Jean-Baptiste Count de Belloy (9 October 1709,
Morangles, Diocese of
Beauvais
Beauvais ( , ; pcd, Bieuvais) is a city and commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise département, in the Hauts-de-France region, north of Paris.
The commune of Beauvais had a population of 56,020 , making it the most populous ...
– 10 June 1808,
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
) was an
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 ...
and
cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to:
Animals
* Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae
**''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...
of the Catholic Church.
Biography
Belloy was born in the small village of Morangles, near Senlis, on 9 October 1709. He had two brothers, Jacques-Tranquille, who became a
Premonstratensian Canon, and was appointed Abbot of Corneux (diocese of Besançon) by
King Louis XV
Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...
in 1756; the other, also a monk, became Prior of Bellozane and then of
Abbecourt (diocese of Chartres).
Although of an ancient family of military fame, young Belloy preferred an ecclesiastical career, made his classical and theological studies at Paris, where he was ordained a priest and received the degree of
Doctor of Theology
Doctor of Theology ( la, Doctor Theologiae, abbreviated DTh, ThD, DTheol, or Dr. theol.) is a terminal degree in the academic discipline of theology. The ThD, like the ecclesiastical Doctor of Sacred Theology, is an advanced research degree equiva ...
in 1737. In the ministry he shone more by his virtue than by his learning. In 1749, he was named Abbot Commendatory of Saint-André de Villeneuve (Avignon).
The
Bishop of Bourges
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bourges (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Bituricensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Bourges'') is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The Archdiocese comprises the departements of Ch ...
,
Léon Potier de Gesvres, appointed him
Vicar General
A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...
of the diocese and
Archdeacon
An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...
, Canon, and Prebendary of his cathedral.
Bishop
On 20 December 1751 he was appointed
Bishop of Glandèves. He was consecrated a bishop in Paris, at the seminary of Saint-Sulpice, on 30 January 1752, by Bishop Potier de Gesvres. He took his oath of allegiance to
King Louis XV
Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...
on 5 February 1752.
Belloy participated as a delegate from the ecclesiastical Province of Embrun in the famous
Assembly of the French Clergy of 1755
The assembly of the French clergy (''assemblée du clergé de France'') was in its origins a representative meeting of the Catholic clergy of France, held every five years, for the purpose of apportioning the financial burdens laid upon the clergy ...
, which began on 25 May and concluded on 4 November. On 10 June the news reached the Assembly that the Bishop of Marseille had died, and on 22 June the King nominated Belloy the new bishop. The purpose of the assembly was traditionally to bring the clergy to offer the King a subsidy of their own free will to meet the expenses of the royal government. Louis XV now proposed to turn the free grant into an annual tax of 5%, and to make that possible, he demanded a general survey of the value of all ecclesiastical benefices in France. Many delegates were intransigent defenders of their traditional practices, and their own pocketbooks, and fought against the King's proposals. Others wished to be more accommodating to the royal will. Most of the time of the Assembly, however, was spent on spiritual and doctrinal matters, arising out of the Jansenist controversy and the papal Bull ''Unigenitus''. Belloy took sides with the moderate party (Feuillants), led by Cardinal Frédéric-Jérôme de la Rochefoucauld, the President of the Assemblée du Clergé, and contributed to the restoration of tranquility in the
Church of France
, native_name_lang = fr
, image = 060806-France-Paris-Notre Dame.jpg
, imagewidth = 200px
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral Notre-Dame de Paris
, abbreviation =
, type ...
.
Dissensions occasioned by the
papal bull ''
Unigenitus
''Unigenitus'' (named for its Latin opening words ''Unigenitus dei filius'', or "Only-begotten son of God") is an apostolic constitution in the form of a papal bull promulgated by Pope Clement XI in 1713. It opened the final phase of the Jansenis ...
