Jean-Baptiste Henri-Dominique Lacordaire (12 May 1802 – 21 November 1861), often styled Henri-Dominique Lacordaire, was a French ecclesiastic, preacher, journalist, theologian and political activist. He re-established the
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...
in post-Revolutionary France. Lacordaire was reputed to be the greatest pulpit orator of the nineteenth century.
Early life and education
The son of a
doctor
Doctor or The Doctor may refer to:
Personal titles
* Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree
* A medical practitioner, including:
** Physician
** Surgeon
** Dentist
** Veterinary physician
** Optometrist
*Other roles
** ...
in the
French navy
The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...
, Henri Lacordaire was born on 12 May 1802 at
Recey-sur-Ource (
Côte-d'Or
Côte-d'Or (; literally, "Golden Slope") is a département in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of Northeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 534,124.[Dijon
Dijon (, , ) (dated)
* it, Digione
* la, Diviō or
* lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920.
The earlies ...]
by his mother, Anne Dugied, the daughter of a lawyer at the Parliament of Bourgogne who was widowed at an early age, when her husband died in 1806. Henri had three brothers, one of whom was the
entomologist
Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...
Jean Théodore Lacordaire
Théodore Lacordaire or Jean Théodore Lacordaire (1 February 1801 – 18 July 1870) was a Belgian entomologist of French extraction.
In spite of his obvious interest in natural history, his family sent him to Le Havre to study "le droit", or ...
. Although raised a Catholic, his faith lapsed during his studies at the Dijon Lycée.
[Atwood, Ray E., ''Masters of Preaching'', Rowman & Littlefield, 2013]
He went on to study law. He distinguished himself in oratory at the Society of Studies in
Dijon
Dijon (, , ) (dated)
* it, Digione
* la, Diviō or
* lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920.
The earlies ...
, a political and literary circle of the town's royalist youth. There he discovered the
ultramontane
Ultramontanism is a clerical political conception within the Catholic Church that places strong emphasis on the prerogatives and powers of the Pope. It contrasts with Gallicanism, the belief that popular civil authority—often represented by th ...
theories of Bonald, de Maistre, and
Félicité de Lamennais
Félicité may refer to:
Geography
* Félicité (island), Seychelles
* Sainte-Félicité (disambiguation)
**Sainte-Félicité, Chaudière-Appalaches, Quebec
**Sainte-Félicité, Bas-Saint-Laurent, Quebec
People
*Félicité Carrel, Italian mounta ...
. Under their influence he slowly lost his enthusiasm for the
encyclopedists and
Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...
, though he maintained an attachment to
Classical Liberalism
Classical liberalism is a political tradition
Political culture describes how culture impacts politics. Every political system is embedded in a particular political culture.
Definition
Gabriel Almond defines it as "the particular patt ...
and the revolutionary ideals of 1789.
In 1822 he left for Paris to complete his legal training. Although legally too young to plead cases, he was allowed to do so and he successfully argued several in the Court of Assizes, attracting the interest of the great liberal lawyer Berryer.
[Scannell, Thomas. "Jean-Baptiste-Henri Dominique Lacordaire." The Catholic Encyclopedia]
Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 21 November 2015 However, he became bored and felt isolated in Paris and in 1824 he re-embraced Catholicism and soon decided to become a priest.
Thanks to the support of
Monseigneur de Quélen, the
Archbishop of Paris
The Archdiocese of Paris (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Parisiensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Paris'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is one of twenty-three archdioceses in France ...
, who granted him a scholarship, he began studying at the Seminary of
Saint-Sulpice in
Issy
Issy-les-Moulineaux () is a commune in the southwestern suburban area of Paris, France, lying on the left bank of the river Seine. Its citizens are called ''Isséens'' in French. It is one of Paris' entrances and is located from Notre-Dame Cath ...
in 1824 over the objections of his mother and friends. In 1826, he continued this education in Paris, which was generally mediocre. He wrote later that: "Those who remember having observed me at the seminary know that they have several times had the temptation of calling me mad." His seminary experience inspired
Sainte-Beuve's novel ''Volupté''.
At Saint-Sulpice, he met with Cardinal Rohan-Chabot, later
archbishop of Besançon
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 archdioc ...
