''L'Univers'' was a French

daily newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

with a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

orientation, founded in 1833 by Abbé

Jacques-Paul Migne Jacques Paul Migne (; 25 October 1800 – 24 October 1875) was a French priest who published inexpensive and widely distributed editions of theological works, encyclopedias, and the texts of the Church Fathers, with the goal of providing a ...

. It ceased publication in 1919. The newspaper was acquired by

Charles de Montalembert Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

in 1838 and, starting in 1840 under the direction of Louis Veuillot, a sharp and skilled polemicist, became the mouthpiece of the "Catholic Party."

Ultramontane Ultramontanism is a clerical political conception within the Catholic Church that places strong emphasis on the prerogatives and powers of the Pope. It contrasts with Gallicanism, the belief that popular civil authority—often represented by ...

in orientation and supportive of the

temporal power of the Pope The Holy See exercised temporal power, as distinguished from its spiritual and Pastoral care#In Christianity, pastoral activity, while the pope ruled the Papal States in central Italy. The Papal States ceased to exist following the capture of ...

, it opposed the Italian policies of

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 ...

and was banned under the

Second French Empire The Second French Empire, officially the French Empire, was the government of France from 1852 to 1870. It was established on 2 December 1852 by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, president of France under the French Second Republic, who proclaimed hi ...

. During the

French Third Republic The French Third Republic (, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940, after the Fall of France durin ...

, it adopted the

legitimist The Legitimists () are royalists who adhere to the rights of dynastic succession to the French crown of the descendants of the eldest branch of the Bourbon dynasty, which was overthrown in the 1830 July Revolution. They reject the claim of t ...

stance of Louis Veuillot. The paper later embraced the Ralliement to the Republic under the leadership of

Eugène Veuillot Eugène Veuillot (October 5, 1818 – September 18, 1905) was a French journalist who, alongside his brother Louis Veuillot, Louis and later with his sons François Veuillot, François and Pierre Veuillot (1859-1907), Pierre, directed the Catholic ...

Advocate for the "Catholic Party"

Initially named ''L'Univers religieux'', the newspaper was founded in November 1833 by Abbé

, the publisher of the Patrologia Latina. Two years later, Migne sold the title to Emmanuel Joseph Bailly, known as Emmanuel-Joseph Bailly de Surcy (1793–1861). By 1838, ''L'Univers'' faced a financial crisis and was on the brink of bankruptcy.

, a peer of France and proponent of

liberal Catholicism Liberal Catholicism was a current of thought within the Catholic Church influenced by classical liberalism and promoting the separation of church and state, freedom of religion in the civic arena, expanded suffrage, and broad-based education. ...

, stepped in to save the publication. Montalembert took on the newspaper's debts with the help of his father-in-law,

Félix de Mérode Philippe Félix Balthasar Otto Ghislain, Count de Merode (13 April 1791 – 7 February 1857), known as ''Félix de Merode'', was a Belgium, Belgian politician. He has been called "the architect of Belgian independence'. Biography Born in Maast ...

, and assumed editorial control.

Early struggles

Montalembert sought to unify a "Catholic Party" dedicated to securing religious and political freedoms, including the

freedom of association Freedom of association encompasses both an individual's right to join or leave groups voluntarily, the right of the group to take collective action to pursue the interests of its members, and the right of an association to accept or decline membe ...

for religious congregations and the freedom of education outside the state monopoly established by Napoleon. Although the newspaper had a dedicated team, including

Frédéric Ozanam Antoine-Frédéric Ozanam (; 23 April 1813 – 8 September 1853) was a French Catholic literary scholar, lawyer, journalist and equal rights advocate. He founded with fellow students the Conference of Charity, later known as the Society of Saint ...

and correspondents such as

Nicholas Wiseman Nicholas Patrick Stephen Wiseman (3 August 1802 – 15 February 1865) was an English Roman Catholic prelate who served as the first Archbishop of Westminster upon the re-establishment of the Roman Catholic hierarchy in England and Wales in 1 ...

in London, it struggled to gain traction. By 1839, it had only about 1,500 subscribers. Resistance came from

Catholics, who rejected Montalembert's liberalism, and from French bishops who were hesitant to support the paper. In frustration, Montalembert wrote to a friend: "If ''L'Univers'' lacks interest and vigor, where does that come from, if not from the fact that Catholics in France do nothing but sit idle and watch as if it were a play, rather than descending into the arena to defend their most precious assets."

