Pope Paul VI proclaimed him to be Venerable in 1966 and his cause of canonization is ongoing. Tel: + 33 1 44 13 66 70 E-mail: jdambreville@iesf.fr. Félicité Lamennais, in full Hugues-Félicité-Robert de Lamennais, (born June 19, 1782, Saint-Malo, France—died Feb. 27, 1854, Paris), French priest and philosophical and political writer who attempted to combine political liberalism with Roman Catholicism after the French Revolution. Lamennais was born to a bourgeois family whose liberal sympathies had been chastened by the French Revolution. One prelate, Bishop John Dubois, S.S., of New York, was so impressed by Lamennais' dedication and capability after receiving help from him, that he appointed him Vicar General for his own diocese in the United States.[3]. Elected to the Constituent Assembly in 1848, he died in 1854 while still in conflict with the Church and, according to his wishes, was buried civilly. He was converted (1804) to active Catholicism and resolved to serve the church. 25 PHOTOS OF THE MENNAISIAN WEEK. After the arrival of a new bishop for Saint-Brieuc in October 1819, Lamennais was appointed as Vicar General of that diocese. Deshayes obtained a house in Ploërmel, which became their motherhouse in 1824.[6]. Soon the men recruited by Jean-Marie asked to be incorporated into that community. "Jean-Marie de Lamennais", Église catholique en France, Dégert, Antoine. The following year Lamennais helped the former rector of a secondary school previously run by the Church, closed by the Revolution, to re-open the institution. Having returned to Paris, Lamennais was ordained a priest in 1816, and in the following year he published the first volume of his Essai sur l’indifférence en matière de religion (“Essay on Indifference Toward Religion”), which won him immediate fame. . Corrections? Lamennais, "L'influence des doctrines philosophiques sur la société" (1815), in Réflexions sur l'état de l'église en France pendant le dix-huitième siècle, et sur sa situation actuelle, suivies de Mélanges religieux et philosophiques (Paris, 1819), 165. His father, Pierre Robert de Lamennais (or La Mennais), was a respectable merchant of Saint-Malo, ennobled by Louis XVI at the request of the Estates of Brittany in acknowledgment of his patriotic devotion. In addition to these other duties, he took an active role in the founding of the Congregation of St. Peter, dedicated to the administration of the diocesan seminary and of parish missions, having to act as its Superior General for a brief period. Lamennais then attacked the papacy and the European monarchs in Paroles d’un croyant (1834; “The Words of a Believer”); this famous apocalyptic poem provoked the papal encyclical Singulari Nos (July 1834), which led to Lamennais’ severance from the church. Genre/Form: Church history: Additional Physical Format: Online version: Sevrin, Ernest. Their motherhouse is in Rennes.[4]. They come from many sources and are not checked. He was five years old when his mother died, and as a result, he and his younger brother were sent for education to an uncle, Robert des Saudrais, at La Chênaie, an estate near Saint-Malo. He was stymied, however, as the regulations of those Brothers forbade their working alone, while the mission he envisioned often needed only one teacher for an isolated location with a small student population. Lamennais, ses amis, et le mouvement des idees a l'tpoque romantique, I824-1834 (Paris, 1962), esp. For this, he worked in the establishment of two religious congregations in the region. He retired after Louis-Napoleon’s coup d’état in 1851. Page officielle des Frères de l'Instruction Chrétienne et Famille Mennaisienne A brilliant writer, he was an influential but controversial figure in the history of the church in France. Let us participate on line in the Office of November 26, Father de la Mennais’ Day, in Ploërmel, in the chapel of the Mother House, near his tomb, at 18:30, French time ... Michel Tanguy - Fr. J.-J. [6], The community was successful and began to grow. They defended the Holy See as the true authority over the Catholic Church in France. [6], The Brothers of Christian Instruction have expanded their service throughout the world. Bibliothèque nationale de France ID: 12153145m IdRef ID: 030032784 National Diet Library ID: 00620962 Open Library ID: OL6452025A Biblioteca Nacional de España ID: XX991165 Nationale Thesaurus voor Auteurs ID: 089574702 [9], In 1897 the Sisters established their first overseas mission in Canada, later followed by a school in England in 1903. Lamennais was also concerned about the needs of the young boys in his diocese, and sought teachers for them. Lamennais threw himself tirelessly into the work required of him. Félicité de Lamennais is a French priest, writer, philosopher and politician. Their father Robert was arrested and barely escaped the guillotine. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. By the time of his death in December 1860, the Brothers had 852 members serving throughout France and its far flung colonies in the world, from French Guiana to Senegal. He initially sought the help of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, founded by John Baptist de la Salle to educate poor boys. LAMENNAIS ADB | 22 followers on LinkedIn. Lamennais can be considered the forerunner of liberal Catholicism, and … Legal. . His eventual advocacy of a conciliation between Catholicism and liberalism led to a rupture with the church. In October 1790 he made his First Communion and received Confirmation from Gabriel Cortois de Pressigny, the last Bishop of Saint-Malo, who went into exile the following May. Many of…. chap. Joined by a group of his supporters, there they formed a religious community called the Society of St. Peter. In addition to his holding the office of Vicar General for Saint-Brieuc, the Bishop of Rennes, his canonical superior, appointed him simultaneously to that same office for his own diocese. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). [1], Soon after he had returned from exile, Bishop Cortois de Pressigny installed Lamennais as a subdeacon on 21 December 1801 at the chapel of the Ursulines in Paris. French priest, brother of Félicité Robert de Lamennais, b. at St-Malo in 1780; d. at Ploërmel, Brittany, in 1860.On the day after the Concordat of 1801 he carried out the purpose he had manifested since before the Revolution of entering Holy orders.He was ordained in 1804 (25 Feb.) after theological studies pursued both in private and under the direction of Abbé Vielle. A seminary was opened at Malestroit, located near the Brothers' Motherhouse at Ploërmel. Les Progrès de la revolution et de la guerre contre l'église (1828) marked his complete renunciation of royalist principles and from that time on he advocated on behalf of a theocratic democracy. He was the first proponent of liberal Catholicism and an early advocate of social Catholicism. Five novices follow Father de Lamennais in St Brieuc and 5 others remain in Auray, under the direction of F. Ambrose. Because he refused to be reconciled to the church, upon his death Lamennais was buried in a pauper’s grave. [5] He began to recruit young men he found working in the fields whom he considered capable of learning. Lamennais was born at Saint-Malo, then in the ancient Province of Brittany, on 8 September 1780, the son of Robert de Lamennais, a wealthy merchant who had recently received a coat of arms from the king, and Marie des Saudrais. He was largely self-educated by wide, indiscriminate reading. LAMENNAIS, HUGUES F É LICIT É ROBERT DE (1782 – 1854). He was ordained a priest in 1816 and at first was a royalist and… In: Annales de Bretagne. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Felicite-Lamennais, The Catholic Encyclopedia - Biography of Felicite Robert de Lamennais, “Essai sur l’indifférence en matière de religion”, “Des progrès de la révolution et de la guerre contre l’Église”. Tome 67, numéro 2, 1960. pp. Lamennais, Hugues-Felicité Robert de (1782-1854), the leading Catholic thinker of Restoration France. Hugues-Félicité Robert de Lamennais (or de la Mennais) (19 June 1782 - 27 February 1854), was a French Catholic priest, philosopher, and political theorist. Lamennais founded L'Avenir, the first issue of which appeared on October 16, 1830, with the motto "God and Liberty." Page officielle des Frères de l'Instruction Chrétienne - La Mennais - et Famille Mennaisienne [8], After the death of Deshayes, Lamennais became the full-time Superior of the Brothers, and lived at the motherhouse. The books urged a religious revival in the nation with an active role by the clergy. Hugues Félicité Robert de Lamennais (19. června 1782, Saint-Malo, Bretaň – 27. února 1854, Paříž) byl francouzský kněz, spisovatel, filosof a politický i sociální reformátor, předchůdce liberálního katolicismu a křesťanské demokracie. 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