Pierre Pontard (23 September 1749 – 22 January 1832) was a

constitutional bishop During the French Revolution, a constitutional bishop was a Catholic bishop elected from among the clergy who had sworn to uphold the Civil Constitution of the Clergy between 1791 and 1801. History Constitutional bishoprics were defined by th ...

and a

deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain, ...

during the French Revolution.

Political career during the Revolution

Pontard was born in

Mussidan Mussidan (; ) is a commune in the Dordogne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Mussidan station has rail connections to Bordeaux, Périgueux, Brive-la-Gaillarde and Limoges. Population Roundup of 16 January 1944 On 16 ...

Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; ) is a large rural departments of France, department in south west France, with its Prefectures in France, prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. He followed a career in the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

priesthood and became a ''

curé 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 ass ...

'' in Sarlat. Having espoused the reforming ideas of the Revolution, he was a fervent advocate of 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 ...

. In February 1791 he was elected

of the

,the post which replaced that of the

Bishop of Périgueux A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

during the Revolution and on 8 September of that year was elected to the National Constituent Assembly as a representative of the clergy of Dordogne. A critic of

clerical celibacy Clerical celibacy is the requirement in certain religions that some or all members of the clergy be unmarried. Clerical celibacy also requires abstention from deliberately indulging in sexual thoughts and behavior outside of marriage, because thes ...

, he married, and presented his wife to the ''

Convention Nationale The National Convention () was the constituent assembly of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for its first three years during the French Revolution, following the two-year National Constituent Assembly and the o ...

'' on 22 September 1793. He supported several measures in favour of the marriage of priests issued by the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. Pontard was responsible for bringing to Paris the prophetess Suzette Labrousse, like him a native of the Dordogne, and remained closely associated with her subsequent career. He was also closely connected to the esoteric circles of the time, particularly to the Duchess of Bourbon,

Bathilde d'Orléans Bathilde d'Orléans (Louise Marie Thérèse Bathilde; 9 July 1750 – 10 January 1822) was a French princess of the blood of the House of Orléans. She was sister of Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, ''Philippe Égalité'', the mother of t ...

, to

Catherine Théot Catherine Théot (born at Barenton (Normandy), France, 5 May 1716 ー 1 September 1794) was a French visionary. Catherine believed she was destined to work for God. She gained notoriety when she was accused of being involved in a plot to overthr ...

, and also Dom Gerle (presented as rivals by some contemporaries). He was also linked to the scandals associated with these circles. He actively encouraged Suzette Labrousse while she was being sheltered and having her works published by the Duchess of Orléans (''Journal prophétique'', 1792; ''Recueil des ouvrages de la célèbre Mlle Labrousse'', 1797), and supported Labrousses's journey to Rome. He brought ridicule upon himself by presenting her to several prominent religious figures. When she died he was the executor of her will, in which she left him a (contested) legacy of 3,000

francs The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' ( King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centur ...

. In Suzette Labrousse's analysis of the

Apocalypse Apocalypse () is a literary genre originating in Judaism in the centuries following the Babylonian exile (597–587 BCE) but persisting in Christianity and Islam. In apocalypse, a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a ...

he saw the proofs that the French Revolution was initiating a "universal regeneration"..

After the Directoire

Under the

Consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth countries, a ...

, Pontard ran a boarding school 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 ...

, but had to abandon it for financial reasons. He fell into poverty and was supported from 1820 by Bathilde d'Orléans, who gave him a

life annuity A life annuity is an annuity, or series of payments at fixed intervals, paid while the purchaser (or annuitant) is alive. The majority of life annuities are insurance products sold or issued by life insurance companies. However, substantial cas ...

. He lived for the rest of his life in the Hôpital Sainte-Périne, where he died. In 1812 he published the ''Grammaire mécanique élémentaire de l'orthographe française''.

Notes and references

Sources

# De Boysson, Richard: ''Le Clerge Perigourdin Pendant La Persecution Revolutionnaire''
Google Books
# Crédot, P.-J., Delhomme and Briguet, 1893: ''Pierre Pontard, Évêque Constitutionnel De La Dordogne''
Assemblée nationale website: biography

Extract from the dictionary of députés Poisson Populle

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pontard, Pierre Deputies to the French National Convention People of the French Revolution Bishops of Périgueux Constitutional bishops 1749 births 1832 deaths People from Dordogne