, who advised him to join the
Society of Jesus
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
. Nevertheless, after long hesitations by his superiors, he succeeded in being ordained a priest of the
archdiocese of Paris
The Archdiocese of Paris (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Parisiensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Paris'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is one of twenty-three archdioceses in France ...
on 22 September 1827. He was appointed to a modest position as chaplain of a convent of nuns of the
Order of the Visitation
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
* Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...
.
[ In the following year, he was named second chaplain of the ]Lycée Henri-IV
The Lycée Henri-IV is a public secondary school located in Paris. Along with the Lycée Louis-le-Grand, it is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious and demanding sixth-form colleges (''lycées'') in France.
The school educates more than ...
. This experience convinced him of the inevitable de-Christianization of French youth educated in public institutions.
Lamennais, Montalembert, ''L'Avenir'' and liberal Catholicism
Discouraged, when Bishop John Dubois of New York came to Paris to recruit missionaries for the United States, Lacordaire volunteered and was granted permission, but the revolutionary events of 1830 kept him in France. He visited Father Hugues Felicité Robert de Lamennais Hugues may refer to
People:
* Hugues de Payens (c. 1070–1136), French soldier
* Hugues I de Lusignan (1194/95 –1218), French-descended ruler a.k.a. Hugh I of Cyprus
* Hugues IV de Berzé (1150s–1220), French soldier
* Hugues II de Lusignan ...
. Lacordaire had long resisted the views of Father Lamennais, one of the leading intellectuals concerned with French Catholic youth, but in May 1830, Lamennais converted him to his liberal version of ultramontanism
Ultramontanism is a clerical political conception within the Catholic Church that places strong emphasis on the prerogatives and powers of the Pope. It contrasts with Gallicanism, the belief that popular civil authority—often represented by th ...
, that is, the adherence to the absolute universal authority of the papacy in opposition to nationalist and secularist ideas.
He, Lamennais, Olympe-Philippe Gerbet
Olympe-Philippe Gerbet (5 February 1798 – 7 August 1864) was a French Catholic bishop and writer.
Biography
Gerbet was born at Poligny, Jura. He studied at the Académie and the Grand-Séminaire of Besançon, also at St-Sulpice and the S ...
, and the young Viscount Charles de Montalembert
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...
, who became one of his closest friends, allied themselves with the July Revolution
The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...
. They demanded the integral application of the Charter of 1830
The Charter of 1830 (french: Charte de 1830) instigated the July Monarchy in France. It was considered a compromise between constitutional monarchists and republicans.
History
After three days of protests in July 1830 – the July ...
and voiced support of foreign liberal revolutions in Poland, Belgium and Italy. Together they launched the newspaper ''L'Ami de l'Ordre'' (precursor of today's '' L'Avenir'') on 16 October 1830, whose motto was "Dieu et la Liberté!" ("God and Freedom!"). In that largely anti-clerical and revolutionary context, the journal sought to synthesize ultramontanism and liberalism to reconcile democratic aspirations and Roman Catholicism.
On 7 December 1830, the editors of "L’Avenir" articulated their demands as follows:
We firstly ask for the freedom of conscience or the freedom of full universal religion, without distinction as without privilege; and by consequence, in what touches us Catholics, for the total separation of church and state... this necessary separation, without which there would exist for Catholics no religious freedom, implies, for a part, the suppression of the ecclesiastical budget, and we have fully recognized this; for another part, the absolute independence of the clergy in the spiritual order... Just as there can be nothing religious today in politics there must be nothing political in religion.
Their other demands included freedom of the press, freedom of association, and the extension of electoral suffrage.
They further endorsed freedom of education. Lacordaire believed that state control of education compromised religious instruction, especially in colleges, and that most students lost their faith upon leaving school.[ He was against the government's monopoly of the universities, and opposed Montalivet, the minister of public education and faith. On 9 May 1831 Lacordaire and Montalembert opened a free school, rue des Beaux-Arts, which was shut down by the police two days later. At a trial which took place in front of the ]Chambre des Pairs
{{Infobox legislature
, name = Chamber of Peers
, native_name = Chambre des Pairs
, native_name_lang = French
, transcription_name =
, legislature =
, coa_pic = Coat_of_Arms_of_the_July_Monarchy_(183 ...
