 The French government, however, did not have the canonical power to erect dioceses, and therefore this new diocese was in schism with Rome.The first Constitutional Bishop, Msgr.François-Xavier Laurent, had been a curé in the diocese of Autun before becoming a member of the Estates General; after his election by the voters of Allier, he was consecrated in Paris on 6 March 1791 by Constitutional Bishop Gobel.