Franz Xaver ''

Freiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , literally "free lord" or "free lady") and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empir ...

'' von Neveu (1749–1828) was the last

Prince-Bishop of Basel The Prince-Bishopric of Basel (german: Hochstift Basel, Fürstbistum Basel, Bistum Basel) was an ecclesiastical principality within the Holy Roman Empire, ruled from 1032 by prince-bishops with their seat at Basel, and from 1528 until 1792 at ...

, reigning from 1794 to 1803.''Sprink & Son's Monthly Numismatic Circle'', Vol I. (1893), p. 446
/ref> After the

Prince-Bishopric of Basel The Prince-Bishopric of Basel (german: Hochstift Basel, Fürstbistum Basel, Bistum Basel) was an ecclesiastical principality within the Holy Roman Empire, ruled from 1032 by prince-bishops with their seat at Basel, and from 1528 until 1792 at ...

was mediatised to the

Margraviate of Baden The Margraviate of Baden (german: Markgrafschaft Baden) was a historical territory of the Holy Roman Empire. Spread along the east side of the Upper Rhine River in southwestern Germany, it was named a margraviate in 1112 and existed until 1535, ...

in 1803, Neveu remained

Bishop of Basel The Diocese of Basel (german: Bistum Basel; la, Diœcesis Basileensis) is a Catholic diocese in Switzerland. Historically, the bishops of Basel were also secular rulers of the Prince-Bishopric of Basel (german: Fürstbistum Basel). The bis ...

, though without exercising temporal power, until his death in 1828.

Biography

Franz Xaver von Neveu was born in

Birseck Castle Birseck Castle (german: Burg Birseck) is located in the municipality of Arlesheim in the canton of Basel-Country. Birseck Castle is also called "Untere Burg Birseck" or "Vordere Burg Birseck" and is one of four castles on a slope called ''Birseck ...

on 26 February 1749, the son of Franz Karl Ignaz ''

'' von Neveu and his wife Maria Sophia Reuttner von Weyl. Article on German Wikipedia He served as a

page Page most commonly refers to: * Page (paper), one side of a leaf of paper, as in a book Page, PAGE, pages, or paging may also refer to: Roles * Page (assistance occupation), a professional occupation * Page (servant), traditionally a young m ...

in the

court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in acco ...

of Simon Nikolaus Euseb von Montjoye-Hirsingen, Prince Bishop of Basel, at

Porrentruy Porrentruy (, fc, Poérreintru , german: Pruntrut) is a Swiss municipality and seat of the district of the same name located in the canton of Jura. Porrentruy is home to National League team, HC Ajoie. History The first trace of human pre ...

, and then spent 1762-69 studying at the

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

gymnasium in Porrentruy. In 1769, he began his studies at the

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. The French university traces its history to the ea ...

. At

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label= Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the ...

, he was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

as a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

on 15 March 1777.Profile on catholic-hierarchy.org
/ref> In 1789, he became a canon (''Domizellar'') of Basel Münster. He became a member of the

cathedral chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. ...

on 28 January 1792. 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 conside ...

spread into the Prince-Bishopric of Basel, with French troops entering the prince-bishopric in April 1792. Neveu and the rest of the cathedral chapter fled to

Arlesheim Arlesheim is a town and a municipality in the district of Arlesheim in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland. Its cathedral chapter seat, bishop's residence and cathedral (1681 / 1761) are listed as a heritage site of national significance. ...

, then to

Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

. On 2 June 1794 the cathedral chapter elected Neveu to be the new Prince-Bishop of

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (B ...

, with

Pope Pius VI Pope Pius VI ( it, Pio VI; born Count Giovanni Angelo Braschi, 25 December 171729 August 1799) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 to his death in August 1799. Pius VI condemned the French Revoluti ...

confirming his appointment on 12 September 1794. At the time of his election, the northern portion of the Prince-Bishopric of Basel had already been incorporated into the

Rauracian Republic The Rauracian Republic was a short-lived French occupation zone that included parts of modern Switzerland around the Jura mountains. It was created from the northern portion of the Prince-Bishopric of Basel, which was part of the Holy Roman Empir ...

in December 1792. As such, Neveu's temporal authority only extended to

Bellelay Abbey Bellelay Abbey is a former Premonstratensian monastery in the Bernese Jura in Switzerland, now a psychiatric clinic. It is a heritage site of national significance and the entire former Abbey complex is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage S ...

Moutier Moutier () is a municipality in Switzerland. Currently, the town belongs to the Jura bernois administrative district of the canton of Bern. On 28 March 2021, the population voted to secede from the canton of Bern and join the Canton of Jura; the ...

-Grandval Abbey, Erguel,

Orvin Orvin is a municipality in the Jura bernois administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is located in the French-speaking Bernese Jura (''Jura Bernois''). Above it, there is a small year round resort, called les " Prés-d'O ...

Biel , french: Biennois(e) , neighboring_municipalities= Brügg, Ipsach, Leubringen/Magglingen (''Evilard/Macolin''), Nidau, Orpund, Orvin, Pieterlen, Port, Safnern, Tüscherz-Alfermée, Vauffelin , twintowns = Iserlohn (Germany) ...

La Neuveville La Neuveville (; german: Neuenstadt) is a municipality in the Jura bernois administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland, located in the French-speaking Bernese Jura (''Jura Bernois''). History La Neuveville is first mentioned ...

, and Schliengen. The

Treaty of Campo Formio The Treaty of Campo Formio (today Campoformido) was signed on 17 October 1797 (26 Vendémiaire VI) by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Philipp von Cobenzl as representatives of the French Republic and the Austrian monarchy, respectively. The trea ...

(18 October 1797) awarded the French First Republic a free hand in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, and on 14 December 1797 French troops occupied the remainder of the Prince-Bishopric of Basel. In 1803, this southern portion of the prince-bishopric was mediatised to the

, and Neveu lost the last of his temporal power over the prince-bishopric. He remained Bishop of Basel until his death. He died in

Offenburg Offenburg ("open borough" - coat of arms showing open gates; Low Alemmanic: ''Offäburg'') is a city located in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With nearly 60,000 inhabitants (2019), it is the largest city and the administrative capital ...

on 23 August 1828.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neveu, Franz Xaver von 1749 births 1828 deaths Prince-Bishops of Basel People from Basel-Landschaft