Joseph Grisel

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Abbé Joseph Grisel (* 1703 in Cherbourg ; † January 21, 1787 in Versailles ) was a French ascetic writer and clergyman .

Life

After completing school, Joseph Grisel went to Paris , became a member of the Collège Louis-Le-Grand and studied philosophy and theology there . Here he also had to direct the studies of two pupils and earned their respect. In 1738 he received the post of permanent vicar at the Paris church of Saint Germain l'Auxerrois, whose chapter was united with that of Notre-Dame , which he held until his death, without any desire for higher dignity. He demonstrated his pious zeal as the superior of some monastic communities and as an extraordinary confessor in some others.

The Dauphin found the right man in Grisel when he asked him in 1751 to establish a permanent worship of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the dilapidated monastery of Sainte-Aure near Sainte-Geneviève. According to his inclinations, Grisel devoted all his energy to this work. But he found many challenges and not in the least part because his work was supposed to be a Jesuit event. Although Grisel, as far as is known, never belonged to the Jesuit order , the suspicion seems to have been sufficient to turn the Jansenists into his opponents. Possibly because of their hostility, Grisel was imprisoned in the Bastille and had to endure there for 18 months. His imprisonment could also have been due to his alleged involvement in cases of inheritance fraud alleged against the banker Billard du Monceau. The criminalist Muyart de Vouglans, member of the Grand Council, wrote a memorandum in Grisel's defense. The friendship of this man was undoubtedly a great consolation for Grisel, as was the respect of Herr von Jumilhac, governor of the Bastille, who had him called to die in his arms. The Jansenists, however, remained his enemies, which they showed by their unfavorable judgments about his writings.

Grisel wrote the following works, among others:

  • Le chemin de l'amour divin, description de son palais et beautés qui y sont refermées , Paris 1746 (according to Barbier's information, written together with the Duke and Duchess d'Ayen)
  • Lettres d'une religieuse du Calvaire , Paris 1755
  • L'année religieuse, ou occupation intérieure pendant de les divins offices , 8 volumes, Paris 1766–68

The severe criticism that the last-named work, Grisel's main work, received in a Jansenist paper in December 1777 probably contributed to the fact that it did not receive sufficient recognition. In the last years of his life, Grisel published:

  • Adoration perpétuelle du sacré-coeur de Jésus , Paris 1784
  • Constitution des religieuses de Sainte-Aure, suivant la règle de St. Augustin , Paris 1786

It is highly probable that Grisel was the author of the Instructions pour les novices , which appeared at the same time and in the same format .

In 1785 Grisel had to undergo an operation to remove an atheroma on his head . Finally he went to Versailles to a maid of Queen Marie Antoinette , the confession decrease ill there, however, and died three days later on 21 January 1787 at the age of 84 years. He had recommended his monastery Sainte-Aure to his friend, the former Jesuit priest Nicolas Marie Verron, who ran the institution until his murder in September 1792.

literature

personal data
SURNAME Grisel, Joseph
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French ascetic writer and clergyman
DATE OF BIRTH 1703
PLACE OF BIRTH Cherbourg
DATE OF DEATH January 21, 1787
Place of death Versailles