(Chamber of Peers,) Lacordaire defended himself, but failed to prevent the permanent closure of the school.
He was especially vehement in demanding the separation of Church and State. To this end, he called on French priests to refuse the salary which was paid them by the government, advocating for the embrace of apostolic poverty by the clergy. On 15 November 1830, he expressed himself: "We are preyed upon by our enemies, by those who regard us as hypocrites or as imbeciles, and by those who are persuaded that our life depends on money... Freedom is not given, it is taken." These demands, along with numerous attacks against bishops appointed by the new government, whom he characterized as ambitious and servile, provoked a scandal in the French episcopate, which was largely Gallican (i.e., conciliarist, nationalist, royalist, asserting the authority of the local episcopacy, and opposed to papal absolutism) and conservative. The virulence of "L’Avenir," and particularly of Lamennais and Lacordaire, provoked the French Bishops to form a tribunal against the editors of the periodical. Lamennais and Lacordaire spent January 1831 before the court, and obtained a triumphal acquittal.
The editors of "L’Avenir" founded in December 1830 the General Society for the defense of religious freedom. "L’Avenir" was suspended by its founders on 15 November 1831 while Lacordaire, Lamennais and Montalembert, the "Pilgrims of Freedom," went to Rome to seek recourse to Pope Gregory XVI
Pope Gregory XVI ( la, Gregorius XVI; it, Gregorio XVI; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in 1 June 1846. He h ...
, to whom they hoped to present a dissertation composed by Lacordaire. At first confident, they fast became disenchanted by the reserved welcome with which they were received. On 15 August 1832, the Pope, without naming them, condemned their ideas in the encyclical Mirari Vos
(Latin: "To wonder at you"; subtitled "On Liberalism and Religious Indifferentism"), sometimes referred to as , is the first encyclical of Pope Gregory XVI and was issued in August 1832. Addressed "To All Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, and ...
, most notably their demands for freedom of conscience and freedom of the press. Even before this condemnation, Lacordaire distanced himself from his companions, and returned to Paris where he took up again his functions as a chaplain at the Convent of Visitations.
On 11 September, he published a letter of submission to the Pope's judgment. He then successfully used all his force of persuasion to convince Montalembert, who at first remained recalcitrant, to imitate him in his submission. In 1834 he also challenged Lamennais, who rather than accept what he saw as Rome's reactionary absolutism, publicly renounced his priesthood and published "Les Paroles d’un Croyant" (Words of a Believer,) a vociferous republican polemic against the established social order, denouncing what he now saw as the conspiracy of kings and priests against the people. Pope Gregory responded quickly, calling Lammenais' new book "small in size, but immense in perversity." He promulgated the encyclical "Singulari Nos
''Singulari Nos'' (subtitled ''On The Errors Of Lammenais'') was an encyclical issued on June 25, 1834, by Pope Gregory XVI. Essentially a follow-up to the better-known ''Mirari Vos'' of 1832, ''Singulari Nos'' focused strongly on the views of Fr ...
" (15 July 1834) condemning its contents. Most commentators see this episode as effectively squelching of the open expression of modernist ideas in Catholic circles, until at least the papacy of Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...
at the end of the century. Lacordaire, for his part, then further distanced himself from Lammenais, expressed his disappointment at the consequences of the Revolution of 1830, and proclaimed his continued faithfulness to the Church of Rome. He condemned the pride of Lamennais and charged him with Protestantism, accusing him of having wanted to place the authority of the human race above that of the Church.
Preaching
In January 1833 he met Madame Swetchine, who was to become a significant moderating influence upon him. She was a Russian convert to Catholicism who had a famous salon in Paris which Montalembert, the Earl of Falloux, and Lamennais also frequented. He developed a friendly filial relationship with her through an extensive correspondence.
In January 1834, at the encouragement of the young Frédéric Ozanam
Antoine-Frédéric Ozanam (; 23 April 1813 – 8 September 1853) was a French literary scholar, lawyer, journalist and equal rights advocate. He founded with fellow students the Conference of Charity, later known as the Society of Saint Vincent ...
