Dominique Dufour de Pradt

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Abbé Dominique-Dufour de Pradt (Album du Centenaire)

Dominique Dufour de Pradt , actually Dominique Georges Frédéric de Riom de Prolhiac de Fourt de Pradt (born April 23, 1759 in Allanches , Canton Allanche , Auvergne , France ; † March 18, 1837 at Vedrine Castle , Paris ) was a French writer , diplomat and archbishop .

Life

Pradt was ordained a priest in 1783 and in 1789 was sent as Vicar General of the Archbishop of Rouen , Dominique de La Rochefoucauld , from the Normandy clergy to the Assembly of Estates General ("États-Généraux"), where he showed himself to be an ultra-royalist . After the constituent assembly was dissolved, he went to Hamburg , then to Munster , from where he fought the revolution in two pamphlets ( L'antidote au congrès de Rastadt , 1798, and La Prusse et sa neutralité , 1800).

Returning to Paris in 1800, he knew, aided by his relative Géraud-Christophe-Michel Duroc (1772-1813), Napoleon's closest confidante, to ingratiate himself with the First Consul that he became almsman and on December 15, 1804, Bishop of Poitiers was appointed. Pope Pius VII donated him episcopal ordination on February 2, 1805 . Co-consecrators were the Curia Archbishops Benedetto Fenaja CM and Francesco Bertazzoli .

In 1808 he accompanied the emperor to Bayonne and made a significant contribution to persuading the Spanish Bourbons to renounce the throne through false pretenses, so that Napoleon awarded him the title of baron and the Archdiocese of Mechelen as a reward . On March 27, 1809, the Pope confirmed the appointment. In 1811 Dufour de Pradt negotiated with Pope Pius VII at Savona on behalf of the emperor .

In 1812 he was sent to Warsaw as ambassador , but aroused the discontent of the Poles with his ambiguous behavior and was referred to his diocese by Napoleon . Since then he has been the Emperor's fiercest enemy. When the Bourbons had returned to Paris, Pradt also went there and tried to prove in his Récit historique sur la restauration de la royauté en France (Paris 1814) that he had contributed a lot to the restoration . Talleyrand's favor resulted in Pradt being appointed Chancellor of the Legion of Honor on April 7, 1814 .

After the second restoration, he renounced the Archdiocese of Mechlin on September 16, 1815 for an annuity of 12,000 francs . As a member of the Chamber (1827-1828) he was on the side of the opposition. After the July Revolution he showed himself to be a supporter of the "Orléans dynasty". Almost forgotten, he died in 1837 at Vedrine Castle.

Works (selection)

  • Histoire de l'ambassade dans le grand-duché de Varsovie in 1812 , Paris 1815; German: Vienna 1816
  • Du congrès de Vienne , Paris 1815–1816, 2 volumes; German: Leipzig 1816, 2 volumes
  • Mémoires historiques sur la révolution d'Espagne , Paris 1816; German: Karlsruhe 1816
  • Des colonies et de la révolution actuelle de l'Amérique , Paris 1877, 2 volumes; German: Hamburg 1818
  • Les quatre concordats , Paris 1819–1820, 4 volumes
  • Le congrès de Carlsbad , Paris 1819–1820, 2 volumes
  • De la Belgique depuis 1789 jusqu'en 1794 , Paris 1820

Web links

predecessor Office successor
Joannes-Armandus de Roquelaure Archbishop of Mechlin
1809–1815 		Franciscus-Antonius de Méan
Jean-Baptiste-Luc Bailly Bishop of Poitiers
1805-1809 		Jean-Baptiste de Bouillé
personal data
SURNAME Pradt, Dominique Dufour de
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Pradt, Dominique Georges Frédéric de Riom de Prolhiac de Fourt de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French writer, diplomat and archbishop
DATE OF BIRTH April 23, 1759
PLACE OF BIRTH Allanches , Canton of Allanche , Auvergne , France
DATE OF DEATH March 18, 1837
Place of death Vedrine Castle , Paris , France