account the new political structure of France with its departments instead of provinces. The diocese of Auch was not one of those revived by Pope Pius VII in his bull Qui Christi Domini of 29 November 1801. Its territory was assigned to the Archdiocese of Agen, which also received the territory of the suppressed dioceses of Condom, Lescar, Lectoure and Tarbes. It was not until 6 October 1822 that the diocese of Auch was reestablished. The Archdiocese of Auch, re-established as a metropolitanate in 1882, was made up of the former archdiocese of the same name and the former Dioceses of Lectoure, Condom, and Lombez. Lombez was previously a suffragan of Toulouse; thenceforth the suffragans of Auch were Aire, Tarbes, and Bayonne. On 30 July 1904, the Chamber of Deputies of the French Republic voted to sever diplomatic relations with the Vatican On 9 December 1905, the 1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and the State was passed by the Chamber of Deputies. One provision stated that the Republic does not recognize, pay, or subsidize any religious sect, and therefore all expenses related to the exercise of religion were removed from the budgets of the State, departments and municipalities. This meant that the clergy lost their state salaries. It also meant that all houses of worship, previously supported by state subsidy, were and remained the property of the State, unless claimed within one year by a legally registered religious association. The diocese of Auch was hard hit by these and other rules of the law. Alluding to these hardships, Pope Pius X, on 29 June 1908, consoled the archbishop and people by granting the archbishop and the diocese the right to use the titles of three suppressed dioceses in the territory of the diocese of Auch: Lectoure, Condom, and Lombez. The impetus for the grant had actually come from Archbishop Ricard himself. In World War I, 218 clergy from the diocese of Auch were mobilized into the French army. Fifteen died, three were awarded the Legion of Honour, one won the Médaille militaire, 40 won the Croix de guerre, and 40 won the Medaille d'honneur. Current statistics (2017) reported by the Église Catholique en France indicate that there are 59 priests incardinated (given official credentials) in the diocese, 35 of whom are active. There are 10 Permanent Deacons. Bishops and Archbishops ca. 400 to 1200 ... Orientius