, the founder the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul
The Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP or SVdP or SSVP) is an international voluntary organization in the Catholic Church, founded in 1833 for the sanctification of its members by personal service of the poor.
Innumerable Catholic parishes have ...
(a charitable organization,) Father Lacordaire started a series of lectures at the Collège Stanislas. This met with great success, even beyond his students. His thematic emphasis on freedom provoked his critics, who charged him with perverting the youth. Lacordaire was reputed to be the greatest pulpit orator of the nineteenth century.[Graham, George. "Lacordaire, Jean-Baptiste", ''Encyclopedia of Catholic Social Thought, Social Science, and Social Policy'': Supplement, (Michael L. Coulter, Richard S. Myers, Joseph A. Varacalli, eds.), Scarecrow Press, 2012]
Lacordaire's preaching was not so much penitential as an exercise in apologetics. He demonstrated that one could be a French citizen and a Catholic. The lectures were a great success.[Old, Hughes Oliphant. ''The Modern Age, 1789-1889'', Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2007]
Monseigneur de Quélen, the Archbishop of Paris, asked Lacordaire to preach a Lenten series in 1835 at the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris, as part of the Notre-Dame Lectures specially aimed at the catechesis of Christian youth, which had been inaugurated at the behest of his friend Ozanam. Lacordaire's first lecture took place on 8 March 1835, and was met with wide acclaim. The social event of its day, 6,000 attended. Because of this immediate success, he was asked to preach again the following year. According to Thomas Bokenkotter, Lacordaire's Notre Dame Conferences, "...proved to be one of the most dramatic events of nineteenth century church history."[Bokenkotter, Thomas. "Lacordaire, Jean-Bapiste", ''Encyclopedia of Modern Christian Politics'', (Roy Palmer Domenico, Mark Y. Hanley, eds.), Greenwood Publishing Group, 2006]
Today the Lacordaire Notre-Dame Lectures, which mixed theology, philosophy and poetry, are still acclaimed as a sublime modern re-invigoration of traditional homiletics.
Among those who attended his Lenten sermons in 1836 was Marie-Eugénie de Jésus
Marie-Eugénie de Jésus (25 August 1817 – 10 March 1898), born Anne-Eugénie Milleret de Brou, was a French religious sister and the foundress of the Religious of the Assumption. Her life was not geared towards faith in her childhood until ...
de Milleret. The encounter with Lacordaire marked a turning point in her life and the beginning of a spiritual journey that would eventually lead her to found the Religious of the Assumption
The Religious of the Assumption is an international Roman Catholic women's congregation founded by Saint Marie Eugénie Milleret in Paris in 1839, and dedicated to the education of young girls. The Assumption Mission Associates is an affiliated ...
. In a letter written to Lacordaire years later, she recalled, "Your words gave me a faith which henceforth nothing could shake."
But in 1836 after such considerable success, he was still the object of mounting attacks on his theological stance. Suddenly his mother died. Lacordaire, aware of the need to continue his theological studies, retreated to Rome to study with the Jesuits. There, he published his "Letter on the Holy See" in which he reaffirmed with vigor his ultramontane positions, insisting on the primacy of the Roman Pontiff, "the one and permanent trustee, supreme organ of the Gospel, and the sacred source of the universal communion." This text ran afoul of the Archbishop of Paris, Monseigneur Quélen, who was a sincere Gallican.
Re-establishment of the Dominican Order in France
In 1837, seeing the example of Guéranger's restoration of the Benedictines
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
, Lacordaire decided to enter the Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...
despite the loss of certain personal freedoms that would entail, and to re-establish the Dominicans in France.[Gildea, Robert. ''Children of the Revolution'', Harvard University Press, 2008]
Pope Gregory XVI
Pope Gregory XVI ( la, Gregorius XVI; it, Gregorio XVI; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in 1 June 1846. He h ...
and the general master of the Dominicans, Father Ancarani, supported his plan, the latter providing the Roman convent of Santa Sabina
The Basilica of Saint Sabina ( la, Basilica Sanctae Sabinae, it, Basilica di Santa Sabina all'Aventino) is a historic church on the Aventine Hill in Rome, Italy. It is a titular minor basilica and mother church of the Roman Catholic Order of Pre ...
to serve as a novitiate for French Dominicans. In September 1838, Lacordaire returned to France to identify candidates for the novitiate as well as financial and political support. He published an eloquent announcement in the journal ''L’Univers''. He argued that religious orders were compatible with the principles of the Revolution, particularly because of the democratic structure of the Dominicans. He represented the vow of poverty as a radical application of the revolutionary ideas of égalité and fraternité.
