Massillon
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Jean-Baptiste Massillon, CO (24 June 1663 – 28 September 1742), was a French
Catholic 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 ...
prelate and famous preacher who served as
Bishop of Clermont The Archdiocese of Clermont (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Claromontana''; French language, French: ''Archidiocèse de Clermont'') is a Latin Church, Latin archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the Departments of Fr ...
from 1717 until his death in
Beauregard-l'Évêque Beauregard-l'Évêque is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in central France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions a ...
.


Biography


Early years

Massillon was born at
Hyères Hyères (), Provençal dialect, Provençal Occitan language, Occitan: ''Ieras'' in classical norm, or ''Iero'' in Mistralian norm) is a Communes of France, commune in the Var (département), Var Departments of France, department in the Provence-Al ...
in
Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...
where his father was a royal notary. At the age of eighteen he joined 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 ...
and taught for a time in the colleges of his congregation at
Pézenas Pézenas (; Languedocien: ''Pesenàs'') is a commune in the Hérault department in the Occitanie region in southern France. Name The name "Pézenas" is derived from the older name ''Piscenae'', probably from the Latin word ''piscenis'', meanin ...
, and Montbrison and at the Seminary of Vienne. On the death of Henri de Villars,
Archbishop of Vienne The Archbishopric of Vienne, named after its episcopal seat in Vienne in the Isère département of southern France, was a metropolitan Roman Catholic archdiocese. It is now part of the Archdiocese of Lyon. History The legend according to wh ...
, in 1693, he was commissioned to deliver a funeral oration, and this was the beginning of his fame. In obedience to
Cardinal de Noailles Louis Antoine de Noailles, ''Cardinal de Noailles'' (27 May 16514 May 1729), second son of Anne de Noailles, 1st Duke of Noailles, was a French bishop and cardinal. His signing of the Unigenitus bull in 1728 would end the formal Jansenist contro ...
,
Archbishop of Paris The Archdiocese of Paris (; ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is one of twenty-three archdioceses in France. The original diocese is traditionally thought to have been created i ...
, he left the
Trappist The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a Religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious o ...
Abbey of Sept-Fons, to which he had retired, and settled 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 ...
, where he was placed at the head of the Oratorian Seminary of
Saint Magloire Magloire, better known as Saint Magloire of Dol, is a Breton saint. Little reliable information is known of Magloire as the earliest written sources appeared three centuries after his death. These sources claim that he was a monk from Wales who ...
.


Career

Massillon soon gained a wide reputation as a preacher and was selected to be the
Advent Advent is a season observed in most Christian denominations as a time of waiting and preparation for both the celebration of Jesus's birth at Christmas and the return of Christ at the Second Coming. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Chri ...
preacher at the court of
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in 1699. He was made Bishop of Clermont in 1717, and two years later was elected 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 ...
. The last years of his life were spent in the faithful discharge of his episcopal duties; his death took place at Clermont on September 18, 1742. Massillon enjoyed in the 18th century a reputation equal to that of
Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet Jacques-Bénigne Lignel Bossuet (; 27 September 1627 – 12 April 1704) was a French Bishop (Catholic Church), bishop and theology, theologian. Renowned for his sermons, addresses and literary works, he is regarded as a brilliant orator and lit ...
and of
Louis Bourdaloue Louis Bourdaloue (20 August 1632 – 13 May 1704) was a French Jesuit and preacher. Biography Louis Bourdaloue was born in Bourges where his father practiced law. He began his studies at the Jesuit Collège de Sainte-Marie in Bourges. In Novem ...
, and was much praised for his eloquence 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 ...
,
D'Alembert Jean-Baptiste le Rond d'Alembert ( ; ; 16 November 1717 – 29 October 1783) was a French mathematician, mechanics, mechanician, physicist, philosopher, and music theorist. Until 1759 he was, together with Denis Diderot, a co-editor of the ''E ...
and kindred spirits among the
Encyclopaedists An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles or entries that are arranged alphabetically by artic ...
. Massillon's popularity was probably because in his sermons he lays little stress on dogmatic questions, but treats generally of moral subjects, in which the secrets of the human heart and the processes of man's reason are described with poetical feeling. He has usually been contrasted with his predecessor Bourdaloue, the latter having the credit of vigorous denunciation, Massillon that of gentle persuasiveness. Besides the ''Petit Carême'', a sermon which he delivered before the young King
Louis XV of France Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...
in 1718, his sermons on the
Prodigal Son The Parable of the Prodigal Son (also known as the parable of the Two Brothers, Lost Son, Loving Father, or of the Forgiving Father; ) is one of the parables of Jesus in the Bible, appearing in Luke 15:11–32. In Luke 15, Jesus tells this stor ...
, on the small number of the elect, on death, for
Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A liturgical feast central to Christianity, Chri ...
, and for the
Fourth Sunday in Advent Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'', a 1972 Soviet drama ...
, may be perhaps cited as his masterpieces. His funeral oration on King
Louis XIV of France LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
is only noted now for the opening sentence: "''Dieu seul est grand.''" (Only God is great.) But, in truth, Massillon is singularly free from inequality. His great literary power, his reputation for benevolence, and his known toleration and dislike of doctrinal disputes caused him to be much more favourably regarded than most churchmen by the philosophers of the 18th century. The first edition of Massillon's complete works was published by his nephew, also an Oratorian (Paris, 1745–1748), and upon this, in the absence of manuscripts, succeeding reprints were based. The best modern edition is that of the Abbé Blampignon (Paris, 1865–1868, 4 vols.; new ed. 1886).


Works


'Sermons from Bishop Jean-Baptist Massillon'

'Massillon's Sermons for All the Sundays'

''Sentimens d'une Âme touchée de Dieu, tirés des Pseaumes de David; ou, Paraphrase Morale'' (Frères Estiennes et J. Th. Herissant, Paris 1770 edition)
(Google). Psalms I-XXXI. *


References

* Abbé Blampignon, ''Massillon, d'après des documents inédits'' (Paris, 1879) * ''L'Épiscopat de Massillon d'après des documents inédits, suivi de sa correspondence'' (Paris, 1884) *
F. Brunetière F is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet. F may also refer to: Science and technology Mathematics * F or f, the number 15 in hexadecimal and higher positional systems * ''p'F'q'', the hypergeometric function * F-distribution, a conti ...
"''L'Éloquence de Massillon''" in ''Études critiques'' (Paris, 1882) *
Père Ingold A name suffix in the Western English-language naming tradition, follows a person's surname (last name) and provides additional information about the person. Post-nominal letters indicate that the individual holds a position, educational degree, a ...
, ''L'Oratoire et le jansénisme au temps de Massillon'' (Paris, 1880) * Louis Petit de Julleville's ''Histoire de la langue et de la littérature française'', v. 372-385 (Paris, 1898). * * * Attribution: * {{DEFAULTSORT:Massillon, Jean Baptiste 1663 births 1742 deaths People from Hyères French Oratory 18th-century French Roman Catholic bishops Bishops of Clermont Members of the Académie Française