MONTAUBAN, DIOCESE of. — Diocese and city, seat of the prefecture of the department of Tarn-et-Garonne in France.
The city of M. lies on a terrace situated between the right bank of the Tarn and its two tributaries, the Tescou and the Lagarrigue. Its origin goes back to the abbey of S. Teodardo, founded ca. 820 in the place called Montauriol; in 1144 the count of Toulouse, Alfonso Jourdain, established the bastide of M., which absorbed the group of inhabitants that had arisen around the abbey. The city was afflicted by the heresy of the Albigensians; Pope Giovanni XXII, with the bull Salvator of 25 June 1317, raised the abbey to the rank of a diocese, separating it from the diocese of Toulouse, of which it became a suffragan. The basilica of S. Teodardo was elevated to cathedral status. In the 16th century the Calvinists made such progress there that in 1561 they prohibited Catholic worship, destroyed not only the Cathedral but also other churches, and made M. the meeting place of the Reformed churches in France between 1578 and 1584. In 1621 fighting took place there between the army of Luigi XIII and the Protestant army led by the duke of Rohan, and only in 1629
was the city occupied by Richelieu. Among the bishops of M. are remembered: card. Giorgio d'Amboise (1484–89), Msgr. Le Tonnellier de Breteuil (1762–94), imprisoned at Rouen during the Revolution, and Msgr. de Cheverus (1824–26), later a cardinal.
Highly venerated sanctuaries in the diocese are those of Notre-Dame de Livron or de la Delivrance, Notre-Dame de Lorm at Castelferrus, and Notre-Dame de la Peyrouse near Lafrançaise. In the territory of M. Moissac (v.). The new Cathedral (Notre-Dame) was built between 1629 and 1739 in classical forms. The only surviving church is St-Jacques (14th–15th century), built entirely of brick, including the decoration of the portal and the octagonal tower. The interior has a single nave with side chapels and an apse with seven niches. The former bishop’s residence was built in 1659 on the remains of a castle of the counts of Toulouse and of another erected around 1366; it is entirely of brick and has now been converted into a museum, named after the painter Ingres, a native of M., as were the sculptor Bourdelle and the missionary in Oceania, Fr. L. Bourjade.
Part of the « Bourse de Commerce » building houses the Brun Museum, with collections on natural history and prehistory.