On 9 April 1839, Lacordaire formally joined the Dominicans at the convent of Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome and received the name Dominic. He took final vows on 12 April 1840. In 1841, he returned to France wearing the illegal Dominican habit. On 14 February 1841, he preached in Paris at Notre-Dame. He then founded several convents, starting in Nancy in 1843.[ In April 1844 Lacordaire obtained permission to purchase the former ]Carthusians
The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians ( la, Ordo Cartusiensis), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its ...
monastery of Notre-Dame de Châlais and establish a Dominican novitiate. The religious painter Hyacinthe Besson
Jean-Baptiste Besson (known as Frère Hyacinthe Besson; 10 March 1816 – 4 May 1861) was a French painter and missionary priest.
Early years
Jean-Baptiste Besson was born and was baptized on 10 March 1816 in Rans, Jura, Rans in the Jura.
He w ...
was appointed the first Master of the novices. In 1849 he established a house of studies in Paris. He also exerted an important influence on Jean-Charles Prince
Jean-Charles Prince (13 February 1804 – 5 May 1860) was a Canadian Roman Catholic priest, teacher, seminary administrator, editor, and Bishop of Saint-Hyacinthe, Lower Canada from 1852 to 1860.
Life
Jean-Charles Prince was born 13 February ...
and Joseph-Sabin Raymond, two Canadians who took the Dominican Order to Canada.
In 1850, the Dominican Province of France was officially re-established under his direction and he was elected provincial superior, but Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...
named Alexendre Jandel, a philosophical opponent of Lacordaire, vicar general of the order. Jandel held a severe interpretation of Dominican medieval constitutions and was opposed to Lacordaire's more liberal vision. A dispute about setting the hours for prayer in the priories erupted in 1852.[ Lacordaire preferred lax enforcement of the timetable in deference to other functions like preaching and teaching. In 1855 the pope supported Jandel by naming him general master of the Order. Lacordaire, after a time without administrative duties, was re-elected head of the French province in 1858.
]
Final years
Both political controversies and disputes within the Dominican order clouded Lacordaire's later years. Long hostile to the July Monarchy, he supported the Revolution of 1848
The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europea ...
. With Frédéric Ozanam and the Abbot Maret, he launched a newspaper, ''L'Ère Nouvelle'' (''The New Era''), to campaign for the rights of Catholics under the new regime. Their program mixed traditional Liberal Catholicism's defense of the freedom of conscience and education with Ozanam's Social Catholicism
Catholic social teaching, commonly abbreviated CST, is an area of Catholic doctrine concerning matters of human dignity and the common good in society. The ideas address oppression, the role of the state, subsidiarity, social organization, co ...
. Lacordaire was elected to the Assemblée Nationale from the Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
region. Favoring the Republic
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
, he sat on the extreme left of the Assemblée, but resigned on 17 May 1848,[ following workers' riots and the invasion of the Assemblée Nationale by demonstrators on 15 May. He preferred to retire rather than take sides in what he expected would be a civil war between extreme partisans. When ''L'Ère Nouvelle'' endorsed ever more socialist policies, he left the paper's leadership on 2 September, while continuing to support it.
Lacordaire supported the ]Revolutions of 1848 in the Italian states
The 1848 Revolutions in the Italian states, part of the wider Revolutions of 1848 in Europe, were organized revolts in the states of the Italian peninsula and Sicily, led by intellectuals and agitators who desired a liberal government. As Italia ...
and the later French invasion of the Papal States
The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...
