The Roman Catholic Diocese of Tarbes-et-Lourdes (Latin: Dioecesis Tarbiensis et Lourdensis) is a Roman Catholic

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...

 Latin Rite 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...

 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...

. It is a suffragan

Suffragan bishop

A suffragan bishop is a bishop subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop. He or she may be assigned to an area which does not have a cathedral of its own.-Anglican Communion:...

 of the Archdiocese of Toulouse

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toulouse

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toulouse, is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic church in France. The diocese comprises the Department of Haute-Garonne...

. Its name was changed from the Diocese of Tarbes to the Diocese of Tarbes-et-Lourdes (Lat: Dioecesis Tarbiensis et Lourdensis) on 20 April 1912.

Diocesan statistics

As of 2004 the official statistics for the diocese were as follows:

• Catholic population: 150,000
• Parish
  Parish
  A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
  
  es: 117
• Secular (diocesan) priests
  Priesthood (Catholic Church)
  The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
  
  : 126
• Religious priests: 53
• Permanent deacon
  Deacon
  Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
  
  s: 10
• Male religious
  Monk
  A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
  
  : 75
• Female religious
  Nun
  A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
  
  : 645

Incumbent bishop

the bishop

Bishop (Catholic Church)

In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....

 of Tarbes and Lourdes was Jacques Jean Joseph Jules Perrier (b. 4 Dec 1936, ordained 7 Mar 1964), appointed on 16th Jan 1998.

Previous bishops

Previous Bishops of Tarbes-et-Lourdes include:

• François de Poudenx (appointed 1692; d.1716)
• Anne-François-Guillaume du Cambout-Beçay (appointed 1719; d.1729)
• Charles-Antoine de la Roche-Aymon (appointed 1729-1740)
• Pierre de Beaupoil de Saint-Aulaire (appointed 1741; d.1751)
• Pierre de La Romagère (appointed 1751; d.1769)
• Michel-François de Couët du Vivier de Lorry (appointed 1769-1782)
• Diocese "suppressed" in 1801
• Diocese "restored" in 1822
• Antoine-Xavier de Neirac (appointed 1817; d.1833)
• Pierre-Michel-Marie Double (appointed 1833; d.1844)
• Bertrand-Sévère Mascarou Laurence (appointed 1844; d.1870) (Bishop at the time of the Lourdes apparitions
  Our Lady of Lourdes
  Our Lady of Lourdes is the name used to refer to the Marian apparition said to have appeared before various individuals on separate occasions around Lourdes, France...
  
  ).
• Pierre-Anastase Pichenot (appointed 1870-1873)
• Benoit-Marie Langénieux
  Benoit-Marie Langénieux
  Benoit-Marie Langénieux was a French Archbishop of Reims and Cardinal....
  
   (appointed 1873-1874)
• César-Victor-Ange-Jean-Baptiste Jourdan (appointed 1874-1882)
• Prosper-Marie Billère (appointed 1882-1899)
• François-Xavier Schoepfer (appointed 1899; d.1927)
• Alexandre-Philibert Poirier (succeeded 1927; d.1928)
• Pierre-Marie Gerlier
  Pierre-Marie Gerlier
  Pierre-Marie Gerlier was a French Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Lyon from 1937 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1937.-Biography:...
  
   (appointed 1929-1937)
• Georges Choquet (appointed 1938; d.1946)
• Pierre-Marie Théas
  Pierre-Marie Théas
  Pierre-Marie Théas was a French Roman Catholic bishop. He was ordained on September 16, 1920 as a priest. He was consecrated as the Bishop of Montauban, France, on July 26, 1940...
  
  (appointed 1947; retired 1970)
• Henri Clément Victor Donze (appointed 1970; retired 1988)
• Jean Yves Marie Sahuquet (succeeded 1998; retired 1998)