Charles Théodore Colet (30 April 1806 – 27 November 1883) was a French

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 ...

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Life

Colet was born in

Gérardmer Gérardmer (; or archaic ''Geroldsee'', and ''Giraumoué'' in local Vosgian) is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France. Population Culture The Festival international du film fantastique de Gérardmer (literally ...

in France and was ordained a priest in 1831. In 1838 he became private secretary to François-Victor Rivet,

Bishop of Dijon The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dijon (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Divionensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Dijon'') is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The archepiscopal see is Dijon Cathedral, which is located i ...

, and later served as Rivet's vicar general, a position he held for twenty-three years. On August 26, 1860 he was made a Knight of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

. In June 1861,

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

nominated Colet to succeed François-Augustin Delamare as

bishop of Luçon A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

. Pope Pius IX approved the appointment the following month, and on August 25 Colet was consecrated bishop at the Cathedral of Saint Benignus in Dijon with his friend and mentor, Bishop Rivet, serving as principal consecrator. In 1869, Colet authorized a diocesan catechism. He attended the First Vatican Council, and voted with the minority against the doctrine of papal infallibility. On March 4, 1874, he was made an officer of the

. In November 1874, Colet was nominated to succeed Felix Pierre Fruchaud as

Archbishop of Tours The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tours (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Turonensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Tours'') is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The archdiocese has roots that go back to the 3rd cent ...

. In December, Pius IX approved the appointment, and Colet was installed at the Cathedral of Saint Gatianus in Tours on February 3, 1875. He supported

Leo Dupont Venerable Leo Dupont (24 January 1797 – 18 March 1876), also known as ''"The Holy Man of Tours,"'' or the "Apostle of the Holy Face", was a Catholic who helped spread various Catholic devotions such as that of the Holy Face of Jesus and night ...

in his efforts to promote the local devotion to the

Holy Face of Jesus The Holy Face of Jesus is a title for specific images which some Catholics believe to be miraculously formed representations of the face of Jesus Christ. The image obtained from the Shroud of Turin is associated with a specific medal worn by s ...

. Dupont was well known among the Catholics of Tours for his piety and generosity. After Dupont's death in March 1876, the Archdiocese purchased his house on the Rue St. Etienne and established the

Oratory of the Holy Face The Oratory of the Holy Face is a Roman Catholic oratory in Tours France. It was originally established on the Rue St. Etienne, in the former home of Venerable Leo Dupont who did much to promote devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus. The Oratory wa ...

. The chapel was staffed by a community of priests canonically established by Archbishop Colet and called the "Priests of the Holy Face".(The Oratory still stands, now administered by the French Dominicans as the earlier group is now defunct.) As he had done at Luçon, in 1879 he issued a diocesan catechism for Tours. Archbishop Colet died in Tours on 27 November 1883. His funeral was held at the cathedral with

Joseph-Hippolyte Guibert Joseph-Hippolyte Guibert (1802, Aix-en-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône – 1886, Paris) was a French Catholic Archbishop of Paris and Cardinal. He was consecrated by Eugène de Mazenod and was appointed by Pope Gregory XVI as bishop of Viviers in 18 ...

, Cardinal Archbishop of Paris presiding.''La Semaine religieuse du diocèse de Tulle'', 8 décembre 1883, no 49, p. 669-670 Colet's tomb in the cathedral.

References

Sources

* * Dorothy Scallan. ''The Holy Man of Tours.'' (1990) * Georges Simon, in:

External links

* David M. Cheney, ''Catholic-Hierarchy.org''
Archbishop Charles-Théodore Colet †
retrieved: 2017-10-18. {{DEFAULTSORT:Colet, Charles Theodore 1806 births 1883 deaths Bishops of Luçon Archbishops of Tours 19th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in France