Le cardinal François de Sourdis par Le Bernin

François d'Escoubleau de Sourdis (25 October 1574 – 1628) was a French Catholic prelate, the Archbishop of Bordeaux and founder of the Irish College there in 1603.

Biography

He was born at Châtillon-sur-Sèvre in

Poitou Poitou (, , ; ; Poitevin: ''Poetou'') was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. Both Poitou and Poitiers are named after the Pictones Gallic tribe. Geography The main historical cities are Poitiers (historical c ...

, the eldest son of François d'Escoubleau and Isabeau Babou de la Bourdasière. His father was seigneur of

Jouy Jouy may refer to: Communes in France * Jouy, Eure-et-Loir, in the Eure-et-Loir ''département'' *Jouy, Yonne, in the Yonne ''département'' *Jouy-aux-Arches, in the Moselle ''département'' *Jouy-en-Argonne, in the Meuse ''département'' *Jouy-en ...

, Auneau and

Mondoubleau Mondoubleau () is a commune in the Loir-et-Cher department of central France. Population See also *Communes of the Loir-et-Cher department The following is a list of the 267 communes of the Loir-et-Cher department of France. The commune ...

, marquis d'Alluye, and governor of

Chartres Chartres () is the prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir department in the Centre-Val de Loire region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 170,763 inhabitants in the metropolitan area of Chartres (as d ...

, and François himself held the title of Count of La Chapelle. As the eldest son, he was not initially destined for a career in the church. He studied humanities at the Collège de Navarre in Paris, fought in the

siege of Chartres Siege of Chartres may refer to: *Siege of Chartres (911) The Battle of Chartres The Siege of Chartres was part of the Viking incursions. In 858, Norsemen raided and burned down the Burgundian city of Chartres (now in the Eure-et-Loir department ...

(1591) and was engaged to marry Catherine Hurault de Cheverny, daughter of the royal chancellor Philippe Hurault. During a visit to Rome, he met

Federico Borromeo Federico Borromeo (18 August 1564 – 21 September 1631) was an Italian cardinal and Archbishop of Milan, a prominent figure of Counter-Reformation Italy. Early life Federico Borromeo was born in Milan as the second son of Giulio Cesare Borrom ...

and

Filippo Neri Philip Romolo Neri ( ; it, italics=no, Filippo Romolo Neri, ; 22 July 151526 May 1595), known as the "Second Apostle of Rome", after Saint Peter, was an Italian priest noted for founding a society of secular clergy called the Congregation of t ...

and decided to enter the church. He was named

commendatory abbot A commendatory abbot ( la, abbas commendatarius) is an ecclesiastic, or sometimes a layman, who holds an abbey ''in commendam'', drawing its revenues but not exercising any authority over its inner monastic discipline. If a commendatory abbot is an ...

of Preuilly, of

Montréal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-p ...

, and of

Aubrac Aubrac is a small village in the southern Massif Central of France. The name is also applied to the surrounding countryside, which is properly called L'Aubrac in French. The Aubrac region has been a member of the Natura 2000 network since August 200 ...

(1597-1600) and created

cardinal priest A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

in the consistory of 3 March 1599 by

Pope Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII ( la, Clemens VIII; it, Clemente VIII; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born ...

. With the aid of a dispensation for being under the required age, he was elected archbishop of

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

and primate of

Aquitaine Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 January ...

on 5 July 1599. He was consecrated on 21 December 1599 at St. Germain des Près, Paris, by Cardinal

François de Joyeuse François de Joyeuse (24 June 1562 – 23 August 1615) was a French churchman and politician. Biography Born at Carcassonne, François de Joyeuse was the second son of Guillaume de Joyeuse and Marie Eléanor de Batarnay. As the younger son of a ...

archbishop of Toulouse The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toulouse (–Saint Bertrand de Comminges–Rieux) ( la, Archidioecesis Tolosana (–Convenarum–Rivensis); French: ''Archidiocèse de Toulouse (–Saint-Bertrand de Comminges–Rieux-Volvestre)''; Occitan: ''A ...

, and received the

cardinal's hat A (plural: ; from la, galērum, originally connotating a helmet made of skins; cf. '' galea'') is a broad-brimmed hat with tasselated strings which was worn by clergy in the Catholic Church. Over the centuries, the red ''galero'' was restricte ...

almost exactly one year later (20 December 1600). In Bordeaux, de Sourdis embarked on a number of urban improvements such as draining swampy areas of the city, renovating the medieval Archbishop's Palace, ordering enhancements to the chapel of Saint Michael's Basilica, and building the Cloister of the Cordeliers in the town of

Saint-André-de-Cubzac Saint-André-de-Cubzac (; oc, Sent Andreus de Cubzac) is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in south-western France. Its inhabitants are called Cubzaguais. Population Notable residents Jacques-Yves Cousteau is buried ...

(which today houses the local public library) and the church of Saint-Bruno of Bordeaux (1611-1620). In 1603 de Sourdis welcomed Reverend Dermit MacCarthy, a priest of the

Diocese of Cork The Diocese of Cork was established in the seventh century. The diocese of Cork was one of the twenty-four dioceses established at the Synod of Rathbreasail on an ancient bishopric founded by Saint Finbarr in the sixth-century. On 30 July 1326, P ...

, and forty companions, who formed the core of the new Irish College at the

University of Bordeaux The University of Bordeaux (French: ''Université de Bordeaux'') is a public university based in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It has several campuses in the cities and towns of Bordeaux, Dax, Gradignan, Périgueux, Pessac, and Ta ...

. In 1605 he became coadjutor, with right of succession, of his uncle Henri d'Escoubleau de Sourdis, bishop of Mallezais, and in 1607 he had the honor of baptizing the duke of Orléans, second son of King

Henry IV of France Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarc ...

. In 1615, he officiated at the wedding of Elisabeth of France with Infant Felipe (future

Philip IV of Spain Philip IV ( es, Felipe, pt, Filipe; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered f ...

), and of Louis XIII, king of France, with Infanta Anne of Austria, Felipe's sister, in St. Andrew's Cathedral. He was succeeded as Archbishop at his death by his brother,

Henri de Sourdis Henri d'Escoubleau de Sourdis, 20 February 1593 to 18 June 1645, was a French naval commander and Archbishop of Bordeaux. Like many churchmen of his day, de Sourdis was a military man as well as a prelate. He fought in the Thirty Years' War an ...

References

External links

Catholic Hierarchy: François d'Escoubleau de Sourdis

The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church Biographical Dictionary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sourdis, Francois d'Escoubleau 1574 births 1628 deaths People from Deux-Sèvres University of Paris alumni Archbishops of Bordeaux French untitled nobility 17th-century French cardinals