Charles-Philippe Place (14 February 1814 – 5 March 1893) was a French prelate of the Catholic Church who was
Bishop of Marseille
The Archdiocese of Marseille (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Massiliensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Marseille'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France.Archbishop of Rennes from 1878 until his death in 1893. He was made a cardinal in 188
Biography
Charles-Philippe Place was born on 14 February 1814 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 ...
into a family of the industrial bourgeoisie. His brother Victor Place (1818-1875) was a diplomat and archeologist.
He studied at lycée Henri IV and the University of Paris, where he earned a doctorate in civil law in 1841. In 1846 he abandoned his legal career for theology studies at
Collegio Romano
The Roman College (, ) was a school established by St. Ignatius of Loyola in 1551, just 11 years after he founded the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). It quickly grew to include classes from elementary school through university level and moved to seve ...
. He was ordained a priest on 30 March 1850 by Cardinal
Costantino Patrizi Naro
Costantino Patrizi Naro JUD (4 September 1798 – 17 December 1876) was a long-serving Italian Cardinal who became Dean of the College of Cardinals. Biography
Born in Siena, Patrizi Naro was the son of Giovanni Patrizi Naro Montoro, 8th Marqui ...
, vicar of Rome.
He began his clerical career in the Diocese of Orleans, where he was named honorary canon of the cathedral chapter in July 1850. He became vicar general of the diocese and rector of its minor seminary. In Paris from 1856 to 1863, he was a chaplain and rector of the Minor Seminary of Notre-Dame-des-Champs. Upon the nomination of the government, he was named auditor of the
Sacred Roman Rota
The Roman Rota, formally the Apostolic Tribunal of the Roman Rota (), and anciently the Apostolic Court of Audience, is the highest appellate tribunal of the Catholic Church, with respect to both Latin Church members and the Eastern Catholic m ...
in 1864 after being awarded a doctorate in civil and canon law by papal decree.
He was nominated bishop of Marseille by Emperor Napoléon III on 13 January 1866. The Holy See expressed reservations because of his reputation for
Gallicanism
Gallicanism is the belief that popular secular authority—often represented by the monarch's or the state's authority—over the Catholic Church is comparable to that of the pope. Gallicanism is a rejection of ultramontanism; it has something ...
, but
Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...
named him bishop of Marseille on 22 June 1866 and consecrated him a bishop on 26 August 1866. Place worked to finish the construction of the Marseille cathedral and reorganized the diocesan finances.
He obtained his licentiate in theology at the
Sorbonne University
Sorbonne University () is a public research university located in Paris, France. The institution's legacy reaches back to the Middle Ages in 1257 when Sorbonne College was established by Robert de Sorbon as a constituent college of the Unive ...
in 1868. At the
First Vatican Council
The First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the First Vatican Council or Vatican I, was the 20th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church, held three centuries after the preceding Council of Trent which was adjourned in 156 ...
(1869-1870), he joined the minority that opposed the doctrine of papal infallibility, but then accepted the doctrine. The Holy See opposed his promotion to the see of Lyon in 1870. Upon the nomination of the French government,
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 ...
appointed him Archbishop of Rennes on 15 July 1878.
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 ...
created him a cardinal priest on 7 June 1886 and he received his red biretta and the title of Santa Maria Nuova on 17 March 1887.
He died in Rennes on 5 March 1893. He was buried in the cathedral.