Martin Du Bellay

Martin Du Bellay (born May 5, 1703 in Sully-la-Chapelle , † December 19, 1775 in Paris ) was a French Roman Catholic clergyman , abbot and bishop .

Life

origin

Martin Du Bellay (also: Martin III. Du Bellay ) was born in 1703 in Claireau Castle in the municipality of Sully-la-Chapelle northwest of Orléans . He belonged to the Du Bellay family, mainly in the 16th century by Jean du Bellay and Joachim du Bellay , as well as by the historians Guillaume du Bellay (1491–1543) and Martin du Bellay (1495–1559), with whom he was not confused may become, was famous. His mother came from the Rochechouart house . His brother Guillaume died as a marshal in Naples in 1752. His sister was a nun in Fontevrault Abbey .

Priest, prior, abbot and vicar general

Du Bellay completed his theology degree in Paris as a doctor. He was ordained a priest in 1727 and immediately commendatarprior of the Benedictine priory of Sainte-Trinité in Combourg . In 1728 he entered the benefice, which had already been awarded in 1725, as Commendatar Abbot of the Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Melaine in Rennes . In 1729 he became vicar general in the Archdiocese of Tours .

Bishop of Fréjus

In 1739 Du Bellay was appointed Bishop of Fréjus , where he arrived in 1740. As a northern Frenchman , he insisted on order, regulated the Mediterranean penitential system, which he found little sympathetic, and had his own diocesan catechism printed. He built churches in Fayence , Sainte-Maxime and Villecroze . Since he did not like the town of Fréjus , which had fewer than 3,000 inhabitants and had unsustainable hygienic conditions, he bought the empty Ursuline convent in Draguignan in 1751 , had it extensively renovated and made it his summer residence. Later he regretted this step, which he had taken against the advice of his predecessor Cardinal Fleury , because he was also dissatisfied with the local city administration. He took a special interest in the career of the young Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès , who was to play a role in the French Revolution . In 1748 Du Bellay was still Commendatar Abbot of the Benedictine Abbey of Mont Saint-Quentin near Péronne (now gone).

Retired in Paris

In 1766 he declared that he was now too old for the daily spectacle of social misery ( Je suis trop vieux pour voir ce malheur social ) and resigned from his office. He lived in Paris on his benefices (Saint-Melaine only until 1770), died in 1775 at the age of 72 and was buried in the church of Saint-Sulpice .

literature

• Louis Porte: Histoire du diocèse de Fréjus-Toulon . Editions du Lau 2017, pp. 86–87.

Web links

• Short biography , French
• Entry in catholic-hierarchy.org