Louis-Martin de Courten

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Louis-Martin de Courten (born November 11, 1835 in Sierre , † March 4, 1937 in Nancy ; Catholic , resident in Sierre) was the 22nd commander of the Papal Swiss Guard (Praefectus Helveticae Custodiae et Corporis Domini Nostri Papae) from 1878 to 1901 .

Life

Count Louis-Martin de Courten was born the son of Louis de Courten . He first graduated from the college in Sion and began a military career for the Holy See in 1854 .

After the disbandment of the papal troops in 1870, at last he held the rank of captain , de Courten returned to the Valais , where he was appointed secretary and city ​​councilor in Sierre from 1873 to 1878 and as sub-prefect of the Sierre district from 1877 to 1878.

Pope Leo XIII. appointed him in 1878 colonel of the Swiss Guard, which Louis-Martin de Courten reorganized in view of their lack of discipline. In 1886 he married the widow Anne de Turmel in Pont-à-Mousson .

In 1901 he resigned from his service, moved to Nancy and managed his fortune. From 1918 to 1930 he stayed in Valais repeatedly. The Lateran Treaty of 1929 looked at de Courten as a disavowal of his military commitment, but his loyalty to remained Pope and Catholic faith unimpressed. He died on March 4, 1937 at the age of 101 in Nancy.

Awards

literature

  • Anne Marcel: Le comte Louis de Corten au service du Saint-Siège, 1854–1901. 1932.
  • Jean-Marc Biner: Valais authorities. P. 280.

Web links

predecessor Office successor
Alfred von Sonnenberg Commander of the Swiss
Guard 1878–1901 		Leopold Meyer von Schauensee
personal data
SURNAME Courten, Louis-Martin de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION 22. Commander of the Pontifical Swiss Guard
DATE OF BIRTH November 11, 1835
PLACE OF BIRTH Sierre
DATE OF DEATH March 4, 1937
Place of death Nancy