The Abbé Étienne Guibourg (c. 1610 – January 1686) was a French

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

abbé ''Abbé'' (from Latin , in turn from Greek , , from Aramaic ''abba'', a title of honour, literally meaning "the father, my father", emphatic state of ''abh'', "father") is the French word for an abbot. It is also the title used for lower-ranki ...

and

occult The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mysti ...

ist who was involved in the ''affaire des poisons'', during the reign of

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

. He has been variously described as a "

defrocked Defrocking, unfrocking, degradation, or laicization of clergy is the removal of their rights to exercise the functions of the ordained ministry. It may be grounded on criminal convictions, disciplinary problems, or disagreements over doctrine or ...

" or "renegade" priest, and is said to have also had a good knowledge of

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

. He is best known for performing a series of

Black Mass A Black Mass is a ceremony celebrated by various Satanic groups. It has allegedly existed for centuries in different forms, and the modern form is intentionally a sacrilegious and blasphemous parody of a Catholic Mass. In the 19th century the ...

rituals with

Catherine Monvoisin Catherine Monvoisin, or Montvoisin, née ''Deshayes'', known as "La Voisin" (c. 1640 – 22 February 1680), was a French fortune teller, commissioned poisoner, and professional provider of alleged sorcery. She was the head of a network of fort ...

for

Madame de Montespan Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart, Marquise of Montespan (5 October 1640 – 27 May 1707), commonly known as Madame de Montespan (), was a French noblewoman and the most celebrated maîtresse-en-titre, royal mistress of King Lou ...

Early life and ecclesiastic career

Guibourg claimed to be the illegitimate son of Henri de Montmorency.''Geography of Witchcraft''
by Montague Summers (1927; reprint

Kessinger Publishing Kessinger Publishing, LLC is an American print-on-demand publishing company located in Whitefish, Montana, that specializes in rare, out-of-print books. In 2009, the company produced 190,175 titles and was reported to be the third-largest prod ...

, 2003) He was the

sacristan A sacristan is an officer charged with care of the sacristy, the church, and their contents. In ancient times, many duties of the sacrist were performed by the doorkeepers ( ostiarii), and later by the treasurers and mansionarii. The Decretal ...

of the Saint-Marcel church at Saint-Denis which was later destroyed during the French Revolution but described as being "the most beautiful of the parish churches of the town of Saint-Denis". He was formerly the

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

to the Comte de Montgomery. Despite his position, he is said to have kept a long-term mistress, Jeanne Chanfrain, with whom he had several children.

Black Masses

According to later accounts, confessions and trials, Guibourg performed a series of

es with Catherine Monvoisin (known as

La Voisin Catherine Monvoisin, or Montvoisin, née ''Deshayes'', known as "La Voisin" (c. 1640 – 22 February 1680), was a French fortune teller, commissioned poisoner, and professional provider of alleged sorcery. She was the head of a network of for ...

). The most famous of these were performed for

around 1672-3. Montague Summers gives an account of one such ritual: Summers provides a further account of the

incantation An incantation, spell, charm, enchantment, or bewitchery is a magical formula intended to trigger a magical effect on a person or objects. The formula can be spoken, sung, or chanted. An incantation can also be performed during ceremonial ri ...

used by Guibourg himself: Accounts suggest that La Voisin performed rituals with a number of priests (including at least one whose work was uncovered by Church authorities, forcing him into exile) as well as Guibourg. It is unlikely Guibourg took part in all of La Voisin's Black Masses. It is alleged, upon her arrest, investigators discovered the corpses of 2,500 infants buried in her yard, allegedly

sacrifice Sacrifice is an act or offering made to a deity. A sacrifice can serve as propitiation, or a sacrifice can be an offering of praise and thanksgiving. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Gree ...

d the same way as in Guibourg's ritual. Allegedly, La Voisin had paid

prostitute Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-pe ...

s for their infants for use in the rituals. Eleanor Herman, in her book ''Sex with Kings'', claims that the police, given reports of "babies' bones", uncovered the remains of 2,500 infants in La Voisin's garden. However, Anne Somerset disputes this in her book ''The Affair of the Poisons'' and states there is no mention of the garden being searched for human remains.

Arrest and sentence

In 1680, Françoise Filastre, under interrogation in connection with the poison affair, claimed that Guibourg had performed Black Masses. Guibourg was arrested and confessed to this and to other crimes.''The Affair of the Poisons: Murder, Infanticide, and Satanism at the Court of Louis XIV''
by Anne Somerset (

St. Martin's Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan in New York City. It is headquartered in the Equitable Building (New York City), Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishe ...

, 2003) He was sentenced to life imprisonment and sequestration and died in prison in 1686.

In fiction

* He is portrayed in a novel by Judith Merkle Riley: ''The Oracle Glass'' (1994). * He is portrayed as Father Etienne Gibbourg in the second season of the French-Canadian television series

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

(2017) by Ned Dennehy. * In Scott Snyder's " Batman: The Black Mirror" (''

Detective Comics ''Detective Comics'' (later retitled as ''Batman Detective Comics'') is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is ...

'' #871–881) the villainous character the Dealer alternatively goes by the pseudonym Etienne Guiborg (name spelled slightly differently) in reference to the Abbé.

References

Sources

* Hugh Noel Williams - ''Madame de Montespan and Louis XIV'', 1910.
Excerpts from Bastille trial records of Guibourg and LaVoisin (French and English translation)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guibourg, Etienne 1610 births 1686 deaths Abbés Prisoners and detainees of France French people who died in prison custody French occultists French Satanists 17th-century occultists People imprisoned by lettre de cachet People associated with the Affair of the Poisons