Louis Aleman (16 September 1450) was a French

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

cardinal and a professed member of the now-suppressed Canons Regular of Saint John Baptist. He served as the

Archbishop of Arles The former French Catholic Archbishopric of Arles had its episcopal see in the city of Arles, in southern France.Bishop of Maguelonne The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Montpellier (–Lodève–Béziers–Agde–Saint-Pons-de-Thomières) (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Metropolitae Montis Pessulani (–Lotevensis–Biterrensis–Agathensis–Sancti Pontii Thomeriarum)'' ...

from 1418 until his archepiscopal elevation at which point he was later named a cardinal. Aleman once led opposition to

Pope Eugene IV Pope Eugene IV ( la, Eugenius IV; it, Eugenio IV; 1383 – 23 February 1447), born Gabriele Condulmer, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 3 March 1431 to his death in February 1447. Condulmer was a Venetian, and ...

while pledging allegiance to an antipope which led to Eugene IV stripping Aleman of all ecclesiastical dignities that he had been entitled to. But he later convinced the antipope to abdicate as a means of ending the

Western Schism The Western Schism, also known as the Papal Schism, the Vatican Standoff, the Great Occidental Schism, or the Schism of 1378 (), was a split within the Catholic Church lasting from 1378 to 1417 in which bishops residing in Rome and Avignon b ...

at which stage Aleman was restored to the cardinalate and returned to full communion with the Roman see under

Pope Nicholas V Pope Nicholas V ( la, Nicholaus V; it, Niccolò V; 13 November 1397 – 24 March 1455), born Tommaso Parentucelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 March 1447 until his death in March 1455. Pope Eugene made ...

. He has often been dubbed as the "Cardinal of Arles". His beatification received approval on 9 April 1527 from

Pope Clement VII Pope Clement VII ( la, Clemens VII; it, Clemente VII; born Giulio de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the ...

Life

Louis Aleman was born to nobles circa 1390 at the castle in

Arbent Arbent () is a commune in the department of Ain in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of eastern France. The commune has been awarded two flowers by the ''National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom'' in the ''Competition of cities and villa ...

to Jean Aleman and Marie de Châtillon de Michaille. His archbishop grand-uncle was François de Conzie (c.1356-31.12.1431/2). He was present at the

Council of Pisa The Council of Pisa was a controversial ecumenical council of the Catholic Church held in 1409. It attempted to end the Western Schism by deposing Benedict XIII (Avignon) and Gregory XII (Rome) for schism and manifest heresy. The College o ...

in 1409. He studied

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

and graduated in that area with a doctorate in 1414 at the college in Avignon. In 1417 he was made the abbot commendatario of Saint-Pierre de la Tour. Aleman served as the Governor of the Romagna since 1424 and had to face the ongoing struggles between the

Guelphs The Guelphs and Ghibellines (, , ; it, guelfi e ghibellini ) were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, rival ...

and the

Ghibellines The Guelphs and Ghibellines (, , ; it, guelfi e ghibellini ) were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, ri ...

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

. One of the Guelph families - the Canetols - even imprisoned Aleman for several weeks but Aleman was later released and moved to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

to serve in the court of Pope Martin V. Aleman served as a noted advisor to the pope and also served as a courtier while in the papal court. He had served in the papal court for Martin V since July 1417. On 22 June 1418 he was appointed as the

Bishop of Maguelonne The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Montpellier (–Lodève–Béziers–Agde–Saint-Pons-de-Thomières) (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Metropolitae Montis Pessulani (–Lotevensis–Biterrensis–Agathensis–Sancti Pontii Thomeriarum)'' ...

and he was installed into his new see on 17 May 1419. The pope himself granted

episcopal consecration 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 ca ...

to Aleman in

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and '' comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture. In 2017, it was named as the Eur ...

. He later became a diplomat to

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centur ...

in 1422. Aleman was later promoted as the newest

Archbishop of Arles The former French Catholic Archbishopric of Arles had its episcopal see in the city of Arles, in southern France.Cardinal-Priest of Santa Cecilia - he received that title on 27 May. From 1427 until 1431 he served as the Camerlengo for the

College of Cardinals The College of Cardinals, or more formally the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. its current membership is , of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Cardinals are app ...

. He served as a legate to Bologna from 1426 to 1428 and did not participate in the conclave of 1431. He was a prominent member of the

Council of Basel The Council of Florence is the seventeenth ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church, held between 1431 and 1449. It was convoked as the Council of Basel by Pope Martin V shortly before his death in February 1431 and took place in ...

since 1432 and together with Cardinal

Julian Cesarini Julian Cesarini the Elder ( It.: ''Giuliano Cesarini, seniore'') (1398 in Rome – 10 November 1444 in Varna, Ottoman Empire) was one of the group of brilliant cardinals created by Pope Martin V on the conclusion of the Western Schism. His ...

led the forces that maintained the power of the general councils over the pope's own control of the Church. It was while the council was proceeding that he tended to victims of the

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pe ...

. He later led opposition to the pope but Cesarini was reconciled with

and had a prominent part in the pope's convoked Council of Florence. In 1439 he led the effort to depose Eugene IV and the election of a successor. In 1440 he placed the tiara upon

Antipope Felix V Amadeus VIII (4 September 1383 – 7 January 1451), nicknamed the Peaceful, was Count of Savoy from 1391 to 1416 and Duke of Savoy from 1416 to 1440. He was the son of Amadeus VII, Count of Savoy and Bonne of Berry. He was a claimant to the papa ...

and consecrated him as a bishop. This was a misguided attempt at reforming the Church which Aleman believed was vital. Eugene IV was responded to this and excommunicated the antipope while also depriving Aleman of all his ecclesiastical dignities. This also meant that Aleman could no longer be considered a cardinal and he was deprived of the dignities that came with the cardinalate. This occurred on 11 April 1440: he was stripped of Arles as his archdiocese and was stripped of his titular church. Antipope Felix V made him the legate to the Diet of Frankfurt to the court of Emperor Friedrich III. He was further involved in the unsuccessful efforts to win over Europe's princes to Basel's antipope. In order to make an end of the schism the former cardinal advised Felix V to abdicate at which stage

restored the cardinal to all his honors and appointed him as a papal legate to the German kingdom] in 1449; his full restoration was on 19 December 1449. He was granted back his titular church as well and from that moment until his death served as the Protopriest, Protopriest of the College of Cardinals. It was due to his estrangement to the Roman see that he was not permitted to participate in the conclave of 1447. He returned to his former archdiocese where he dedicated himself with great zeal to the catechetical formation of the people. He died on 16 September 1450 at the

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglic ...

in Salon at Arles. Aleman's remains are housed in Saint-Trophine d'Arles.

Beatification

His beatification was approved and celebrated on 9 April 1527 after

confirmed that there had been a longstanding and popular cultus (otherwise known as an enduring public veneration) aimed at the late cardinal.

Notes and references

Attribution: *

External links

Saints SQPN

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aleman, Louis 1390 births 1450 deaths 15th-century French cardinals 15th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in France Archbishops of Arles French beatified people People temporarily excommunicated by the Catholic Church Resigned cardinals

Life

Beatification

Notes and references

Further reading

External links