Jacques Jules Bonnaud, SJ (also James Julius Bonnaud; 1740 – 1792) was a Haitian-born French

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

priest who, with several others, was assassinated in the

September Massacres The September Massacres were a series of killings and summary executions of prisoners in Paris that occurred in 1792 from 2 September to 6 September during the French Revolution. Between 1,176 and 1,614 people were killed by ''sans-culottes'' ...

during the

Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (French: ''La Terreur'', literally "The Terror") was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the French First Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and Capital punishment in France, nu ...

as part of the French Revolution. He was likely the first Haitian professor or theologian in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. Having died out of loyalty to the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and the

pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

, he is recognized as a martyr and was beatified on October 17, 1926, by

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...

, at the same time as many other secular priests,

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

Capuchins Capuchin can refer to: *Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, an order of Roman Catholic friars *Capuchin Poor Clares, an order of Roman Catholic contemplative religious sisters *Capuchin monkey, primates of the genus ''Cebus'' and ''Sapajus'', named af ...

and

Carmelites The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

who were victims of the excesses of the Revolution. As of 2024, he Is the only '' beati'' of African descent from

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

Biography

Born in Cap Français in

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colonization of the Americas, French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1803. The name derives from the Spanish main city on the isl ...

(now Cap-Haïtien, Haiti) on October 27, 1740, as the son of a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

father and Black Haitian mother, Jacques Bonnaud came to France while still young to avoid racism. He received his education at the College of La Flèche and entered the

novitiate on December 20, 1758. He taught for two years in

Quimper Quimper (, ; ; or ) is a Communes of France, commune and Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Finistère Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in northwestern France. Administration Quimper is the ...

, likely becoming the first Haitian professor or theologian in Europe. When the Jesuits were expelled from France in 1762, Bonnaud continued his ecclesiastical studies at the Saint-Firmin Seminary in Paris and then moved to the

Southern Netherlands The Southern Netherlands, also called the Catholic Netherlands, were the parts of the Low Countries belonging to the Holy Roman Empire which were at first largely controlled by Habsburg Spain (Spanish Netherlands, 1556–1714) and later by the ...

where he completed his studies in theology , civil law and canon law. After his priestly ordination, he first served the

Diocese of Paris In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

(1764). From 1783 to 1787, he was vicar general under

Pierre-Louis de Leyssin Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Embrun. Pierre-Louis Leysin (born in Aosta in the Dauphiné on 2 May 1721 – died in Munich in Bavaria on 26 August 1801) was a French clergyman who was the 81st and last Archbishop of Embrun from 1767 to 1790. Having re ...

Archbishop of Embrun The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Embrun was a Catholic jurisdiction located in southeastern France, in the mountains of the Maritime Alps, on a route that led from Gap by way of Briançon to Turin. It had as suffragans the Diocese of Digne, Di ...

. Bonnaud was very present in theological and ecclesiastical controversies. In his ''Tartuffe épistolaire démasqué'', he proved that a letter attributed to

Pope Clement XIV Pope Clement XIV (; ; 31 October 1705 – 22 September 1774), born Giovanni Vincenzo Antonio Ganganelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 May 1769 to his death in September 1774. At the time of his elec ...

was the work of a former priest of the Oratory, Luigi Caraccioli. He was also the author of an anti-Protestant 1787 pamphlet, ''Speech to be read to the Council, in the presence of the King, by a patriotic minister, on the project of granting Civil Status to Protestants'', familiarly called "Mémoire de Madame de Noailles" (because she was responsible for "taking it to the members of the Council and Parliament"). In 1788, Bonnaud was called to Lyon by Archbishop Yves-Alexandre de Marbeuf, who made him one of his vicars general and assigned him the priories of Sermaize and Arnicourt. Bonnaud was the author of the archbishop's pastoral letter in 1789, alerting the faithful and calling on them to be vigilant and courageous in the face of imminent religious persecution during the French Revolution. Bonnaud then settled in Paris, where he wrote pamphlets and tracts defending the rights of the

and opposing 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 ...

, which he refused to sign. Arrested around August 10, 1792, Bonnaud was locked up in the

Carmes Prison Saint-Joseph-des-Carmes (''Saint-Joseph-des-Carmes'') is a Catholic church located at 70 rue de Vaugirard in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. It was originally built as the chapel of a convent of the mendicant order of Discalced Carmelites. It is ...

in Paris, where he was massacred by the

sans-culottes The (; ) were the working class, common people of the social class in France, lower classes in late 18th-century history of France, France, a great many of whom became radical and militant partisans of the French Revolution in response to their ...

along with many other priests and religious during the

on September 2, 1792.

Veneration

Considered to have died a victim of anti-Catholic persecution, Bonnaud was declared a martyr alongside his companions and was beatified in 1926 by

. As of 2024, he is still the only Black beatified person from

References

{{Reflist Executed Roman Catholic priests Beatifications by Pope Pius XI Beatified Jesuits French Jesuits Haitian Jesuits Haitian beatified people Haitian Roman Catholic priests French Catholic theologians French Roman Catholic priests