 At the request of Monsigneur André Mulch, Archbishop of Rouen, Pope Paul VI decided on 6 July 1974 through the papal bull "Quae Sacrosanctum" on the creation of the diocese of Le Havre ("Portus Gratiae" in Latin meaning "Port of Grace").The diocese was created from part of the parishes of the Archdiocese of Rouen to the west of a line joining Norville to Sassetot-le-Mauconduit.Monseigneur Michel Saudreau, its first bishop, was ordained on 22 September 1974.