'' (8 September 1713) had become so great in the
Diocese of Marseilles that, upon the death of its bishop,
Henri François Xavier de Belsunce de Castelmoron
Henri François Xavier de Belsunce de Castelmoron (3 December 1671 at the Château de la Force, in Périgord – 4 June 1755 in Marseilles) was a French Jesuit who became Bishop of Marseille. Belsunce is remembered for his tireless efforts to r ...
, there was imminent danger of schism. Belloy was transferred to Marseille by
Pope Benedict XIV
Pope Benedict XIV ( la, Benedictus XIV; it, Benedetto XIV; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 17 August 1740 to his death in May 1758.Antipope ...
on 4 August 1755; he gained the confidence of both parties, as well as the competing factions of Jesuits and Dominicans, and restored peace.
On 13 October 1762, on petition of his Promoter-General, Canon Long, Bishop Belloy issued a decree reminding his clergy, both secular and religious, of the Statute of the diocese of Marseille against the attendance of the clergy at the circus or coliseum.
On 5 November 1766, Belloy resigned his Abbey of Saint-André de Villeneuve, and was named Abbot Commendatory of the Abbey of Cormeilles (diocese of Lisieux). This was an exchange of benefices, a lesser for a richer.
Revolution
![Belloy young](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Belloy_young.jpg)
In July 1790, the National Assembly decreed the suppression of the Diocese of Marseilles. Belloy sent to the assembly a letter of protest against the suppression of one of the oldest episcopal sees of France. He celebrated Mass for the last time in the Cathedral on 31 August 1790, and then retired to
Chambly, a little town near his birthplace, where he remained during the most critical period of the Revolution. When
Pope Pius VII
Pope Pius VII ( it, Pio VII; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. Chiaramonti was also a m ...
decided that the French bishops should tender their resignation in order to facilitate the conclusion of the
Concordat of 1801
The Concordat of 1801 was an agreement between Napoleon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII, signed on 15 July 1801 in Paris. It remained in effect until 1905, except in Alsace-Lorraine, where it remains in force. It sought national reconciliation b ...
, he was the first to comply, on 21 September 1801, setting the example which exercised great influence over the other bishops, since he was the senior bishop in the French hierarchy.
Archbishop and cardinal
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
, highly pleased with this act of devotion to church and state, appointed the nonagenarian bishop to the
See of Paris
The Archdiocese of Paris (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Parisiensis''; French language, French: ''Archidiocèse de Paris'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is one of List of Catholic dio ...
. He was immediately given canonical institution by the papal legate, Cardinal
Giovanni Battista Caprara
Giovanni Battista Caprara Montecuccoli (1733 – 1810) was an Italian statesman and Cardinal and archbishop of Milan from 1802 to 1810. As a papal diplomat he served in the embassies in Cologne, Lausanne, and Vienna. As Legate of Pius VII in Fra ...
, and he officially took possession of the diocese on 12 April 1802. Notwithstanding his extreme age, he governed his new diocese with astonishing vigour and intelligence. His first task was to reconstruct the chapter of the cathedral of
Notre Dame de Paris
Notre-Dame de Paris (; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral, dedicated to the ...
, which he did by an edict of 7 May 1802. Only three of his new canons and one vicar general had taken the oath. On the same day he began the reorganization of the parishes of the diocese inside the city limits, and on 17 May those outside Paris. Of the twelve parish priests inside Paris, three had taken the oath to the
Civil Constitution of the Clergy of 1790. Of the 68 priests of parishes outside Paris, 55 had taken the oath. Belloy announced his belief that his priests had ceased functioning and were inactive during the decade of the constitutional church, and they were therefore reinstated. He had little choice. He then began a systematic canonical visitation of each parish in the diocese, to inspect its current spiritual and physical condition.
On 16 August 1802, Belloy was nominated a member of the General Council for the Administration of Hospitals and Shelters of Paris by the emperor. On 14 September 1802 he was appointed a senator of the French Republic.
