Jean-Baptiste de Belloy

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Jean Baptiste de Belloy, Archbishop of Paris (1709–1808). Laurent Dabos, 1806
Coat of arms of Cardinal de Belloy

Jean-Baptiste de Belloy (born October 9, 1709 in Morangles , Senlis , Dép. Oise , † June 10, 1808 in Paris ) was a French bishop and cardinal .

Life

Jean-Baptiste de Belloy, who came from the military aristocracy, studied in Paris and immediately after receiving his doctorate at the Sorbonne in 1737 became vicar general of his home diocese of Beauvais and archdeacon of the cathedral there . Appointed Bishop of Glandèves in 1751 , he received episcopal ordination on January 30, 1752 in Paris, Saint-Sulpice , by the Bishop of Beauvais, Étienne-René Potier de Gesvres . When Bishop Henri de Belsunce of Marseille died at the general assembly of the French clergy in 1755, Belloy succeeded him on August 4, 1755.

Already at the meeting of the moderate party, Bishop Belloy was able to win the trust of the divided parties (supporters and opponents of the papal bull Unigenitus of 1713) and thus prevent the threatening schism in the diocese. When his diocese was abolished by the National Assembly as a result of the French Revolution in 1791, he protested against the dissolution of one of the oldest bishoprics in France, but retired to a family estate in Chambly . When, after the Concordat, Pope Pius VII asked the bishops of the Ancien Régime to resign at Napoleon Bonaparte's request in 1801 , Belloy - now doyen of the French episcopate - was the first to obey (September 21, 1801), and thus set an example followed by most of the French bishops. The first consul (Bonaparte) was grateful for this act of obedience. He transferred the Archdiocese of Paris to the "Citizen Debelloi" on April 9, 1802, and on January 17, 1803, at the age of 93, obtained the cardinal hat from Pope Pius VII, which Napoleon put on Archbishop Belloy on February 1, 1805 in Paris . De Belloy received the title of Cardinal Priest of San Giovanni a Porta Latina in Rome .

Despite his old age, Cardinal de Belloy administered the archdiocese with energy and efficiency. He had the churches that were closed during the revolution reopened, reorganized the parishes, appointed new pastors and visited them personally. In 1806 he brought the crown of thorns to Louis IX. back to their place in the Sainte-Chapelle . He died on June 10, 1808, aged 98 years and eight months, and was buried in the Notre-Dame Cathedral, where Napoleon had a funerary monument erected for him. The Archbishopric of Paris remained vacant for a long time after Belloy's death, as Pope Pius VII refused to appoint Napoleon's bishops in captivity; Only Cardinal Maury accepted Napoleon's appointment in 1810 without papal approval, which Cardinal Fesch , although Napoleon's uncle, had refused. A legitimate successor to Cardinal de Belloys within the meaning of Catholic canon law was not appointed until 1817 in the person of Cardinal de Talleyrand ; Cardinal Maury himself only allowed himself to be dubbed an elect .

literature

  • Charles Brainne: Les hommes illustres du département de l'Oise. Desjardins, Beauvais 1858-1864, pp. 91-96.
  • L'Épiscopat français. Depuis le Concordat jusqu'à la Séparation (1802-1905). Paris: Librairie de Saints-Pères, 1907.

Web links

predecessor Office successor
Antoine Eleonore Léon Leclerc de Juigné Archbishop of Paris
1802–1808 		Jean-Siffrein Maury
Henri François-Xavier de Belsunce-Castelmoron Bishop of Marseille
1755–1791 		Charles-Benoît Roux
André-Dominique-Jean-Baptiste de Castellane Bishop of Glandèves
1751–1755 		Gaspard de Tressemanes de Brunet
personal data
SURNAME Belloy, Jean-Baptiste de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French bishop and cardinal
DATE OF BIRTH October 9, 1709
PLACE OF BIRTH Morangles , Senlis , Dép. Oise
DATE OF DEATH June 10, 1808
Place of death Paris