: "We must not at all be too alarmed by the possible fall of Pius IX," he wrote to Montalembert. He found the Falloux Laws
The Falloux Laws promoted Catholic schools in France in the 1850s, 1860s and 1870s. They were voted in during the French Second Republic and promulgated on 15 March 1850 and in 1851, following the presidential election of Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte ...
a disappointment despite their attempt to establish a degree of freedom for Catholic secondary education. Opposed to the election of Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, Lacordaire condemned his coup d’état of 2 December 1851.[ He retired from public life, and later explained: "My hour had come to disappear with the others. Many Catholics followed another line, and separating themselves from all they had said and done, threw themselves with ardor before absolute power. This schism that I do not want at all to call here an apostasy, has always been a great mystery to me and a great sadness."
In quasi-retirement, he dedicated himself to the education of youth as permitted by the ]Falloux Laws
The Falloux Laws promoted Catholic schools in France in the 1850s, 1860s and 1870s. They were voted in during the French Second Republic and promulgated on 15 March 1850 and in 1851, following the presidential election of Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte ...
. In July 1852 he accepted the leadership of a school in Oullins
Oullins () is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France.
It is a suburb of the city of Lyon, and is adjacent to it on the southwest.
Population
Transport
*Several Buses (C7, C10, 8, 12, 14, 17, 63, ...
, near Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
, then a similar role at the school of Sorèze in Tarn in 1854. Finally, on 2 February 1860, he was elected to the Académie française
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...
, filling the seat of Alexis de Tocqueville
Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville (; 29 July 180516 April 1859), colloquially known as Tocqueville (), was a French aristocrat, diplomat, political scientist, political philosopher and historian. He is best known for his works ...
, whose eulogy he had delivered. His election represented a protest by the Académie and Catholic sympathizers against Napoléon III, who had conceded to allowing the Italian states of Florence, Midena, Parma, and Bologna to withdraw from the Papal States and ally themselves with independent Piedmont. Encouraged by opponents of the Imperial Regime, supported by Montalembert and Berryer, he agreed that he would not criticize Napoléon 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 ...
's intervention in Italian politics. His reception at the Académie was therefore not controversial.
About this time he uttered his famous epitaph: "J'espère mourir un religieux pénitent et un libéral impénitent." ("I wish to die a penitent religious and unrepentant liberal.")
Lacordaire only sat once at the Académie. He died at the age of 59 on 21 November 1861 in Sorèze
Sorèze (; oc, Sorese ca, Sorese) is a commune in the Tarn department in southern France.
See also
* Communes of the Tarn department
The following is a list of the 314 communes of the Tarn department of France.
The communes cooperate i ...
( Tarn) and was buried there.
Modern reception
The liberal catholicism
Liberal Catholicism was a current of thought within the Catholic Church. It was influential in the 19th century and the first half of the 20th, especially in France. It is largely identified with French political theorists such as Felicité ...
propagated by Lacordaire and others was viewed negatively by the Holy See. In Mirari vos
(Latin: "To wonder at you"; subtitled "On Liberalism and Religious Indifferentism"), sometimes referred to as , is the first encyclical of Pope Gregory XVI and was issued in August 1832. Addressed "To All Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, and ...
(1832) the pope condemned the freedom of the press and the demand for the liberty of conscience for catholics: 'This shameful font of indifferentism gives rise to that absurd and erroneous proposition which claims that ''liberty of conscience'' must be maintained for everyone. It spreads ruin in sacred and civil affairs, though some repeat over and over again with the greatest impudence that some advantage accrues to religion from it.'
The later encyclyclical Singulari Nos of 1834 summoned Lamennais and his followers to renounce the radical views he developed against temporal and spiritual sovereignties. This hostility all played out around the same time that the dogma of papal infallibility
Papal infallibility is a dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Peter, the Pope when he speaks ''ex cathedra'' is preserved from the possibility of error on doctrine "initially given to the aposto ...
was defined (1870).
The hostile view of Liberal Catholicism
Liberal Catholicism was a current of thought within the Catholic Church. It was influential in the 19th century and the first half of the 20th, especially in France. It is largely identified with French political theorists such as Felicité ...
lessened during the Second Vatican Council
The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...
. When Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...
promulgated the encyclical Dignitatis Humanae
''Dignitatis humanae'' (''Of the Dignity of the Human Person'') is the Second Vatican Council's Declaration on Religious Freedom. In the context of the council's stated intention "to develop the doctrine of recent popes on the inviolable rights ...
the church took back ‘the rights of truth’ doctrine and allowed for the assertion that humans have the right to have freedom of conscience and freedom of religion. Modern Catholic scholarship and literature tends to look more favorable on the l’Avenir movement and the views of liberal catholicism.
