The Diocese of Le Mans (Latin: Dioecesis Cenomanensis; French: Diocèse du Mans) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The diocese is now a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Rennes, Dol, and Saint-Malo, but had previously been suffragan to Bourges, Paris, Sens, and Tours (in ascending order).
In 2021, in the Diocese of Tulle there was one priest for every 4,705.
Geoffrey II, called Martel (1006 – 14 November 1060), son of Fulk the Black, was a French knight and Count of Anjou from 1040 to 1060 and Count of Vendôme from 1032 to 1056. He fought battles against William VII, Duke of Aquitaine, Theobald III, Count of Blois, and William, Duke of Normandy. During his twenty-year reign, Geoffrey II faced down the ambitions of the Bishop of Le Mans, Gervais de Château-du-Loir and was able to maintain his authority over the County of Maine. Martel founded the Abbey aux Dames in Saintonge and also, in collaboration with his wife Agnes, founded the Abbaye de la Trinité (Abbey of the Trinity) at Vendôme. He was described in the Gesta Normannorum Ducum as "a treacherous man in every respect, frequently inflicted assaults and intolerable pressure on his neighbors."
Liborius of Le Mans (c. 348–397) was the second Bishop of Le Mans. He is the patron saint of the cathedral and archdiocese of Paderborn in Germany. The year of his birth is unknown; he died in 397, reputedly on 23 July.
Le Mans Cathedral (French: Cathédrale St-Julien du Mans) is a Catholic church situated in Le Mans, France. The cathedral is dedicated to Saint Julian of Le Mans, the city's first bishop, who established Christianity in the area around the beginning of the 4th century. Its construction dated from the 6th through the 15th century, culminating in 1430 and it features many French Gothic elements.
The cathedral, which combines a Romanesque nave and a High Gothic choir, is notable for its rich collection of stained glass and the spectacular bifurcating flying buttresses at its eastern end.
Gervais de Château-du-Loir (1007–1067) was a French nobleman, bishop, and a powerful figure of his time in Northern France. He was Bishop of Le Mans from 1036 and Archbishop of Reims from 1055.
His father was Aimon de Château-du-Loir, whilst his mother was Hildeburge de Bellême, daughter of Yves de Bellême. His maternal uncle, Avesgaud de Bellême, Bishop of Le Mans, raised Gervais and groomed him to succeed to the Bishopric of Le Mans. He was a strong supporter of the family of Blois, and opposed to the Angevins. At one point, he had to seek refuge at the court of William, Duke of Normandy. Henry I appointed him Archbishop of Reims in 1055. As Archbishop, he crowned Philip I of France in 1059. Philip's father, Henry I of France, was then alive but died in 1060. Gervais was then regent with Baldwin V, Count of Flanders until 1066. Gervais died in 1067 and was buried in Reims Cathedral.