Charles Paul Marie Sabatier (3 or 9 August 1858 – 5 March 1928), was a French clergyman and historian who produced the first modern biography of St. Francis of Assisi. He was nominated for the
Nobel Prize in Literature
)
, image = Nobel Prize.png
, caption =
, awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature
, presenter = Swedish Academy
, holder = Annie Ernaux (2022)
, location = Stockholm, Sweden
, year = 1901
, ...
five times.
Life
Sabatier was born at
Saint-Michel-de-Chabrillanoux
Saint-Michel-de-Chabrillanoux (; oc, Sant Michèu de Chabrilhanós) is a commune in the Ardèche department in southern France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It a ...
in
Ardèche
Ardèche (; oc, Ardecha; frp, Ardecha) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019. and was educated at the
Protestant Faculty of Theology in Paris
The Protestant Faculty of Theology of Paris (French: ''Faculté de théologie protestante de Paris'') is a Protestant institution moved to Paris from Strassburg in 1877 in the buildings of the former collège Rollin
In France, secondary educati ...
. In 1885 he became vicar of St Nicolas,
Strasbourg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
, but in 1889, declining an offer of preferment which was conditional on his becoming a
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
subject, he was expelled.
For four years he was pastor of Saint-Cierge in Ardèche, but had to retire in 1893 due to health concerns. He then devoted himself entirely to historical research, spending much of his time in Italy. He had already produced an edition of the ''
Didache
The ''Didache'' (; ), also known as The Lord's Teaching Through the Twelve Apostles to the Nations (Διδαχὴ Κυρίου διὰ τῶν δώδεκα ἀποστόλων τοῖς ἔθνεσιν), is a brief anonymous early Christian tr ...
'', and in November 1893 published his important ''Life of
Francis of Assisi
Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a mystic Italian Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most venerated figures in Christianit ...
''. This book gave a great stimulus to the study of
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
literary and religious documents, especially of such as are connected with the history of the
Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...
Order. In 1908 he delivered the Jowett Lectures on
Modernism
Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
at the
Passmore Edwards Settlement
The Mary Ward Adult Education Centre is part of the Mary Ward Settlement, in Queen Square, London.
History
The centre was founded by Mary Augusta Ward, a Victorian novelist and founding president of the Women's National Anti-Suffrage League, be ...
, London.
Sabatier's 1893 book ''La vie de St. François d'Assise'' (translated as ''Life of St. Francis of Assisi'' in 1894) was placed upon the
Index of Forbidden Books
The ''Index Librorum Prohibitorum'' ("List of Prohibited Books") was a list of publications deemed heretical or contrary to morality by the Sacred Congregation of the Index (a former Dicastery of the Roman Curia), and Catholics were forbidden ...
by the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
in 1894. Nevertheless, in 2003, Catholic independent scholar
Jon M. Sweeney
Jon M. Sweeney (born July 18, 1967) is an author of popular history, spirituality, biography, poetry, fiction for young readers, and memoir. His most frequent subjects are Catholic, particularly St. Francis of Assisi, about whom Sweeney has writte ...
re-edited and published a new version of Sabatier's famous biography, and it became an alternate selection of the History Book Club and
Book-of-the-Month Club
Book of the Month (founded 1926) is a United States subscription-based e-commerce service that offers a selection of five to seven new hardcover books each month to its members. Books are selected and endorsed by a panel of judges, and members c ...
. Sabatier also published in 1905 ''A propos de la séparation des églises et de l'État'', in 1909 ''Les modernistes, notes d'histoire religieuse contemporaine'', and in 1911 ''L'orientation religieuse de la France actuelle''.
In 1919, Sabatier became professor of Church history at the Protestant Faculty of Theology of the
University of Strasbourg
The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers.
The French university traces its history to the ea ...