo in 1517 (1516–1519)
Notable Archbishops
- Jean RichardotJean Richardot the YoungerJean Richardot the Younger was bishop of Arras and prince-archbishop of Cambrai, duke of Cambrai and count of the Cambrésis...
, minister and diplomat of the Archdukes Albert and IsabellaInfanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of SpainIsabella Clara Eugenia of Austria was sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands in the Low Countries and the north of modern France, together with her husband Albert. In some sources, she is referred to as Clara Isabella Eugenia...
. - François de Salignac de La Mothe-FénelonFrançois de Salignac de la Mothe-FénelonFrançois de Salignac de la Mothe Fénelon was a Sulpician missionary in New France. He was the half-brother of François Fénelon, Archbishop of Cambrai and ten years older....
, theologian and writer, proponent of Quietism (1695–1715) - Cardinal DuboisGuillaume DuboisGuillaume Dubois was a French cardinal and statesman.-Early years:Dubois, the third of the four great Cardinal-Ministers , was born in Brive-la-Gaillarde, in Limousin...
(1720–1723), minister to Louis XVLouis XV of FranceLouis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723... - Ferdinand Maximilien Mériadec de RohanFerdinand Maximilien Mériadec de RohanFerdinand Maximilien Mériadec de Rohan was an Archbishop of Bordeaux starting in 1769, and Prince-Archbishop of Cambrai from 1781. He was the son of Hercule Meriadec de Rohan, prince de Guéméné and Louise-Gabrielle Julie de Rohan; brother of cardinal de Rohan, and Jules, prince de Guéméné.Mériadec...
(1781–1801) - Alfred Duquesnay (1881–1884)
- François Garnier (2000 - current)
Notable people
The list of the saints of the Diocese of Cambrai is very extensive, and their biographies, although short, take up no less than four volumes of the work by Canon Destombes. Exclusive of those saints whose history would be of interest only in connection with the Belgian territory formerly belonging to the diocese, mention may be made of:- Saint Eubertus, an itinerant bishop, martyred at Lille (third century);
- Saint Chrysole, martyr, patron of Comines, and Saint Piat, martyr, patron of Tournai and Seclin (end of third century);
- Saint Pherailde, patron of Bruay near ValenciennesValenciennesValenciennes is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.It lies on the Scheldt river. Although the city and region had seen a steady decline between 1975 and 1990, it has since rebounded...
(eighth century); - the Irish missionaries Fursy, Caidac, Fricor, and UltanUltanUltan was an Irish monk who later became an abbot. He was the brother of Saint Fursey and Foillan. He was a member of Fursey's mission from Ireland to East Anglia in c. 633, and lived there both as a monastic probationary and later alone as an anchorite. In c...
(seventh and eighth centuries); - Saint WinnocWinnocSaint Winnoc was an abbot or prior of Wormhout who came from Wales. Three lives of this saint are extant. The best of these, the first life, was written by a monk of St. Bertin in the middle of the ninth century, or perhaps a century earlier.St. Winnoc is generally called a Breton, but the...
, abbot of BerguesBerguesBergues is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.It is situated to the south of Dunkirk and from the Belgian border. Locally it is referred to as "the other Bruges in Flanders"...
(end of seventh century); - Blessed Evermore, disciple of Saint Norbert and Bishop of Ratzburg in Germany (twelfth century);
- Blessed Charles le BonCharles I, Count of FlandersBlessed Charles the Good was Count of Flanders from 1119 to 1127. He is most remembered for his murder and its aftermath.-History:...
, Count of FlandersCount of FlandersThe Count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders from the 9th century until the abolition of the position by the French revolutionaries in 1790....
, son of King Canute IV of DenmarkCanute IV of DenmarkCanute IV, later known as Canute the Holy or Canute the Saint , was King of Denmark from 1080 until 1086. Canute was an ambitious king who sought to strengthen the Danish monarchy, devotedly supported the Roman Catholic Church, and had designs on the English throne. Slain by rebels in 1086, he was...
and assassinated at BrugesBrugesBruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
in 1127; - Blessed Beatrice of Lens, a recluse (thirteenth century).
The Jesuits Cortyl and du Béron, first apostles of the Pelew Islands, were martyred in 1701, and Chomé (1696–1767), who was prominent in the Missions of Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
and Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
in the province of Misiones, also the Oratorian Gratry (1805–1872), philosopher and member of the French Academy, were natives of the Diocese of Cambrai. The English college of Douai, founded by William Allen in 1568, gave in subsequent centuries a certain number of apostles and martyrs to Catholic England. Since the promulgation of the law of 1875 on higher education, Lille has been the seat of important Catholic faculties.
Notable French and Flemish composers who served as maître de chapelle at Cambrai include Guillaume Dufay
Guillaume Dufay
Guillaume Dufay was a Franco-Flemish composer of the early Renaissance. As the central figure in the Burgundian School, he was the most famous and influential composer in Europe in the mid-15th century.-Early life:From the evidence of his will, he was probably born in Beersel, in the vicinity of...
