The
Diocese of Alet was one of several bishoprics created in 1317 in the wake of the suppression of the
Cathars. In Alet the bishops were also the abbots of the already existing monastery there and the cathedral of Our Lady (Notre-Dame) was built next to the abbey. In 1577 it was largely destroyed by the
Huguenots during the
Wars of Religion and was not subsequently rebuilt. The immense
Gothic quire was demolished by order of the last bishop, Charles de la Cropte de Chancerac in 1776. The diocese of Alet was not restored after the
French Revolution and by the
Concordat of 1801 its parishes were added to the
Diocese of Carcassonne. The
cathedral's stone ruins, which were listed as a
monument historique in 1862, remain a spectacular sight. ==St. Benedict's Cathedral==