At the specific request of Napoleon I, Belloy was promoted to the rank of cardinal of the Holy Roman Church by
Pope Pius VII
Pope Pius VII ( it, Pio VII; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. Chiaramonti was also a m ...
in the
consistory
Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to:
*A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church
*Consistory ...
of 17 January 1803. The emperor personally presented him with the red
biretta
The biretta ( la, biretum, birretum) is a square cap with three or four peaks or horns, sometimes surmounted by a tuft. Traditionally the three-peaked biretta is worn by Catholic clergy and some Anglican and Lutheran clergy. A four-peaked bire ...
at the
Tuileries
The Tuileries Palace (french: Palais des Tuileries, ) was a royal and imperial palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the River Seine, directly in front of the Louvre. It was the usual Parisian residence of most French monarchs, from ...
on 27 March 1803. Pius VII personally placed the cardinal's
galero
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 ...
on his head at a consistory held in the Grand Salon of the Archbishop's Palace in Paris on 1 February 1805. He was assigned the
titular church
In the Catholic Church, a titular church is a church in Rome that is assigned to a member of the clergy who is created a cardinal. These are Catholic churches in the city, within the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Rome, that serve as honorary de ...
of
San Giovanni a Porta Latina
San Giovanni a Porta Latina (Italian: "Saint John Before the Latin Gate") is a Basilica church in Rome, Italy, near the Porta Latina (on the Via Latina) of the Aurelian Wall.
History
According to Tertullian, as quoted by Saint Jerome, in the y ...
in Rome. On 2 October 1803, Belloy have been named a Member of the Legion of Honor, then Grand-Officer (1804), and then Grand-Eagle (1805)
He restored the
Crown of Thorns
According to the New Testament, a woven crown of thorns ( or grc, ἀκάνθινος στέφανος, akanthinos stephanos, label=none) was placed on the head of Jesus during the events leading up to his crucifixion. It was one of the instru ...
(10 August 1806) to its place of honour in the
Sainte Chapelle
The Sainte-Chapelle (; en, Holy Chapel) is a royal chapel in the Gothic style, within the medieval Palais de la Cité, the residence of the Kings of France until the 14th century, on the Île de la Cité in the River Seine in Paris, France.
Co ...
.
On 27 January 1807 the cardinal issued an order, fixing the number of canons at Notre Dame at nineteen members, including the three vicars general. He also appointed an archpriest, who was to be a canon as well. On 20 May he established the archives for parishes, to which the priests were to make annual statistical reports.
On 1 March 1808, Belloy was named a count of the French Empire.
Belloy died in Paris at the Archiepiscopal Palace on Friday, 10 June 1808, at the age of ninety-eight years and eight months.
Belloy was buried on 25 June in the Chapelle Saint-Marcel in Notre Dame, where the monument erected by Napoleon in his honour, the work of Pierre Deseine, is one of the finest in the cathedral.
References
Bibliography
*Fisquet, Honoré (1864).
La France pontificale: Metropole d'Aix: Digne', 1re partie: Digne et Riez (Paris: Étienne Repos 1864), pp. 344–359.
*
*
François-Xavier de Feller
François-Xavier de Feller (18 August 1735 – 23 May 1802) was a Belgian author.
Biography
He was born in Brussels. In 1752 he entered a school of the Jesuits at Reims, where he manifested a great aptitude for mathematics and physical science ...
, ''Biographie Universelle'', II, 199.
*Schrantz, Charles
"Jean-Baptiste de Belloy."''The Catholic Encyclopedia.'' Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. Retrieved: 1 June 2018.
::
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belloy, Jean-Baptiste de
1709 births
1808 deaths
People from Oise
French nobility
18th-century French Roman Catholic bishops
Bishops of Glandèves
Bishops of Marseille
Archbishops of Paris
19th-century French cardinals
Burials at Notre-Dame de Paris
Cardinals created by Pope Pius VII