, Robert de Févin
Robert de Févin
Robert de Févin was a French composer of the Renaissance. He was the brother of Antoine de Févin, a considerably more famous composer at the court of Louis XII of France...
, Johannes Lupus and Jean de Bonmarché
Jean de Bonmarché
Jean de Bonmarché was a composer of the Franco-Flemish school.Bonmarché was born in Douai. He became dean of Lille Cathedral, then in 1560 master of the choirboys at Old Cambrai Cathedral...
.
Notable chronicle
A chronicle of the bishops of Cambrai was written in the 11th century. This Gesta episcoporum Cambracensium was for some time attributed to Balderic, archbishop of Noyon, but it now seems tolerably certain that the author was an anonymous canon of Cambrai. The work is of considerable importance for the history of the north of France during the 11th century, and was first published in 1615.Abbeys
Under the old regime the Archdiocese of Cambrai contained forty-one abbeys, eighteen of which belonged to the Benedictines. Chief among them were:- the Abbey of St. Géry, founded near Cambrai about the year 600 in honour of St. MédardMedardusSaint Medardus was the Bishop of Vermandois who removed the seat of the diocese to Noyon....
by St. Géry (580-619), deacon of the church of Treves, and who built a chapel on the bank of the Senne, on the site of the future city of Brussels; - the Abbey of HautmontHautmont-Twin towns - sister cities:Kamianets-Podilskyi is twinned with: Kalisz in Poland -References:*...
, founded in the seventh century by St. Vincent Madelgarus, the husband of St. Wandru, who was foundress of the chapter at MonsMonsMons is a Walloon city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut, of which it is the capital. The Mons municipality includes the old communes of Cuesmes, Flénu, Ghlin, Hyon, Nimy, Obourg, Baudour , Jemappes, Ciply, Harmignies, Harveng, Havré, Maisières, Mesvin, Nouvelles,...
; - the Abbey of SoigniesSoigniesSoignies is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut.The municipality is composed of the Town of Soignies together with the villages of Casteau, Chaussée-Notre-Dame-Louvignies, Horrues, Neufvilles, Naast and Thieusies...
, founded by the same St. Vincent, and having for abbots his son Landri and, in the eleventh century, St. Richard; - the Abbey of Maubeuge, founded in 661 by St. Aldegonde the sister of St. Wandru and a descendant of ClovisClovis IClovis Leuthwig was the first King of the Franks to unite all the Frankish tribes under one ruler, changing the leadership from a group of royal chieftains, to rule by kings, ensuring that the kingship was held by his heirs. He was also the first Catholic King to rule over Gaul . He was the son...
and the kings of ThuringiaThuringiaThe Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
, among whose successors as abbesses were her niece, St. Aldetrude (d. 696) and another niece, St. Amalberte (d. 705), herself the mother of two saints, one of whom, St. Gudule, was a nun at NivellesNivellesNivelles is a Walloon city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. The Nivelles municipality includes the old communes of Baulers, Bornival, Thines, and Monstreux....
and became patroness of BrusselsBrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, and the other, St. Raynalde, a martyr; - the Abbey of LobbesLobbesLobbes is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut. On January 1, 2006, Lobbes had a total population of 5,499. The total area is 32.08 km² which gives a population density of 171 inhabitants per km²....
which, in the seventh and eighth centuries, had as abbots St. Landelin, St. Ursmar, St. Ermin, and St. Theodulph, and in the tenth century, Heriger, the ecclesiastical writer; - the Abbey of CrespinCrespin, Nord-References:*...
, founded in the seventh century by St. Landelin, who was succeeded by St. Adelin; - the Abbey of Maroilles (seventh century), which St. Humbert I, who died in 682, was abbot;
- the Abbey of Elnon, founded in the seventh century by St. Amandus and endowed by DagobertDagobertDagobert is a male given name, from Gaulish dago "good" and Old Frankish berath "bright".- People :* Dagobert , part of the Carl Christopher/Christoffersson Springer Hoax* Dagobert I , Frankish King...
; - the Abbey of St. Ghislain, founded in the seventh century by the Athenian philosopher, St. Ghislain, and having as abbots St. Gerard (tenth century) and St. Poppo (eleventh century);
- the Abbey of MarchiennesMarchiennes-References:*...
, founded by St. Rictrudes (end of the seventh century); - the Abbey of LiessiesLiessies-References:*...
(eighth century) which, in the sixteenth century, had for abbot Ven. Louis de BloisLouis de BloisAbbot Louis de Blois, O.S.B., was a Flemish monk and mystical writer, generally known under the name of Blosius.-Life:...
, author of numerous spiritual writings; - the Abbey of St. Sauve de ValenciennesValenciennesValenciennes is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.It lies on the Scheldt river. Although the city and region had seen a steady decline between 1975 and 1990, it has since rebounded...
