Diocese of Bruges Dioecesis Brugensis Bisdom Brugge(Dutch) Diocèse de Bruges(French) Bistum Brügge(German) | |
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| Location | |
| Country | Belgium |
| Ecclesiastical province | Mechelen-Brussels |
| Metropolitan | Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels |
| Coordinates | 51°12′18″N3°13′21″E / 51.204977°N 3.222416°E /51.204977; 3.222416 |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 3,145 km2 (1,214 sq mi) |
Population
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| Information | |
| Denomination | Catholic Church |
| Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Established | 12 May 1559 |
| Cathedral | St. Salvator's Cathedral inBruges |
| Patron saint | Donatian of Reims |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Leo XIV |
| Bishop | Lodewijk Aerts |
| Metropolitan Archbishop | Jozef De Kesel |
| Bishops emeritus | Roger Vangheluwe |
| Map | |
 The diocese of Bruges, coextensive with the province ofWest Flanders | |
| Website | |
| https://www.kerknet.be/organisatie/bisdom-brugge | |
TheDiocese of Bruges (Latin:Dioecesis Brugensis;Dutch:Bisdom Brugge) is aLatin Church ecclesiastical territory ordiocese of theCatholic Church in Belgium. It is asuffragan in theecclesiastical province of themetropolitanArchdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels, which covers all of Belgium.
A diocese from 1558 to its suppression in 1801, in 1832 it became a pre-diocesanapostolic vicariate as theApostolic Administration of West Flanders.[1] Its territory coincides withWest Flanders.
The episcopal see of the diocese isSt. Salvator's Cathedral, dedicated toOur Savior, inBruges, West Flanders, which is also aminor basilica. Thepatron saint of the diocese isDonatian of Reims,[2] so the cathedral is also known asSint-Salvators- en Donaaskathedraal.
As of 2014[update], it pastorally served 965,000 Catholics (82.1% of 1,174,752 total) on 3,145 km² in 362 parishes and 65 missions with 708 priests (499 diocesan, 209 religious), 91 deacons, 1,986 lay religious (290 brothers, 1,696 sisters) and 7 seminarians.[citation needed]
An earlier diocese of Bruges was established on 12 May 1558, on territory split off from theDiocese of Tournai, as part of the great Habsburg reform of the church in the thenSpanish Low Countries. Its see,St. Donatian's Cathedral, was destroyed in a fire in 1799 during the aftermath of theFrench Revolution.[citation needed]
During the reforms under theNapoleonic Concordate, the diocese was suppressed on 15 July 1801 and its territory merged into theDiocese of Ghent.[citation needed]
On 17 December 1832, shortly after the independence ofBelgium, the territory was restored as the pre-diocesanApostolic Administration ofWest Flanders. On 27 May 1834, the territory was again promoted to diocese and renamed after its see, Bruges, while the incumbent Apostolic Administrator became Suffragan Bishop. On 31 May 1967 the diocese lost a portion of territory to the much olderDiocese of Tournai, shortly after a reshuffle of provincial borders involving a few municipalities, notablyMouscron being transferred to theprovince of Hainaut (to which the bishopric of Tournai is now limited).[citation needed]
In 1985 the diocese of Bruges experienced a papal visit fromPope John Paul II, who on 17 May gave a homily on the horrors of war at Ypres as part of his pastoral visit to the Low Countries.[3]
A 2010 scandal saw BishopRoger Vangheluwe, a confessed and hardly remorseful pederast, forced into early retirement.
Media related toRoman Catholic Diocese of Brugge at Wikimedia Commons