Arrival of Louis Veuillot

On 24 January 1840, Louis Veuillot joined the staff of ''L'Univers''. Over the next four decades, the newspaper became synonymous with Veuillot's tireless advocacy for Catholic causes. Initially aligned with liberal Catholics, it evolved under Veuillot's ultramontane stance and often incendiary rhetoric. Montalembert praised Veuillot as "a man after my own heart," but tensions soon emerged. By 1845, Montalembert admitted losing control of the newspaper, though he acknowledged Veuillot's talent.

Campaign for educational freedom (1840–1850)

At its inception, ''L'Univers'' championed the principles of

, continuing the mission of '' L'Avenir''. It argued for the

freedom of religion Freedom of religion or religious liberty, also known as freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice ...

and supported a moderate constitutional monarchy. However, Veuillot's combative tone alienated both Gallican clergy and the Vatican, leading to frequent seizures of the newspaper within the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...

. The passage of the

Falloux Law The Falloux Laws promoted Catholic schools in France in the 1850s, 1860s and 1870s. They were voted in during the French Second Republic and promulgated on 15 March 1850 and in 1851, following the presidential election of Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte ...

in 1850, which granted secondary education freedom in France, marked the end of the "Catholic Party" unity. Veuillot criticized the law as insufficient, further deepening divisions.

Under the Second Empire: Ultramontanism and temporal power

During the

, Veuillot initially supported Napoleon III's regime but turned against it when Napoleon III wrote a pamphlet ''Le Pape et le Congrès'' (The Pope and the Congress) in December 1859 suggesting that the Pope should relinquish the

for the sake of a

United Italy The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century Political movement, political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, annexation of List of historic states of ...

. The pamphlet was condemned by the Pope, a condemnation repeated by Veuillot and ''L'Univers''. ''L'Univers'' was suspended on 30 January 1860.

Ralliement to the Republic

''L'Univers'' resumed publication on 16 April 1867. After Veuillot's death in 1883, his brother Eugène led the paper in adopting the Ralliement policy endorsed by

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

. During the Dreyfus Affair, the paper initially opposed

Alfred Dreyfus Alfred Dreyfus (9 October 1859 – 12 July 1935) was a French Army officer best known for his central role in the Dreyfus affair. In 1894, Dreyfus fell victim to a judicial conspiracy that eventually sparked a major political crisis in the Fre ...

but later advocated for a retrial after the discovery of forged evidence. In October 1899, Eugène Veuillot wrote: "It would be unjust to extend to all Catholics the reproaches justified by the attitudes of a few."''Deux siècles d'Assomption,'' Université Assomptionniste, p. 45.

Demise

In 1912, ''L'Univers'' was acquired by Catholics aligned with the

Action Française ''Action Française'' (, AF; ) is a French far-right monarchist and nationalist political movement. The name was also given to a journal associated with the movement, '' L'Action Française'', sold by its own youth organization, the Camelot ...

. It ceased publication in 1914 due to World War I, briefly reappeared in 1917 as a weekly, and disappeared for good in 1919.

References

External links

* Archives of ''L'Univers'' fro
1833 to 1860
an
1867 to 1919
on Gallica, the digital library of the

Bibliothèque nationale de France The (; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites, ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository of all that is published in France. Some of its extensive collections, including bo ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Univers Defunct newspapers published in France Defunct Catholic newspapers Publications established in 1833 Publications disestablished in 1919 Monarchism in France History of Catholicism in France 1833 establishments in France Ralliement (Catholicism in France)