Louis Abelly (1603–1691) was

Vicar-General A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar ...

Bayonne Bayonne () is a city in southwestern France near the France–Spain border, Spanish border. It is a communes of France, commune and one of two subprefectures in France, subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques departments of France, departm ...

, a parish priest 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 subsequently

Bishop of Rodez The Diocese of Rodez (–Vabres) (; French: ''Diocèse de Rodez (–Vabres)'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The episcopal see is in Rodez. The diocese corresponds exactly to the Departm ...

in 1664.

Biography

In 1666, Abelly abdicated and attached himself to

Vincent de Paul Vincent de Paul, CM (24 April 1581 – 27 September 1660), commonly known as Saint Vincent de Paul, was an Occitan French Catholic priest who dedicated himself to serving the poor. In 1622, Vincent was appointed as chaplain to the galleys. ...

in the House of St. Lazare, Paris (

Lazarists The Congregation of the Mission (), abbreviated CM and commonly called the Vincentians or Lazarists, is a Catholic society of apostolic life of pontifical right for men founded by Vincent de Paul. It is associated with the Vincentian Family, ...

). His ascetical works reveal his deep and sincere piety. He was a bitter foe of the

Jansenists Jansenism was a 17th- and 18th-century theological movement within Roman Catholicism, primarily active in France, which arose as an attempt to reconcile the theological concepts of free will and divine grace in response to certain development ...

, chiefly of

Jean du Vergier de Hauranne Jean du Vergier de Hauranne, the Abbé (Abbot) of Saint-Cyran, (1581 – 6 October 1643) was a French Catholic priest who introduced Jansenism into France. Life Born in the city of Bayonne to a family of Gascon and Basque merchants, Vergier stu ...

, against whom he directed his ''Life of St. Vincent de Paul'', a work which

Hurter The von Hurter family belonged to the Swiss nobility; in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries three of them were known for their conversions to Roman Catholicism, their ecclesiastical careers in Austria and their theological writings. Friedric ...

describes as "full of unction." His ''Medulla Theologica'' went through many editions, and is characterized by its "solidity, directness, and usefulness." According to

Alphonsus Liguori Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (27 September 1696 – 1 August 1787) was an Italian Catholic bishop and saint, as well as a spiritual writer, composer, musician, artist, poet, lawyer, scholastic philosopher, and theologian. He founded the Congre ...

, Abelly is "a classic in

probabilism In theology and philosophy, probabilism (from Latin ''probare'', to test, approve) is an ancient Greek doctrine of academic skepticism. It holds that in the absence of certainty, plausibility or truth-likeness is the best criterion. The term can ...

." His ''Défense de la hiérarchie de l'Eglise'' was directed against an anonymous Gallican writer. He wrote also two

Enchiridion An enchiridion or encheiridion (, ''enkheirídion'') is a small manual or handbook. It can refer more specifically to: * ''Enchiridion'' of Epictetus, a short manual of Stoic ethical advice * '' Enchiridion de Metris'', an ancient treatise on po ...

s, one for bishops, another for priests; a treatise entitled ''De l'obéissance et soumission due au Pape''; and another called ''Traité des Hérésies''. Replying to a Jansenist work known as ''Monita Salutaria'', he published his ''Sentiments des SS. Pères, touchant les excellences et les prérogatives de la T.S. Vierge''.

References

;Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abelly, Louis 17th-century French Roman Catholic bishops Bishops of Rodez 1603 births 1691 deaths

Biography

See also

References