Recent scholarship on 19th century church history tends to focus more on the broad developments of liberal catholicism and the developments surrounding the Second Vatican Council. At the council the separation between church and state and the liberty of conscience was confirmed. Lacordaire and the former members of the L'avenir are now recognized as being part of a bigger intellectual current which recent scholarship has more attention for.
Quotes
*"Entre le fort et le faible, entre le riche et le pauvre, entre le maître et le serviteur, c’est la liberté qui opprime et la loi qui affranchit."
**(Translated: "Between the strong and the weak, between the rich and the poor, between the lord and the slave, it is freedom which oppresses and the law which sets free.")
*"Ce n'est pas génie, ni gloire, ni amour qui reflète la grandeur de l'âme humaine; c'est bonté."
**("It is not genius, nor glory, nor love that reflects the greatness of the human soul; it is kindness.")
*"Les mots de la liberté sont grands chez un peuple qui n’en connaît pas la mesure."
**(Translated: The words of freedom are large among a people who do not know its extent.)
Works
His most influential publication was a collection of his ''Conférences de Nôtre Dame de Paris''.Espin, Orlando. "Lacordaire, Jean-Baptiste", ''An Introductory Dictionary of Theology and Religious Studies'', (Orlando O. Espín, James B. Nickoloff, eds.), Liturgical Press, 2007
*"Eloges funèbres" (Antoine Drouot
General Antoine Drouot, Comte Drouot (11 January 1774 – 24 March 1847) was a French officer who fought in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.
Drouot is one of a select group who were present at both the Battle of Trafalgar (1805) and ...
, Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell (I) ( ga, Dónall Ó Conaill; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilizat ...
, and Mgr Forbin-Janson)
*"Lettre sur le Saint-Siège"
*"Considérations sur le système philosophique de M. de Lamennais"
*"De la liberté d'Italie et de l'Eglise"
*"Conferences" (tr. vol. I only, London, 1851)
*"Dieu et l'homme" in "Conférences de Notre Dame de Paris" (tr. London, 1872)
*"Jésus-Christ" (tr. London, 1869)
*"Dieu" (tr. London, 1870)[
* Henri Perreyve, ed., ''Letters'', 8 vols. (1862), tr. Derby, 1864, revised and enlarged ed. London, 1902
Lacordaire, Life of (Foisset, 2 vols.)
Lacordaire, Life of (d'Aussonville)
Lacordaire Orator and Monk (Beaudé)
Lacordaire: Life of St. Mary Magdalene
]
References
Sources
* Edward McSweeny
"Lacordaire on Property,"
''The Catholic World'', Vol. 45 (1887).
*
* Margaret Oliphant
Margaret Oliphant Wilson Oliphant (born Margaret Oliphant Wilson; 4 April 1828 – 20 June 1897) was a Scottish novelist and historical writer, who usually wrote as Mrs. Oliphant. Her fictional works cover "domestic realism, the historical nove ...
"Henri Lacordaire,"
''Blackwood's Magazine'', Vol. 93 (1863).
*
* Peter M. Batts, Henri-Dominique Lacordaire's Re-Establishment of the Dominican Order in Nineteenth-Century France, The Edwin Mellen Press, 2004
* Peter M. Batts, "Jean-Baptiste Henri Lacordaire" in ''New Catholic Encyclopedia'' (2003)
* Thomas Bokenkotter, ''Church and Revolution: Catholics and the Struggle for Democracy and Social Justice'' (NY: Doubleday, 1998)
* T.B. Scannell
in ''The Catholic Encyclopedia
The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...
'' (1910)
*
Further reading
Old, Hughes Oliphant. ''The Modern Age, 1789-1889'' -for a discussion of Lacordaire's preaching style
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lacordaire, Jean-Baptiste Henri
1802 births
1861 deaths
People from Côte-d'Or
French Dominicans
19th-century French Roman Catholic priests
19th-century French Catholic theologians
Members of the Académie Française
Our Lady of La Salette
Liberal Catholicism