The Grand Almoner of France () was an officer of the French monarchy and a member of the ''

Maison du Roi The Maison du Roi (, 'King's Household') was the royal household of the King of France. It comprised the military, domestic, and religious entourage of the French royal family during the Ancien Régime and Bourbon Restoration in France, Bourbon R ...

'' ("King's Household") during the ''

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

''. He directed the religious branch of the royal household (the

Ecclesiastical Household The Ecclesiastical Household is a part of the Royal Household of the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Reflecting the different constitutions of the churches of England and Scotland, there are separate households in each nation. England The Church ...

, ) also known as the Royal Chapel. The title "Grand Almoner" was created by King Francis I. The office was not included in the official list of

Great Officers of the Crown of France The Great Officers of the Crown of France () were the most important officers of state in the French royal court during the ''Ancien Régime'' and Bourbon Restoration. They were appointed by the King of France, with all but the Keeper of the S ...

established by Henri III in 1582, but some specialists of the French monarchy place the position among the Great Offices. The Grand Almoner played above all a symbolic role as the most important member of the church in the royal court. Often having a church rank of

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

, more rarely that of

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

, the Grand Almoner had a number of important privileges, including oversight of charity organizations in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and the right to the silver service of the royal chapel at the death of the king. The Grand Almoner also gave communion to the King and performed baptisms and princely marriages. The position was largely dominated by a few aristocratic families, such as by the

House of Rohan The House of Rohan () is a Bretons, Breton family of viscounts, later dukes and princes in the French nobility, coming from the locality of Rohan, Morbihan, Rohan in Brittany. Their line descends from the viscounts of Porhoët and is said to tr ...

. The position was roughly equivalent to the position of

Lord High Almoner The Royal Almonry is a small office within the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, headed by the Lord High Almoner, an office dating from 1103. The almoner is responsible for distributing alms to the poor. The Lord High Almoner is usually a ...

in the United Kingdom, who oversees the U.K.

and

Chapel Royal A chapel royal is an establishment in the British and Canadian royal households serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign and the royal family. Historically, the chapel royal was a body of priests and singers that travelled with the monarc ...

List of Grand Almoners of France

;Grand Almoners of the King * 1486-1514 : Geoffroi III de Pompadour, Bishop of

Puy-en-Velay Le Puy-en-Velay (, ; , before 1988: ''Le Puy'') is the prefecture of the Haute-Loire department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-central France. Located near the river Loire, the city is famous for its cathedral, for a kind of le ...

, Count of Velay. * 1514-1515 : François Le Roy de Chavigny (died after 1514). * 1516-1519 : Adrien Gouffier de Boisy (died 1523), Cardinal, Bishop of Coutances and Albi. * 1519-1526 : François Desmoulins de Rochefort, prieur commendataire of the Saint-Magloire de Léhon Abbey in 1524. * 1526-1543 :

Jean Le Veneur Jean Le Veneur (died 8 August 1543), son of a Norman baron, was a French Abbot, Bishop, Courtier, royal official, and Roman Catholic cardinal. Biography He was born into a noble family of Normandy. He was the second son of Philippe, baron of Til ...

(died 1543), Count-Bishop of Lisieux, Cardinal in 1533. * 1543-1547 : Antoine Sanguin de Meudon (died 1559), Cardinal,

Bishop of Orléans A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

(1533) and Limoges (1544),

Archbishop of Toulouse The Archdiocese of Toulouse (–Saint Bertrand de Comminges–Rieux) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory of the Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the Department of Haute-Garonne and its seat is Toulouse Cathedral. Archb ...

(1551). * 1547-1548 : Philippe de Cossé-Brissac (1509-1548), Bishop of Coutances (1530). * 1548-1552 : Pierre du Chastel (died 1553), Bishop of Tulle (1539), Mâcon (1544) and Orléans (1551). ;Grand Almoners of France * 1552-1556 : Bernard de Ruthie (died 1556), Abbot of Pontlevoy Abbey. * 1556-1559 : Louis de Brézé (died 1589), Bishop of Meaux. * 1559-1560 : Charles d'Humières (died 1571),

Bishop of Bayeux The Diocese of Bayeux and Lisieux (Latin: ''Dioecesis Baiocensis et Lexoviensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Bayeux et Lisieux'') is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is coextensive with the Department of Calvados and is a ...

. * 1560-1591 :

Jacques Amyot Jacques Amyot (; 30 October 15136 February 1593), French Renaissance bishop, scholar, writer and translator, was born of poor parents, at Melun. Biography Amyot found his way to the University of Paris, where he supported himself by serving som ...

(1513-1593), Bishop of Auxerre in 1570. * 1591-1606 :

Renaud de Beaune Renaud de Beaune (12 August 1527 – 27 September 1606) was a French Catholic ecclesiastic. Life He held secular positions such as Councillor of Parliament and Chancellor of Francis of Valois, Duke of Touraine. The royal court greatly favoured h ...

(1527-1606),

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 ...

until 1602 and

Archbishop of Sens The Archdiocese of Sens and Auxerre (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Senonensis et Antissiodorensis''; French language, French: ''Archidiocèse de Sens et Auxerre'') is a Latin Church, Latin archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. The archdiocese co ...

in 1594. * 1606-1618 :

Jacques Davy Duperron Jacques Davy Duperron (; 15 November 1556 – 6 December 1618) was a French politician and Roman Catholic cardinal. Family and Education Jacques Davy du Perron was born in Saint-Lô in Normandy, into the Davy family, which belonged to the Norman ...

