Nicolas Letourneux (30 April 1640 – 28 November 1686) was a French preacher and ascetical writer of

Jansenistic Jansenism was a 17th- and 18th-century Christian theology, theological movement within Roman Catholicism, primarily active in Kingdom of France, France, which arose as an attempt to reconcile the theological concepts of Free will in theology, f ...

tendencies. Letourneux was born at

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

. His parents were poor, but the talents he displayed at an early age attracted the attention of some wealthy benefactors, whose assistance enabled him to study the

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

at the

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 ...

College in Paris, and later philosophy at the ''Collège des Grassins''. To Jean Hersant, his teacher at the latter institution, may be traced his Jansenistic views. Ordained priest at Rouen in 1662, he served for some years as

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

there. About 1670 he removed to Paris, became closely associated with the

Port-Royalists Port-Royal-des-Champs () was an abbey of Cistercian nuns in Magny-les-Hameaux, in the Vallée de Chevreuse southwest of Paris that launched a number of culturally important institutions. History The abbey was established in 1204, but became ...

, and began to cultivate Jansenistic

asceticism Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing Spirituality, spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world ...

. He exchanged his

soutane The cassock, or soutane, is a Christian clerical clothing, clerical coat used by the clergy and Consecrated life, male religious of the Oriental Orthodox Churches, Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church, in addition to some clergy in ...

for a coarse grey robe and abstained from celebrating Mass, to expiate in this manner what he esteemed his guilt in having accepted ordination at so early an age (22). His intercourse with Lemaître restored him to more orthodox Catholic views; returning to pastoral duties, he acted as

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

at the Collège des Grassins. His sermons at various Paris churches quickly placed him in the front rank of the preachers of his day, and in 1675 his work on the text ''Martha, Martha, thou art careful'' (Luke, x, 41) won the Balzac prize for eloquence awarded by the French Academy. In such esteem was he held by his spiritual superiors that

François de Harlay de Champvallon François de Harlay de Champvallon (; François III de Harlay; 14 August 1625 – 6 August 1695) was the fifth Archbishop of Paris. Life and church Early years Harlay de Champvallon was born in Paris, the nephew of François de Harlay, ar ...

appointed him, in 1679, temporary confessor of the nuns of Port-Royal, and also a member of the archiepiscopal commission for the emendation of the

Breviary A breviary () is a liturgical book used in Christianity for praying the canonical hours, usually recited at seven fixed prayer times. Historically, different breviaries were used in the various parts of Christendom, such as Aberdeen Breviar ...

. His relations with the leading Jansenists, however, soon awakened distrust, and he found it necessary to retire, in 1682, to the Priory of Villiers-sur-Fère, a benefice granted him by his patron,

Jacques-Nicolas Colbert Jacques Nicolas Colbert (14 February 1655, in Paris – 10 December 1707, in Paris) was a French churchman. Youngest son of Minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert, he was educated for a career in the church, tutored by Noël Alexandre, a Dominican the ...

. In this retirement he devoted the remainder of his life to his ascetical compositions. He died in Paris.

Principal writings

*''Histoire de la vie de Jesus-Christ'' (about 1673) *''Le catéchisme de la pénitence'' (1676) *''L'Année chrétienne, ou les Messes des Dimanches, Féries et Fêtes de toute l'année, en latin et en français, avec l'explication des Epîtres et des Evangiles et un abrégé de la Vie des Saints, dont on fait l'Office''. Of this work Letourneux wrote nine volumes, and two were added by the Belgian Jansenist, Ruth d'Ans. Six volumes were published before 1686, when they were condemned for their Jansenistic views. The work was placed on the

Index Librorum Prohibitorum The (English: ''Index of Forbidden Books'') was a changing list of publications deemed heretical or contrary to morality by the Sacred Congregation of the Index (a former dicastery of the Roman Curia); Catholics were forbidden to print or re ...

on 7 Sept., 1695. *''Principes et règles de la vie chrétienne'' (Paris, 1688) *''Explication littéraire et morale de l'épître de S. Paul aux Romains'' (Paris, 1695) *''Bréviaire Romain en latin et français'' (4 vols., Paris, 1687), condemned by the archiepiscopal authorities as heretical and for containing innovation contrary to the spirit and practice of the Catholic Church. The episcopal ban was subsequently removed, and the work was never placed on the Roman Index.

References

;Attribution * cites: **''Dict. des livres Jansénist'' **Ste. Beuve, ''Port-Royal'', V. vi, 2 **

Louis Mayeul Chaudon Louis-Mayeul Chaudon (20 May 1737, Valensole – 28 May 1817, Mézin), was a French Benedictine biographer. Life After studying in the colleges of Marseille and Avignon, Chaudon decided to become an ecclesiastic, and was admitted to the order ...

and Delandine, ''Dict. univ. Hist., Crit. et Bibliogr'' **

Louis Moréri Louis Moréri (25 March 1643 – 10 July 1680) was a French priest and encyclopedist. Moreri was the author of '' Le Grand Dictionaire historique, ou le mélange curieux de l'histoire sacrée et profane'' (literally, ''The Great Historical Dictio ...

, ''

Le Grand Dictionnaire historique was an encyclopedia originally compiled by the Catholic priest and theologian Louis Moréri (1643–1680). By later standards, it was highly specialized, for nearly all of its entries were on geographical and historical subjects, but it marked th ...

'' **Jungmann in ''Kirchenlexikon''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Letourneux 1640 births 1686 deaths Jansenists