Florent Michel Marie Joseph du Bois de La Villerabel (29 September 1877 in

St. Brieuc Saint-Brieuc (, Breton: ''Sant-Brieg'' , Gallo: ''Saent-Berioec'') is a city in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. History Saint-Brieuc is named after a Welsh monk Brioc, who Christianised the region in the 6th c ...

– 7 February 1951 in St. Brieuc), archbishop of

Aix Aix or AIX may refer to: Computing * AIX, a line of IBM computer operating systems *An Alternate Index, for a Virtual Storage Access Method Key Sequenced Data Set *Athens Internet Exchange, a European Internet exchange point Places Belgium ...

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and Embrun (1940–1944), was the most prominent of seven French mainland or colonial bishops who in the aftermath of the

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were obliged to submit their resignations to Pope

Pius XII Pius ( , ) Latin for "pious", is a masculine given name. Its feminine form is Pia. It may refer to: People Popes * Pope Pius (disambiguation) * Antipope Pius XIII (1918-2009), who led the breakaway True Catholic Church sect Given name * Pius B ...

. It had been suggested that more prelates should resign, but the diplomatic skills of the nuncio Mgr Roncalli reduced the resignations, together with the appointment of a

coadjutor The term coadjutor (or coadiutor, literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadj ...

Msgr Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...

Serrand, bishop of St. Brieuc and Tréguier, and the exclusion of the then archbishops of Reims and Bordeaux from any future appointments as cardinals. Villerabel had notably opposed '' La Voix du Vatican'', which was critical of the Vichy government, leading to a disagreement with Cardinal Suhard. His retirement (when he resumed his former titulature of Aenos or Enos which he had held as auxiliary bishop to the Archbishop of Tours from 1920 to 1940) was spent at Solesmes Abbey and at St. Brieuc. Other bishops obliged to resign included Msgrs. Dutoit of

Arras Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, which forms part of the regions of France, region of Hauts-de-France; before the regions of France#Reform and mergers of ...

, Auvity of Mende, and Beaussart, auxiliary of Paris (who ironically had welcomed General de Gaulle at Notre-Dame in 1944 for Cardinal Suhard, the archbishop, who was not at that particular moment in the General's favours). Villerabel had been consecrated by his cousin, , bishop of

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

, subsequently Archbishop of Rouen and

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, a post from which he resigned in 1936 after a case of embezzlement by a priest on his staff.

Sources

*Etienne Fouilloux (ed.): ''Angelo Roncalli-Giovanni XXIII'','' Journal de France'' vol. 1, 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Villerabel, Florent Du Bois de Archbishops of Aix 1877 births 1951 deaths French collaborators with Nazi Germany