At the beginning of the Revolution, the Constituent Assembly decided that the number of dioceses in France was excessive, and that approximately fifty of them could be eliminated.

This was contrary to Canon Law, which reserved the creation and suppression of dioceses, as well as the appointment and transfer (translation) of bishops to the Pope.

[8] Villar participated in the Legislative Assembly, and voted King Louis XVI guilty, though not requiring the death penalty.

They chose Charles François Dorlodot (or D'Orlodot), the curé of the church of S. Vénérand in Laval, and Bishop Le Coz confirmed the election on 6 February 1799.

[11] On November 29, 1801, by the bull Qui Christi Domini, Pope Pius VII suppressed all of the Roman Catholic dioceses in France, and reinstituted them under papal authority.

He continued to reside in Laval, however, and found employment as librarian of the École Central until 1810, when he followed his patron Le Coz to Besançon.

[15] In 1846 the creation of the new diocese was decided upon, but was not carried out until after the death of Bishop Jean-Baptiste Bouvier of Le Mans on 29 December 1854.

The request of the Holy See in 1904 for the resignation of Bishop Pierre-Joseph Geay (1896-1904) was one of the reasons assigned by the French Republic for breaking with the pope and preparing the separation of Church and State.