Jean-François Boyer (12 March 1675 in Paris – 20 August 1755 in

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...

), was a French bishop, best known for having been a vehement opponent of

Jansenism Jansenism was an early modern theological movement within Catholicism, primarily active in the Kingdom of France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. It was declared a heresy by th ...

and the

Philosophe The ''philosophes'' () were the intellectuals of the 18th-century Enlightenment.Kishlansky, Mark, ''et al.'' ''A Brief History of Western Civilization: The Unfinished Legacy, volume II: Since 1555.'' (5th ed. 2007). Few were primarily philosophe ...

school.

Life

Boyer was a preacher, and the bishop of

Mirepoix, Ariège Mirepoix (; oc, Mirapeis, supposedly from ''mire peis'', meaning ''see the fish'') is a commune in the Ariège department in southwestern France. Geography Mirepoix is situated in the Hers valley between Carcassonne and Pamiers. Histor ...

from 1730 to 1736. In 1735 he was tutor to Louis, Dauphin of France, and in 1743 he was head chaplain to

Maria Josepha of Saxony, Dauphine of France Maria Josepha Karolina Eleonore Franziska Xaveria of Saxony (4 November 1731 – 13 March 1767) was Dauphine of France through her marriage to Louis, the son and heir of Louis XV. Marie Josèphe was the mother of three kings of France, Louis ...

. In 1736 Boyer was elected a member of the Académie française, in 1738 to the French Academy of Sciences, and in 1741 to the

Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, f ...

. Boyer had several benefices by royal appointment. According to Evelyne Lever, the favorite royal biographer, during the Jubilee Year of 1750 Pope

Benedict XIV Pope Benedict XIV ( la, Benedictus XIV; it, Benedetto XIV; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 17 August 1740 to his death in May 1758. Pope ...

Boyer tried unsuccessfully to break the relationship between the King and the

Marquise de Pompadour Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour (, ; 29 December 1721 – 15 April 1764), commonly known as Madame de Pompadour, was a member of the French court. She was the official chief mistress of King Louis XV from 1745 to 1751, and re ...

. Boyer promulgated the "Statements of Confession" that the faithful had to sign to show their compliance with Pope Clement XI's

Unigenitus ''Unigenitus'' (named for its Latin opening words ''Unigenitus dei filius'', or "Only-begotten son of God") is an apostolic constitution in the form of a papal bull promulgated by Pope Clement XI in 1713. It opened the final phase of the Jansen ...

Bull, and to be entitled to receive the sacrament. This caused an outcry in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. As bishop of the

Ancient Diocese of Mirepoix The former Catholic diocese of Mirepoix, in south-west France, was created in 1317 by Pope John XXII from the diocese of Pamiers. It existed until the French Revolution, and was suffragan of the Archbishop of Toulouse. Its see was Mirepoix, Ari ...

Boyer also hounded the

school. In 1743, he plotted against

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—es ...

at the Académie française, when he ran for the seat vacated by

Cardinal de Fleury Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

. In 1751, Boyer set the King's mind against the editors of the ''

Encyclopédie ''Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers'' (English: ''Encyclopedia, or a Systematic Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts, and Crafts''), better known as ''Encyclopédie'', was a general encyclopedia publis ...

'' and his machinations caused their articles to be monitored and censored. But he failed in his goal of suppressing the undertaking completely.

, who also commented on other matters in which Boyer was involved, wrote: But Boyer's eloquence was appreciated by some of his contemporaries, as

Charles Le Beau Charles le Beau (18 October 1701, Paris – 13 March 1778, Paris) was a French historical writer. He was born in Paris, and was educated at the Collège de Sainte-Barbe and the Collège du Plessis; at the latter he remained as a teacher until he ...

recorded:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyer 1675 births 1755 deaths Bishops of Mirepoix Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres Members of the Académie Française Members of the French Academy of Sciences Clergy from Paris