Benoît-Agathon Haffreingue (1785 – 1871) was a French

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

based in

Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...

Le Petit Futé Petit Futé (founded 1976) is a series of French travel guides broadly equivalent to the Lonely Planet Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books. History ...

Côte d'Opale - Page 36 Jean-Paul Labourdette - 2007 "Hommes d'Eglise Monseigneur Haffreingue (1785-1871) Benoît-Agathon Haffreingue naît à Audinghen dans une famille de laboureurs aisés. Se sentant appelé au sacerdoce à l'âge de 20 ans, il fait ses études au séminaire de Saint-Sulpice à ... " Boulogne Basilique 001

He is known for having rebuilt the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Boulogne-sur-Mer as a result of what he believed was a call from God. Haffreingue was the principal of a private Jesuit boarding school for boys (now known as "''Le collège Haffreingue-Chanclaire''") in the town which included among its former students the

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Francis Petre Francis William Petre (27 August 1847 – 10 December 1918), sometimes known as Frank Petre, was a New Zealand-born architect based in Dunedin. He was an able exponent of the Gothic revival style, one of its best practitioners in New Zea ...

. He was appointed principal of the college in 1813 by the Vice-chancellor of the

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

Douai Douai ( , , ; ; ; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord département in northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe (rive ...

and remained in this position until his death in 1871. Haffreingue was born in the rural

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

of Haringzelles, today a ruin. He was baptized at Audinghen on July 4, 1785. He was the son of the agricultural labourer François Hamerel and his wife Marie-Catherine. His early life is unknown. He obviously received a Jesuit education, and was ordained a priest sometime before 1813, the year he was appointed to the Jesuit school in Boulogne-sur-Mer. In 1820, Haffreingue was walking past the derelict ruins of the old cathedral, destroyed during the French Revolution, close to the school, when he believed he received a call from God to rebuild the edifice. Acting on the call with money given by the families of his pupils, he bought the ground and the remains of the cathedral and built a small

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

for the college. A few months later a benefactor donated 48,000

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s for further reconstruction; this sum was later doubled. With this money Haffreingue constructed in front of the new chapel a

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-style

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for use as a public church. This further construction seems to have been the

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for an unprecedented wave of fund-raising. Money for the cathedral's reconstruction poured in from all over France, and

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. The cathedral once again became a place of

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age, with visitors at first coming from

Abbeville Abbeville (; ; ) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is the of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital of Ponthieu. Geography Location A ...

and

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...

, then from

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and England. The donations continued to pour in: the Emperor

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

gave a gift of 1,000 francs, and also bestowed on Haffreingue the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

. The design of the reconstructed cathedral was said to have been inspired by

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, which in turn was inspired by the great Renaissance cathedrals of

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. One of the greatest gifts to the reconstruction project was that of 147 different

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

s donated by the Prince of Torlonia valued in 1860 at 500,000 francs. Artists imported from

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

worked on the decoration of the new building for over ten years, while a further 160 labourers worked towards the final completion. The cathedral became the life's work of Haffreingue: it was his ambition that the church would be a meeting point for both the Catholic and

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

communities. Remaining all his life a modest man, he erected a plaque above the gate to the cathedral reading "A Domino factum est" (''tr. The work of the Lord''). In 1859 in recognition of his work

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

named him a "protonotaire apostolic", thus according him the title of

Monseigneur (plural: Messeigneurs or Monseigneurs) is an honorific in the French language, abbreviated Mgr., Msgr. In English use it is a title before the name of a French prelate, a member of a royal family or other dignitary. ''Monsignor'' is both a tit ...

References

External links

The Cathedral of Boulogne-sur-Mer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haffreingue, Benoit 1785 births 1871 deaths 19th-century French Roman Catholic priests People from Boulogne-sur-Mer