Alphonse-Louis du Plessis de Richelieu (; 1582 – 23 March 1653) was a French

Carthusian The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians (), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its own rule, called th ...

, bishop and

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 ...

. He was the elder brother of Armand Cardinal Richelieu, the celebrated minister of

Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown. ...

Life

He was born 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 was educated at the

Collège de Navarre The College of Navarre (, ) was one of the colleges of the historic University of Paris. It rivaled the University of Paris, Sorbonne and was renowned for its library. History The college was founded by Queen Joan I of Navarre in 1305, who provi ...

. He refused the position of

Bishop of Luçon 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 ...

, practically in the gift of his family. He entered the Carthusian Order in 1602 and made his profession in 1605. He became prior of , Caumont-sur-Durance. His harsh censorship drove Renė Descartes out of France. His episcopate was arranged by his brother, and he was named

Archbishop of Aix The Archdiocese of Aix-en-Provence and Arles (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Aquensis in Gallia et Arelatensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse d'Aix-en-Provence et Arles''; Occitan Provençal: ''Archidiocèsi de Ais de Provença e Arle'' or ''Archidioucès ...

in 1626 and then

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 ...

in 1628. He was created cardinal in 1629. He was named

Grand Almoner of France The Grand Almoner of France () was an officer of the French monarchy and a member of the ''Maison du Roi'' ("King's Household") during the ''Ancien Régime''. He directed the religious branch of the royal household (the Ecclesiastical Household, ) ...

in 1631 and presided over the funeral of King

in June 1644. He participated in the 1644 papal conclave which elected

Pope Innocent X Pope Innocent X (6 May 1574 – 7 January 1655), born Giovanni Battista Pamphilj (or Pamphili), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 September 1644 to his death, in January 1655. Born in Rome of a family fro ...

. He died on 23 March 1653 in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

References

Bibliography

* * Charléty, S. (1902). "Lyon sous le ministère de Richelieu". ''Revue d'histoire moderne et contemporaine'' (1899–1914), Vol. 3, No. 2 (1901/1902), pp. 121–136; Vol. 3, No. 5 (1901/1902), pp. 493–507. * Deloche, Maximin (1935). ''Un frère de Richelieu inconnu.'' Paris: Desclée. * * Péricaud, Marc-Antoine (1829).
Notice historique sur Alphonse-Louis du Plessis de Richelieu
archevêque de Lyon sous Louis XIII et Louis XIV, suivie d'une Relation de la peste de Lyon en 1638 et 1639''. Lyon: Barret, 1829. *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richelieu, Alphonse 1582 births 1653 deaths Carthusians 17th-century French cardinals Cardinals created by Pope Urban VIII University of Paris alumni Archbishops of Lyon