(ninth century), founded in honour of the itinerant bishop St. Sauve (Salvius), martyred in HainautCounty of HainautThe County of Hainaut was a historical region in the Low Countries with its capital at Mons . In English sources it is often given the archaic spelling Hainault....
at the end of the eighth century; - the Abbey of CysoingCysoingCysoing is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.It is southeast of Lille.-Heraldry:-References:*...
, founded about 854 by St. Evrard, Count of FlandersCount of FlandersThe Count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders from the 9th century until the abolition of the position by the French revolutionaries in 1790....
, Duke of Frioul and son-in-law of Louis the Debonair.
Pilgrimages
The principal places of pilgrimage are:- Notre-Dame de la Treille at LilleLilleLille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
, a church dedicated in 1066 by Baldwin V, Count of FlandersBaldwin V, Count of FlandersBaldwin V of Flanders was Count of Flanders from 1035 until his death.He was the son of Baldwin IV, Count of Flanders, who died in 1035.-History:...
, visited by St. Thomas of Canterbury, St. BernardBernard of ClairvauxBernard of Clairvaux, O.Cist was a French abbot and the primary builder of the reforming Cistercian order.After the death of his mother, Bernard sought admission into the Cistercian order. Three years later, he was sent to found a new abbey at an isolated clearing in a glen known as the Val...
, and Pope Innocent IIIPope Innocent IIIPope Innocent III was Pope from 8 January 1198 until his death. His birth name was Lotario dei Conti di Segni, sometimes anglicised to Lothar of Segni....
, and where, on 14 June 1254, fifty-three cripples were suddenly cured; - Notre-Dame de Grâce at Cambrai, containing a picture ascribed to St. Luke;
- Notre-Dame des Dunes at Dunkerque, where the special object of interest is a statue which, in the beginning of the fifteenth century, was discovered near the castle of Dunkerque;
- the feast associated with this, 8 September 1793, coincided with the raising of the siege of this city by the Duke of YorkDuke of YorkThe Duke of York is a title of nobility in the British peerage. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of the British monarch. The title has been created a remarkable eleven times, eight as "Duke of York" and three as the double-barreled "Duke of York and...
; - Notre-Dame des Miracles at BourbourgBourbourgBourbourg is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is situated in the maritime plain of northern France, at the heart of a triangle formed by Dunkirk, Calais, and Saint-Omer.-Heraldry:-Historical sites:...
, made famous by a miracle wrought in 1383, an account of which was given by the chronicler Froissart, who was an eyewitness. A Benedictine abbey formerly extant here was converted by Marie AntoinetteMarie AntoinetteMarie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
into a house of noble canonesses. Until a comparatively recent date, the great religious solemnities in the diocese often gave rise to ducasses, sumptuous processions in which giants, huge fishes, devils, and representations of heaven and hell figured prominently. Before the law of 1901 was enforced there were in the diocese AugustiniansAugustiniansThe term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...
, English Benedictines, Jesuits, Marists, DominicansDominican OrderThe Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
, Franciscans, LazaristsLazaristsCongregation of the Mission is a vowed order of priests and brothers associated with the Vincentian Family, a loose federation of organizations who claim St. Vincent de Paul as their founder or Patron...
, Redemptorists, CamilliansCamilliansThe Camillians or Ministers to the Sick are a Roman Catholic religious order of the type of Regular Clerks, founded by Saint Camillus de Lellis. A red cross was chosen by Camillus as the distinguishing badge for the members of the Order to wear upon their black cassocks...
, Brothers of St. Vincent de Paul, and TrappistsTrappistsThe Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance , or Trappists, is a Roman Catholic religious order of cloistered contemplative monks who follow the Rule of St. Benedict...
; the last-named still remain. Numerous local congregations of women are engaged in the schools and among the sick, as, for instance: the Augustinian Nuns (founded in the sixth century, mother-house at Cambrai); - the Bernardines of Our Lady of Flines (founded in the thirteenth century);
- the Daughters of the Infant Jesus (founded in 1824, mother-house at Lille);
- the Bernardines of Esquernes (founded in 1827);
- the Sisters of Providence, or of St. Therese (mother-house at AvesnesAvesnesAvesnes is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France.-Geography:The commune is a very small village situated some 12 miles northeast of Montreuil-sur-Mer, on the D 129 E 1.-Population:-References:* -External links:*...
); - the Sisters of Our Lady of TreilleTreilleTreille or La Treille, French for a grapevine or trellis, may refer to :* La Treille, a Marseille neighborhood* La Treille, Saint Lucia, a town on the island of Saint Lucia in the Caribbean...
(mother-house at Lille), and the Religious of the Holy Union of the Sacred Hearts (mother-house at DouaiDouai-Main sights:Douai's ornate Gothic style belfry was begun in 1380, on the site of an earlier tower. The 80 m high structure includes an impressive carillon, consisting of 62 bells spanning 5 octaves. The originals, some dating from 1391 were removed in 1917 during World War I by the occupying...
).