Louis Lallemant (
Châlons-en-Champagne
Châlons-en-Champagne () is a city in the Grand Est region of France. It is the capital of the department of Marne, despite being only a quarter the size of the city of Reims.
Formerly called Châlons-sur-Marne, the city was officially renam ...
1578 – 5 April 1635 in
Bourges
Bourges () is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre. It is the capital of the department of Cher, and also was the capital city of the former province of Berry.
History
The name of the commune derives either from the Bituriges, t ...
) was a French
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
.
After making his studies under the Fathers of the
Society of Jesus
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
,
Lallemant entered that order in 1605 in
Nancy. Having completed the usual course of study at the
University of Pont-à-Mousson
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
, he taught at the Jesuit colleges in
La Flèche
La Flèche () is a town and commune in the French department of Sarthe, in the Pays de la Loire region in the Loire Valley. It is the sub-prefecture of the South-Sarthe, the chief district and the chief city of a canton, and the second most po ...
,
Bourges
Bourges () is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre. It is the capital of the department of Cher, and also was the capital city of the former province of Berry.
History
The name of the commune derives either from the Bituriges, t ...
and
Rouen
Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...
. He was ordained and taught philosophy for some time until in 1622 he was made master of novices, an office he filled for four years. He then became professor of theology at Clermont College in Paris. In 1628 he was appointed director of
tertians, and as such, was responsible for the final year of formation for close to sixty Jesuits between 1628 and 1631. After three years in this post he broke down in health, and was sent to the college of
Bourges
Bourges () is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre. It is the capital of the department of Cher, and also was the capital city of the former province of Berry.
History
The name of the commune derives either from the Bituriges, t ...
, in the hope that change of occupation would restore him. The hope was not to be fulfilled; he died after a few months.
[Woods, Henry. "Louis Lallemant." The Catholic Encyclopedia]
Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 10 Jan. 2018
Lallemant has been called the
Balthazar Alvarez of France; his ideals and efforts to meet them were as uncompromising as the latter's. Like Alvarez, Lallemant expected of others what he did himself. He set the high ideal before his
disciple
A disciple is a follower and student of a mentor, teacher, or other figure. It can refer to:
Religion
* Disciple (Christianity), a student of Jesus Christ
* Twelve Apostles of Jesus, sometimes called the Twelve Disciples
* Seventy disciples in t ...
s, especially the Fathers of the third probation (Third Year), and required them to rise to such ideals. Lallemant was critical of those Jesuits so busy with work and study that they found no time for prayer. In reaction to what he perceived as overly secular aspirations on the part of some of his colleagues, Lallemant tended to emphasize the contemplative life over the active apostolate.
Bartok, Tibor. "Louis Lallemant and Jesuit Spirituality", ''the Way'', 56/1, January 2017, pp.31-44
/ref>
He is known today chiefly by his ''“Doctrine Spirituelle”'', a collection of his maxims and instructions gathered together by Father Jean Rigoleuc, one of his disciples, and detailing very thoroughly his spiritual method.[
]
References
Sources
*CHAMPION, Pierre - ''La Doctrine Spirituelle du P. Louis Lallemant'' (Paris, 1694), ?preceded by a life of Lallemant?
*LALLEMANT, Louis. The Spiritual Doctrine of Father Louis Lallemant of the Company of Jesus: Preceded by Some Account of His Life. Edited by Frederick William Faber. Spiritual Doctrine Of Fr Louis Lallemant. Portman Square, London, Britain: Burns & Lambert, 17th Portman Street, 1855. https://archive.org/details/SpiritualDoctrineOfFrLouisLallemant/page/n7/mode/2up.
*GUILHERMY, ''Menologie de l’Assistance de France'', 5 April ????
*PATRIGNANI, ''Menologio della Compagnia di Gesu.''
*
*HENRY WOODS Transcribed by Joseph E. O’Connor
*WORCESTER, SJ, Thomas, ed. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the Jesuits. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017. doi:10.1017/9781139032780.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lallemant, Louis
17th-century French Jesuits
17th-century French Catholic theologians
17th-century Christian mystics
Roman Catholic mystics
Philosophy teachers
French educators
1578 births
1635 deaths