Antoine-Adrien Lamourette (31 May 1742 – 11 January 1794) was a French priest and politician, who during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

accepted the Civil Constitution of the Clergy and became the first

constitutional bishop During the French Revolution, a constitutional bishop was a Catholic bishop elected from among the clergy who had sworn to uphold the Civil Constitution of the Clergy between 1791 and 1801. History Constitutional bishops were often priests wit ...

, in schism from the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Church.

Biography

Lamourette was born in Frevent,

Nord-Pas-de-Calais Nord-Pas-de-Calais (); pcd, Nord-Pas-Calés); is a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Hauts-de-France. It consisted of the departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais. Nord-Pas-de-Cala ...

, in the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. ...

on 31 May 1742 to a family of humble artisans. In 1759 he joined the

Vincentians Vincentian can refer to: *A citizen of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines *A person from Saint Vincent (island), the largest island in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines *A member of one of the orders or societies in the Vincentian Family, both Roman ...

and was ordained in 1769. In 1772 he was appointed Professor of Philosophy at the Vincentian seminary in Metz,

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...

. From 1783, he lived in Paris, and published his own works, believing that "religious vows should not lead to civil death". He promoted religious tolerance and wanted to reduce the privileges of the high priesthood, a problem that would lead to the

in 1789. When the

storming of the Bastille The Storming of the Bastille (french: Prise de la Bastille ) occurred in Paris, France, on 14 July 1789, when revolutionary insurgents stormed and seized control of the medieval armoury, fortress, and political prison known as the Bastille. At t ...

occurred, he wrote a defense for the taking of the

Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was sto ...

prison, and in November 1790, he allied with French politician

Mirabeau Mirabeau may refer to: People and characters * Mirabeau B. Lamar (1798–1859), second President of the Republic of Texas French nobility * Victor de Riqueti, marquis de Mirabeau (1715–1789), French physiocrat * Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, com ...

. Lamourette preached for "Christian democracy" and is famous for inventing the "Lamourette kiss" ( fr), a fraternal embrace in which he sought to do away with all disputes between the parties in the Legislative Assembly while representing Rhone-et-Loire. However, he protested against the

September Massacres The September Massacres were a series of killings of prisoners in Paris that occurred in 1792, from Sunday, 2 September until Thursday, 6 September, during the French Revolution. Between 1,176 and 1,614 people were killed by ''fédérés'', gua ...

of 1792 and was linked to the 1793 Girondist revolt in Lyon. He was arrested on 29 September 1793 and was guillotined on 11 January 1794 in Paris. 1742 births 1794 deaths Vincentians French politicians Constitutional bishops French people executed by guillotine during the French Revolution {{France-RC-bishop-stub