but that afterwards only fifteen hundred remained. A generation later, in 1669, the numbers had recovered only to around six thousand persons. In 1652 the Jesuits established a collège for the education of the youth of Digne. Revolution In 1790 the National Constituent Assembly decided to bring the French church under the control of the State. Civil government of the provinces was to be reorganized into new units called 'départements', originally intended to be 83 or 84 in number. The dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church were to be reduced in number, to coincide as much as possible with the new departments. Since there were more than 130 bishoprics at the time of the Revolution, more than fifty dioceses needed to be suppressed and their territories consolidated. Clergy would need to take an oath of allegiance to the State and its Constitution, specified by the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, and they would become salaried officials of the State. Both bishops and priests would be elected by special 'electors' in each department. This meant schism, since bishops would no longer need to be approved (preconised) by the Papacy; the transfer of bishops, likewise, which had formerly been the exclusive prerogative of the pope in canon law, would be the privilege of the State; the election of bishops no longer lay with the Cathedral Chapters (which were all abolished), or other responsible clergy, or the Pope, but with electors who did not even have to be Catholics or Christians. All monasteries, convents and religious orders in France were dissolved, and their members were released from their vows by order of the National Constituent Assembly (which was uncanonical); their property was confiscated "for the public good", and sold to pay the bills of the French government. Cathedral Chapters were also dissolved. Bishops who refused to take the oath to the Constitution were considered to have resigned their posts. Bishop François du Mouchet de Villedieu was one of the non-jurors, and consequently a new election was ordered by the Legislative Assembly. The diocese of Digne had been suppressed by the Civil Constitution and its territory had been merged into the new diocese of Basses-Alpes. The Electors met at Digne on 20 March 1791, and on the third ballot elected the Curé of Valensole, Jean-Baptiste-Romé de Villeneuve as the bishop of Basses-Alpes. The legitimate bishop de Villedieu sent the usurper two letters, but Villeneuve