Charles-Émile Freppel (1 June 1827 – 12 December 1891), French bishop and politician, was born at

Obernai Obernai ( Alsatian: ''Owernah''; german: Oberehnheim) commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France. It lies on the eastern slopes of the Vosges mountains. Obernai is a rapidly growing city, its number of inhabitants hav ...

(

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

). He was ordained priest in 1849 and for a short time taught history at the seminary of Strasbourg, where he had previously received his clerical training. In 1854, he was appointed professor of

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 ...

at the

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, and became known as a successful preacher. He went to

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in 1869, at the instance of

Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

, to assist in the steps preparatory to the promulgation of the

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. He was consecrated

bishop of Angers The Roman Catholic Diocese of Angers ( Latin: ''Dioecesis Andegavensis''; French: ''Diocèse d'Angers'') is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The episcopal see is located in Angers Cathedral in the city of A ...

in 1870. During the Franco-German war, Freppel organized a body of priests to minister to the French prisoners in Germany, and penned an eloquent protest to the emperor William I. against the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine. In 1880 he was elected deputy for

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and continued to represent it until his death. Being the only priest in the Chamber of Deputies since the death of Dupanloup, he became the chief parliamentary champion of the Church, and, though no orator, was a frequent speaker. On all ecclesiastical affairs Freppel voted with the Royalist and Catholic party, yet on questions in which French colonial prestige was involved, such as the expedition to

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, Tong-King,

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(1881, 1883–85), he supported the government of the day. He always remained a staunch Royalist and went so far as to oppose

Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-ol ...

's policy of conciliating the Republic. He died at

Angers Angers (, , ) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Anjou until the French Revolution. The inhabitants of both the city and the pr ...

on 12 December 1891. Freppel's historical and theological works form 30 vols, the best known of which are: *''Les Pères apostoliques et leur époque'' (1859) *''Les Apologistes chrétiens au II^e siècle'' (2 vols, 1860) *''Saint Irénée et l'éloquence chrétienne dans la Gaule pendant les deux premiers siècles'' (1861) *''Tertullien'' (2 vols, 1863) *''Saint Cyprien et l'Eglise d'Afrique'' (1864) *''Clément d'Alexandrie'' (1865) *''Origène'' (2 vols, 1867) There are interesting lives by E Cornut (Paris, 1893) and F Charpentier (Angers, 1904).

References

* *''Catholiques entre monarchie et république: monsieur Freppel en son temps; 1792 - 1892 - 1992; actes du colloque national de l'Université Catholique de l'Ouest; Angers 23 - 25 septembre 1992''. Publ. sous la responsabilité de Bernard Plongeron. Paris: Letouzey et Ané, 1995. {{DEFAULTSORT:Freppel, Charles-Emile 1827 births 1891 deaths People from Obernai Bishops of Angers Legitimists Members of the 2nd Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 3rd Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 4th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic Members of the 5th Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic 19th-century French Roman Catholic bishops 19th-century French Catholic theologians Academic staff of the University of Paris Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur

See also

References