Auguste Joseph Alphonse Gratry (usually known as ''Joseph Gratry''; 10 March 1805 − 6 February 1872) was a

French Catholic The Catholic Church in France, Gallican Church, or French Catholic Church, is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the Pope in Rome. Established in the 2nd century in unbroken communion with the bishop of Rome, it was sometim ...

priest, author and

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

Biography

Gratry was born at

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

and educated at the

École Polytechnique (, ; also known as Polytechnique or l'X ) is a ''grande école'' located in Palaiseau, France. It specializes in science and engineering and is a founding member of the Polytechnic Institute of Paris. The school was founded in 1794 by mat ...

of Paris. In 1828, he went on to study theology at

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

in Strasbourg under the tutelage of the abbé Bautain. After a period of mental struggle which he has described in ''Souvenirs de ma jeunesse'', he was ordained a priest in

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

in 1832. After a stay there as professor of the Petit Séminaire, he was appointed director of the Collège Stanislas 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 ...

in 1842 and, in 1847, chaplain of the

École Normale Supérieure École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by Secondary education in France, secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing i ...

. He was awarded the Order of the Legion of Honor in 1845. In 1852 he and Abbé Pierre Pététot revived Bérulle's

Congregation of the Oratory The Confederation of Oratories of Saint Philip Neri (), abbreviated C.O. and commonly known as the Oratorians, is a Catholic Church, Catholic society of apostolic life of pontifical right for men (priests and Religious brother, religious brot ...

. Gratry was a brilliant academic, holding

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

s in both the humanities and

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

. He envisioned communities which could be schools of theological exploration, working with the scientific focus of modern society. He became vicar-general for the bishop of Orleans in 1861, professor of moral theology at the Sorbonne in 1863, and, on the death of Barante, a member of the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

in 1867, where he occupied the seat formerly held by

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...

. Together with Abbé Philippe Pététot, pastor of

Saint Roch Roch (lived c. 1348 – 15/16 August 1376/79; traditionally c. 1295 – 16 August 1327), also called Rock in English, was a Majorcan Catholic confessor whose death is commemorated on 16 August and 9 September in Italy; he was especially invo ...

, and

Hyacinthe de Valroger Hyacinthe de Valroger, CO (6 January 1814, at Caen – 10 October 1876), was a French Catholic priest and Oratorian. Career As a young man, Valroger first studied medicine, but later entered the seminary and was ordained a priest in 1837, a ...

, Joseph Gratry reconstituted the

French Oratory The Congregation of the Oratory of Jesus and Mary Immaculate (, ), best known as the French Oratory or Oratory of Jesus, is a society of apostolic life of Catholic priests founded in 1611 in Paris, France, by Pierre de Bérulle (1575–1629), wh ...

, a society of priests mainly dedicated to education.

Death

Gratry developed throat cancer at the end of his life and went to

Montreux Montreux (, ; ; ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, Swiss municipality and List of towns in Switzerland, town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Swiss Alps, Alps. It belongs to the Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut (district), Riviera-Pays ...

, Switzerland, for treatment, where he died. He was buried in

Montparnasse Cemetery Montparnasse Cemetery () is a cemetery in the Montparnasse quarter of Paris, in the city's 14th arrondissement of Paris, 14th arrondissement. The cemetery is roughly 47 acres and is the second largest cemetery in Paris. The cemetery has over 35,00 ...

in Paris by his sister.

Works

* ''De la connaissance de Dieu'', (The Knowledge of God) opposing

Positivism Positivism is a philosophical school that holds that all genuine knowledge is either true by definition or positivemeaning '' a posteriori'' facts derived by reason and logic from sensory experience.John J. Macionis, Linda M. Gerber, ''Soci ...

(1855) * ''La Logique'' (1856) * ''Les Sources, conseils pour la conduite de l'esprit'' (1861−1862) * ''La Philosophie du credo'' (1861) * ''Commentaire sur l'évangile de Saint Matthieu'' (1863) * ''Jésus-Christ: réponse à M. Renan'' (1864) * ''Les Sophistes et la critique'' (in controversy with E. Vacherot) (1864) * ''La Morale et la loi de l'histoire'', (Morality and the law of History), (1868) * ''Mgr. l'évêque d'Orléans et Mgr. l'archevêque de Malines'' (1869), containing a clear exposition of the historical arguments against the doctrine of papal infallibility. * ''Souvenirs de ma jeunesse'' (1874)

References

Sources

* Marias, Julian. ''La filosofia del Padre Gratry''; 2nd ed. Buenos Aires: Editorial Sudamericana, 1948 (in Spanish)

External links