Jean-Marie du Lau d'Allemans (30 October 1738, Biras – 2 September 1792,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

) was the last

Archbishop of Arles The former French Catholic Archbishopric of Arles had its episcopal see in the city of Arles, in southern France.September Massacres The September Massacres were a series of killings of prisoners in Paris that occurred in 1792, from Sunday, 2 September until Thursday, 6 September, during the French Revolution. Between 1,176 and 1,614 people were killed by '' fédérés'', gu ...

which occurred during 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 coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

. He was

beatified Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

on 17 October 1926 by Pope Pius XI.

Early life

Lau was born on 30 October 1738 at the Château de la Côte at Biras, then in the Province of Perigord, of an aristocratic family which had provided many members into the higher ranks of the clergy. His father was Armand du Lau, Lord of La Coste, and his mother Françoise de Salleton.

Churchman

After studies at the

Collège de Navarre The College of Navarre (french: Collège de Navarre) was one of the colleges of the historic University of Paris, rivaling the Sorbonne and renowned for its library. History It was founded by Queen Joan I of Navarre in 1305, who provided for th ...

, Lau gained a

Licentiate of Theology The Licentiate in Theology or (in Britain) Licence in Theology (LTh or, in Australia, ThL) is a non-degree qualification in theology awarded in Canada and previously awarded in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. A qualification simila ...

at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

and then embarked on his ecclesiastical career, aided by his uncle, the Abbé Jean du Lau,

parish priest A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

of the

Church of Saint-Sulpice , image = Paris Saint-Sulpice Fassade 4-5 A.jpg , image_size = , pushpin map = Paris , pushpin label position = , coordinates = , location = Place Saint-Sulpice 6th arrond ...

in Paris since 1750. As was the system, he passed from one diocese to another in a rising curve of authority and prestige: canon and treasurer at

Pamiers Pamiers (; oc, Pàmias ) is a commune and largest city in the Ariège department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. It is the most populous commune in the Ariège department, although i ...

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' ...

of the

Diocese of Bordeaux The Archdiocese of Bordeaux (–Bazas) (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Burdigalensis (–Bazensis)''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Bordeaux (–Bazas)''; Occitan: ''Archidiocèsi de Bordèu (–Vasats)'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or a ...

, Prior of Gabillon and in 1770 attained the notable rank of Agent General of the Clergy of France. On 1 October 1775, he was promoted by

King Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was e ...

to the office of

Archbishop of Arles The former French Catholic Archbishopric of Arles had its episcopal see in the city of Arles, in southern France.episcopal appointments.

Archbishop of Arles

Starting in 1777, Lau embarked on a pastoral visitation of the diocese and, in 1779, he had a report on the state of the diocese drawn up by the Abbé Laurent Bonnemant with a view to introducing reforms. Like that of many reforming bishops, the archbishop's interest extended to the preparation of midwives and catechism of children. He also undertook building works, such as the imposing facade of the archbishop's palace, which he had rebuilt in 1786. With the convocation of the

Estates-General of 1789 The Estates General of 1789 was a general assembly representing the French estates of the realm: the clergy (First Estate), the nobility (Second Estate), and the commoners (Third Estate). It was the last of the Estates General of the Kingdom o ...

, Lau was chosen as one of the representatives of the clergy. As the revolutionary situation developed, the archbishop began a bitter conflict with the newly elected mayor of

Arles Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of ...

, Pierre-Antoine Antonelle, an aristocrat who had sided with radical wing of the Revolution. The conflict was short-lived for, on 12 July 1790, the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

voted for measures that included the abolition of the Archdiocese of Arles. Jean-Marie du Lau d'Allemans was in fact the last Archbishop of Arles.

Martyrdom

Lau died a violent death on 2 September 1792 in an improvised prison inside the closed

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of ...

of the Carmelite

Friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ...

s in central Paris, where he was being held with two priests of his archdiocese, Armand de Foucauld de Pontbriand and Pierre François Pazery de Thorame, and a large number of other clergy and

religious Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...

. Those killed included two other bishops, Francois-Joseph de la Rochefoucauld and Pierre-Louis de la Rochefoucauld, priests, clerics and

Brothers of the Christian Schools french: Frères des Écoles Chrétiennes , image = Signum Fidei.jpg , image_size = 175px , caption = , abbreviation = FSC , nickname = Lasallians , named_after = , formation ...

, for a total of 94 men, who were beatified as a group by Pope Pius XI. Lau's remains, along with those of his fellow victims, are entombed in the cemetery of the former Carmelite priory, 70 rue de Vaugirard, Paris.

References

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