(1556-1618), Cardinal,

. * 1618-1632 : François de La Rochefoucauld, Cardinal, Bishop of Senlis. * 1632-1653 : Alphonse de Richelieu (1582-1653), Cardinal,

Archbishop of Lyon The Archdiocese of Lyon (; ), formerly the Archdiocese of Lyon–Vienne–Embrun, is a Latin Church metropolis (religious jurisdiction), metropolitan archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. The archbishops of Lyon are also called Primate o ...

and Primat des Gaules. * 1653-1671 :

Antonio Barberini Antonio Barberini (5 August 1607 – 3 August 1671) was an Italian people, Italian Roman Catholic Church, Catholic Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Reims, Archbishop of Reims, military leader, patron of the arts a ...

(1607-1671), Italian Cardinal,

Bishop of Poitiers The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Poitiers (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Metropolitae Pictaviensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse Metropolitain de Poitiers'') is a Latin archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. The archepiscopal see is in the city of ...

then

Archbishop of Reims The Archdiocese of Reims or Rheims (; French language, French: ''Archidiocèse de Reims'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastic territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. Erected as a diocese around 250 by Sixtus of Reims, the diocese w ...

in 1657. * 1671-1700 : Emmanuel-Théodose de La Tour d'Auvergne (1643-1715), Cardinal, Bishop of Albano in 1689. * 1700-1706 : Pierre du Cambout (1636-1706), Cardinal,

, duc de Coislin. * 1706-1713 :

Toussaint de Forbin-Janson Toussaint de Forbin-Janson also known simply as Cardinal de Janson (1 October 1631, Mane – 24 March 1713) was a French Catholic Cardinal and Bishop of Beauvais. Early life As a boy, Janson joined the Knights of Malta and then the army ...

(1629-1713), Cardinal, Count-Bishop of Beauvais. * 1713-1742 : Gaston de Rohan (1674-1749), Cardinal, Prince-Bishop of Strasbourg. * 1742-1745 :

Frédéric Jérôme de La Rochefoucauld Frédéric Jérôme de La Rochefoucauld (Versailles, 16 July 1701 – Paris, 29 April 1757) was a French Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal known as the ''Cardinal de La Rochefoucauld''. Biography Born in a noble family, he was the third o ...

(1701-1757),

. * 1745-1748 : François-Armand de Rohan-Soubise (1717-1756), prince-abbot of Lure and Murbach, Cardinal in 1747. * 1748-1759 : Nicolas-Charles de Saulx-Tavannes (1690-1759),

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

, Cardinal in 1756. * 1760-1777 :

Charles Antoine de La Roche-Aymon Charles Antoine, Count of La Roche-Aymon, born at Mainsat (Marche) on 17 February 1697 and died in Paris on 27 October 1777, was a French prelate, cardinal and grand aumônier de France. La Roche-Aymon was born in the diocese of Limoges in 1696 ...

(1697-1777),

Archbishop of Narbonne The former Catholic diocese of Narbonne existed from early Christian times until the French Revolution. It was an archdiocese, with its see at Narbonne, from the year 445, and its influence ran over much of south-western France and into Cataloni ...

then

in 1762 and Cardinal in 1771. * 1777-1786 : Louis-René de Rohan (1734-1803), Cardinal in 1778 and prince-Bishop of Strasbourg in 1779. * 1786-1791 : Louis-Joseph de Montmorency-Laval (1724-1808), Prince-Bishop of Metz, Cardinal in 1789. ;First French Empire * 1805-1814 :

Joseph Fesch Joseph Cardinal Fesch, Prince of the Empire (3 January 1763 – 13 May 1839) was a French priest and diplomat, who was the maternal half-uncle of Napoleon Bonaparte (half-brother of Letizia Ramolino, Napoleon's mother Laetitia). In the wake of h ...

(1763-1839), Cardinal,

and

Primate of the Gauls Primate of the Gauls is a title given since 1079 to the archbishop of Lyon, former capital of the Three Gauls then land of the Roman Empire, and has described the authority he has exercised in the past over the other bishops of France. The prima ...

. ;Restauration and July Monarchy * 1814-1821 : Alexandre-Angélique de Talleyrand-Périgord (1736-1821), Cardinal and

Archbishop of Paris The Archdiocese of Paris (; ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is one of twenty-three archdioceses in France. The original diocese is traditionally thought to have been created i ...

in 1817. * 1821-1844 : Gustave Maximilien Juste de Croÿ (1773-1844), Bishop of Strasbourg then

in 1823, Cardinal in 1825. ;Second French Empire * 1857-1862 : François Morlot (1795-1862), Cardinal and

. * 1863-1871 :

Georges Darboy Georges Darboy (; 16 January 181324 May 1871) was a French Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Nancy then Archbishop of Paris. He was among a group of prominent hostages executed as the Paris Commune of 1871 was about to be overthrown. ...

(1813-1871),

.Gallica - La France pontifical
/ref>

References

{{reflist Religion in the Ancien Régime Court titles in the Ancien Régime History of Catholicism in France

List of Grand Almoners of France

See also

References