Louis-Antoine de Noailles (27 May 16514 May 1729), second son of Anne, 1st duc de Noailles, was a French

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

and cardinal. His signing of the

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 Jansen ...

bull in 1728 would end the formal

Jansenist Jansenism was an early modern theological movement within Catholicism, primarily active in the Kingdom of France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. It was declared a heresy by th ...

controversy.

Biography

Louis-Antoine de Noailles was born at the Château of Teyssiére in Auvergne, France, on 27 May 1651 to Anne, 1st duc de Noailles and captain- general of Roussillon, and his wife, Louise Boyer, a former lady-in-waiting to Queen

Anne of Austria Anne of Austria (french: Anne d'Autriche, italic=no, es, Ana María Mauricia, italic=no; 22 September 1601 – 20 January 1666) was an infanta of Spain who became Queen of France as the wife of King Louis XIII from their marriage in 1615 un ...

.Dégert, Antoine. "Louis-Antoine de Noailles." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 3 June 2017 Noailles received his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

from 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, ...

on 14 March 1676. He was appointed bishop of Cahors in March 1679 but served only briefly before Pope Innocent XI ordered him transferred in 1680 to head the

diocese of Châlons-sur-Marne In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

, which made him a peer of France. On 19 August 1695, in recognition of Noailles's family connections, King Louis XIV made him archbishop of Paris and Duke of Saint-Cloud, and in 1700

Pope Innocent XII Pope Innocent XII ( la, Innocentius XII; it, Innocenzo XII; 13 March 1615 – 27 September 1700), born Antonio Pignatelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 July 1691 to his death in September 1700. He ...

made him a cardinal. According to Antoine Degert, writing in the ''Catholic Encyclopedia,'' although Noailles was not brilliant, "he was possessed of piety, zeal, and activity." He is noted for having raised money to feed

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompani ...

victims by selling his silver tableware in 1709, and for having spent a considerable part of his inheritance on redecorating Notre Dame. Noailles was a friend of François Fénelon, with whom he had studied at the Collège du Plessis before entering the Sorbonne. Nonetheless, he was among the bishops who condemned Fénelon's ''Maximes des Saints,'' ending the theologian's career. Noailles came to know the controversial young Lutheran Count Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf in 1719 during the young man's Grand Tour. The two found great spiritual connection despite their historic denominational differences. They maintained a relationship and correspondence the rest of Noailles' life; and Noailles became a member of Zinzendorf's

Order of the Grain of Mustard Seed Nikolaus Ludwig, Reichsgraf von Zinzendorf und Pottendorf (26 May 1700 – 9 May 1760) was a German religious and social reformer, bishop of the Moravian Church, founder of the Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine, Christian mission pioneer and a major fig ...

, a secret society where nobles and church leaders committed to work together to build the spiritual Kingdom of God. The Cardinal also served as Godfather to Zinzendorf's son Christian Renatus (1727–1756). Noailles acted as a staunch moralist when at the end of March 1719 he firmly stood behind the curé of Saint-Sulpice. who refused to administer the sacraments to the Regent's daughter,

Louise Élisabeth, Duchess of Berry Louise or Luise may refer to: * Louise (given name) Arts Songs * "Louise" (Bonnie Tyler song), 2005 * "Louise" (The Human League song), 1984 * "Louise" (Jett Rebel song), 2013 * "Louise" (Maurice Chevalier song), 1929 *"Louise", by Clan of ...

, who was in a critical condition giving birth to an illegitimate child in the Palais de Luxembourg. Despite all the pleas of the Regent, Philip II, Duke of Orleans, Noailles refused categorically to overturn the decision of the parish priest.http://rouvroy.medusis.com/docs/1709.html This scandalous confinement wasn't Berry's first incartade. A widow since 1714, the Regent's daughter accumulated lovers and her repeated pregnancies which scandalized the Court were widely gossiped about, oftentimes being attributed to her alleged incestuous affair with the Regent Noailles had a complex relationship with the

Jansenists Jansenism was an Early modern period, early modern Christian theology, theological movement within Catholicism, primarily active in the Kingdom of France, that emphasized original sin, human Total depravity, depravity, the necessity of divine g ...

; while he condemned their propositions, more orthodox theologians saw in his own teachings hints of Jansenism, and Noailles was an opponent of the

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

in their attacks on the sect. His position on Pope Clement XI's 1713

bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions, includin ...

'' was also controversial; he opposed it, despite papal disapproval, up to 1728 but then abruptly reversed himself shortly before his death. He was succeeded as archbishop of Paris and Duke of Saint-Cloud by

Charles-Gaspard-Guillaume de Vintimille du Luc Charles-Gaspard-Guillaume de Vintimille du Luc (1655–1746) was a French Catholic bishop. He was Bishop of Marseille from 1692 to 1708 and Archbishop of Aix from 1708 to 1729; from 1729 to 1746 he was the Archbishop of Paris. Biography Charle ...

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Noailles, Louis-Antoine, Cardinal de 1651 births 1729 deaths 17th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in France 18th-century French cardinals Archbishops of Paris Bishops of Cahors Bishops of Châlons-sur-Marne Dukes of Saint-Cloud Louis-Antoine 17th-century peers of France 18th-century peers of France People of the Ancien Régime People of the Regency of Philippe d'Orléans University of Paris alumni Burials at Notre-Dame de Paris