Léon Potier de Gesvres (Cardinal)

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The Cardinal Léon Potier des Gesvres

Léon Potier de Gesvres , called Cardinal de Gesvres , (born August 15, 1656 in Paris , † November 12, 1744 there ) was a French prelate. He was made Archbishop of Bourges and Cardinal .

Life

Cardinal Léon Potier de Gesvres is the second son of Léon Potier de Gesvres , Duke of Gesvres and Governor of Paris , and Marie-Françoise Angélique du Val de Fontenay-Mareuil. He became abbot of Notre-Dame de Bernay in 1666 , and abbot, count of Lord of Saint-Géraud d'Aurillac in 1679 . He completed his training as a Docteur en Théologie de la Faculte de Paris .

He was chamberlain to Pope Innocent XI. (ruled 1676-1689). At the suggestion of Cardinal Janson , he was appointed Archbishop of Bourges on August 30, 1694 , which caused quite a stir, as the King of France usually assigned the archbishopric to bishops and not to abbots. The episcopal ordination took place on January 23, 1695 in the novitiate church of the Jesuits in Paris by Cardinal César d'Estrées ; Archbishop Potier hardly resided in his diocese, nor did he appear at court. He stayed mainly in Rome and in his palace on rue du Bac in Paris.

Léon Potier took part in the Assemblée Générale du Clergé de France three times , in 1715 as its chairman. On November 27, 1719 he was by Pope Clement XI. at the suggestion of Augustus the Strong, as King of Poland, appointed cardinal priest - and had thus achieved the goal of his life; after that he isolated himself more and more from public life. Just as little as in the spiritual life of his archbishopric or in the secular life of the court, he took part in one of the four conclaves in his time as cardinal ( 1721 , 1724 , 1730 , 1740 ).

After receiving the cardinal dignity, he managed to improve his financial resources. From 1720 to 1722 he was abbot of Saint-Amand (in the Diocese of Tournai ), from 1723 of Saint-Nicolas d'Aroai (near Arras ) and from 1725 of Saint-Landelin-de-Crespin ( Diocese of Cambrai ). His legacy consisted primarily of his library, which mainly contained contemporary theological works, but also valuable medieval manuscripts such as De temporibus by Matteo Palmieri , the Bréviaire de Séez and the Bréviaire romain from the 15th century, as well as a book of hours from the workshop of the Rohan Master . This library is now part of the Bibliothèque nationale de France .

On June 3, 1724 he was accepted into the Order of the Holy Spirit , and in 1727 appointed Commander . On March 5, 1729, he resigned as Archbishop of Bourges and instead became Abbot of Saint-Remi de Reims .

literature

  • Louis Moréri , Le Grand Dictionnaire historique , Volume 8, chez les Libraires associés, Paris, 1759, pp. 519-522
  • Jean-Baptiste-Pierre Jullien de Courcelles , Histoire généalogique et héraldique des Pairs de France , Volume 6, 1826, pages 1-8
  • Père Anselme , Histoire généalogique et chronologique de la maison royale de France, des pairs, grands officiers de la couronne & de la maison du roi, & des anciens barons du royaume, etc. , 4th edition 1868, pp. 724-735

Web links

Commons : Léon Potier de Gesvres  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
  • Étienne Pattou, Famille Potier ( online accessed on April 8, 2020)
  • Entry on Cardinal Potier at the Bibliothèque nationale de France ( online , accessed April 9, 2020)

Remarks

  1. ↑ Feuillet de Conches (ed.), Journal du Marquis de Dangeau (Philippe de Corcillon, Marquis de Dangeau), Volume 5, Paris 1835, p. 18
  2. ↑ cf. Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon , Mémoires , Edition Yves Coirault, Pléiade, Volume 1, 1983, p. 677, and Volume 7, 1987, p. 341
  3. ↑ Latin 12503
  4. ↑ Latin 13243
  5. ↑ Latin 13244
  6. ↑ Latin 13262
personal data
SURNAME Gesvres, Léon Potier de
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Cardinal de Gesvres
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French prelate, Archbishop of Bourges, cardinal
DATE OF BIRTH August 15, 1656
PLACE OF BIRTH Paris
DATE OF DEATH November 12, 1744
Place of death Paris