 The Abbey of St-Pons was founded in 936 by Raymond, Count of Toulouse, who brought to it the monks of Saint Gerald of Aurillac.By a papal bull of 18 February 1318, Pope John XXII raised the abbey to an episcopal see.A Brief of 16 June 1877 authorized the bishops of Montpellier to call themselves bishops of Montpellier, Béziers, Agde, Lodève, and Saint-Pons, in memory of the different dioceses united in the present Diocese of Montpellier.