Étienne-Hubert de Cambacérès (11 September 1756 – 25 October 1818) was a French Catholic

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 ...

and

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 ...

. A notable clergyman during the Napoleonic era, he was also a Senator under the First Empire.

Family

Cambacérès was born in

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

, the son of Jean Antoine de Cambacérès, a counselor of the

Court of Accounts A Court of Audit or Court of Accounts is a supreme audit institution, i.e. a government institution performing financial and/or legal audit (i.e. statutory audit or external audit) on the executive branch of power. See also *Most of those i ...

, and his first wife, Marie Rose Vassal. His elder brother was

Jean-Jacques-Régis de Cambacérès Jean-Jacques-Régis de Cambacérès, Duke of Parma (; 18 October 17538 March 1824), was a French nobleman, lawyer, freemasonry, freemason and statesman during the French Revolution and the First French Empire, First Empire. He is best remembere ...

Archchancellor of the French Empire The Grand Dignitaries of the French Empire (French: ''Grands Dignitaires de l'Empire Français'') were created in 1804 by the Constitution of the Year XII, which established Napoleon Bonaparte, previously First Consul for Life, as Emperor of the ...

, while another brother, Jean-Pierre-Hugues Cambacérès, was a baron and general under the Empire.The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church: Consistory of January 17, 1803 (V)
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Early life and education

Cambacérès entered religious life by vocation. In 1763, he joined the

Confraternity of White Penitents in Montpellier {{Infobox organization , name = Devout and Respectable Confraternity of White Penitents of Montpellier , image = Sainte-Foy, chapelle des Pénitents blancs de Montpellier. Oculus du Saint-Esprit symbole de la Confrérie.jpg , cap ...

and later became its prior in 1804. He studied at the seminary in

Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...

and earned a license in canon and civil law (''in utroque'') from the

University of Montpellier The University of Montpellier () is a public university, public research university located in Montpellier, in south-east of France. Established in 1220, the University of Montpellier is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous opera ...

in 1777. With the help of his uncle, the

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

Bourges Bourges ( ; ; ''Borges'' in Berrichon) is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre (Cher), Yèvre. It is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Cher (department), Cher, and also was the capital city of the former provin ...

, Cambacérès obtained a canonry in Montpellier. By 1789, he served as a canon and vicar general in the

Diocese of Alès :''This is not the diocese of Ales-Terralba in Italy, nor the Ancient Diocese of Alet in south-west France'' The former French Catholic diocese of Alais (now written Alès, and in Latin: ''Alesiensis'') was created in 1694, out of territory previ ...

. He was ordained a priest in 1780 in Montpellier. Despite the turmoil of the French Revolution, Cambacérès avoided persecution by abstaining from political engagement and maintaining loyalty to his ecclesiastical duties. He refused the

Civil Constitution of the Clergy The Civil Constitution of the Clergy () was a law passed on 12 July 1790 during the French Revolution, that sought the Caesaropapism, complete control over the Catholic Church in France by the National Constituent Assembly (France), French gove ...

in 1790 but pledged allegiance to the laws of the Republic in 1792. With his brother’s influence, he was spared exile and continued his quiet life in Montpellier.

Archbishop of Rouen and cardinal

In November 1801, Cambacérès joined his brother in Paris. He was appointed

on 9 April 1802 and consecrated at

Notre-Dame Cathedral Notre-Dame de Paris ( ; meaning "Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris"), often referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the River Seine), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris, France. It ...

in Paris by Cardinal

Giovanni Battista Caprara Giovanni Battista Caprara Montecuccoli (1733 – 1810) was an Italian statesman and cardinal and archbishop of Milan from 1802 to 1810. As a papal diplomat he served in the embassies in Cologne, Lausanne, and Vienna. As Legate of Pius VII in F ...

. Cambacérès reorganized the diocesan administration, reopened seminaries, and reestablished parishes in Rouen. He was instrumental in restoring ecclesiastical infrastructure after the Revolution. On 17 January 1803, Pope Pius VII made Cambacérès a

cardinal-priest A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. ...

with the title of San Stefano al Monte Celio. During the pope’s visit to France in 1804, Cambacérès was part of the delegation accompanying him. However, he later distanced himself from Napoleon’s policies, notably refusing to attend the emperor’s second marriage due to its conflict with Church teachings on divorce. Cambacérès was also a member of 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 ...

, receiving distinctions as a Grand Officer and later as a Grand Eagle.''Almanach impérial'', 1810. Napoleon appointed him to the Senate in 1805, and he was made a count of the Empire in 1808.

Later years and death

In April 1814, Cambacérès supported the

Bourbon Restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to: France under the House of Bourbon: * Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815) Spain under the Spanish Bourbons: * Ab ...

but abstained from political activities during the

Hundred Days The Hundred Days ( ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition (), marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII o ...

. He remained Archbishop of Rouen until his death on 25 October 1818. He was buried in Rouen Cathedral, near the mausoleum of the cardinals of Amboise.

Episcopal lineage

Cambacérès’s episcopal lineage traces back to Cardinal Scipione Rebiba through Giovanni Battista Caprara and other notable prelates.

References

External links

Short biography of Cambacérès on a site dedicated to his brother
{{Authority control 1756 births 1818 deaths 19th-century French cardinals Archbishops of Rouen Members of the Sénat conservateur Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour People from Montpellier Burials at Rouen Cathedral Cardinals created by Pope Pius VII Members of the Chamber of Peers of the Hundred Days Participants in the Council of Paris (1811)