Louis-Ernest Dubois (1 September 1856 – 23 September 1929) was a

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 Archbishop of Paris. He played a leading role in the period of adjustment to the

separation of Church and State The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular sta ...

in France.

Early life

He was born in

Saint-Calais Saint-Calais () is a commune in the Sarthe department in the region of Pays de la Loire in north-western France. Prior to the French Revolution it was known for its Benedictine abbey named after the Anisola stream (modern Aniole, a tributary of ...

(

Sarthe Sarthe () is a department of the French region of Pays de la Loire, and the province of Maine, situated in the '' Grand-Ouest'' of the country. It is named after the river Sarthe, which flows from east of Le Mans to just north of Angers. It ha ...

) to a family from the adjacent commune of St. Gervais. He was educated at the

Seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

of Le Mans. He was ordained priest on 20 September 1879. After his ordination he worked in the

diocese of Le Mans The Catholic Diocese of Le Mans (Latin: ''Dioecesis Cenomanensis''; French: ''Diocèse du Mans'') is a Catholic diocese of France. The diocese is now a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Rennes, Dol, and Saint-Malo but had previously been suffragan ...

from 1879 until 1898. He was editor of ''Semaine du fidèle'' in 1888. He served as

Vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop' ...

of the diocese of Le Mans from 1898 until 1901.

Episcopate

Pope 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-old ...

appointed him

Bishop of Verdun The Bishopric of Verdun was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. It was located at the western edge of the Empire and was bordered by France, the Duchy of Luxembourg, and the Duchy of Bar. Some time in the late 990s, the suzerainty of the Count ...

on 18 April 1901. Verdun was one of only two French cities where the bishop was not obliged to leave his palace following the

1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and the State The 1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and State (French: ) was passed by the Chamber of Deputies on 9 December 1905. Enacted during the Third Republic, it established state secularism in France. France was then governed by the '' ...

. He was promoted to

Archbishop of Bourges In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdioc ...

in 1909. He served in Bourges until he was transferred to

Archbishop of Rouen The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rouen (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Rothomagensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Rouen'') is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. As one of the fifteen Archbishops of France, the Arch ...

on 13 March 1916.

Cardinalate

He was created

Cardinal-Priest A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

Santa Maria in Aquiro Santa Maria in Aquiro is a church in Rome, Italy. It is dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus, and is located on Piazza Capranica. The church is ancient – it was restored by Pope Gregory III in the 8th century, and thus must have existed before ...

(deaconry elevated

pro hac vice In the legal field, ''pro hac vice'' () is a practice in common law jurisdictions whereby a lawyer who has not been admitted to practice in a certain jurisdiction is allowed to participate in a particular case in that jurisdiction. Although ''pro ...

to title) in the

consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church * Consistor ...

of December 4, 1916. He was transferred to become Archbishop of Paris on 13 December 1920. He took part in the 1922 papal conclave that elected Pope Pius XI. Dubois played a conciliatory role in relations with French authorities. He established an ordinariate (under auxiliary bishop Emmanuel Chaptal, a descendant of

Jean-Antoine Chaptal Jean-Antoine Chaptal, comte de Chanteloup (5 June 1756 – 30 July 1832) was a French chemist, physician, agronomist, industrialist, statesman, educator and philanthropist. His multifaceted career unfolded during one of the most brilliant periods ...

) to co-ordinate, thereby increasing French clerical control of the work of foreign language Catholic chaplaincies in Paris. He remained Archbishop of Paris until his death in 1929. He is buried in Notre-Dame de Paris.

Anecdote

When the existence of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople was under threat from the Turkish Government, and the incumbent patriarch forced to leave the country, he led an unofficial mission on behalf of the French Government. The British Government reacted to this incident by sending a naval squadron, thus giving rise to the Perote saying (Pera was the diplomatic and cosmopolitan quarter of Constantinople) "les Anglais ont envoyé de l'acier et les Français Dubois".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dubois, Louis-Ernest 1856 births 1929 deaths People from Sarthe Archbishops of Paris Archbishops of Rouen Bishops of Verdun 20th-century French cardinals Archbishops of Bourges Burials at Notre-Dame de Paris Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)