Amette, Léon Adolphe
AMETTE, LÉON ADOLPHE
Cardinal, archbishop of Paris; b. Douville (Eure), Sept. 6, 1850; d. Antony (Seine), Aug. 29, 1920. Born in very modest circumstances, he studied at the seminary of Saint-Sulpice in Paris, was ordained (1873), and became a private secretary to Bishop Grolleau of Evreux (1873) and then vicar-general under a succession of bishops (1889–98). He became bishop of Bayeux (1898); coadjutor to Cardinal richard de la vergne of Paris (Feb. 21, 1906), whom he succeeded (Jan. 28, 1908); and cardinal (Nov. 27, 1911). In both sees he had to confront the results of the law separating Church and State (1905) but he adopted a peaceful attitude toward the civil power in order to prepare a reconciliation. During World War I he was a promoter of the Union sacrée and frequently served as intermediary between the French government and the Holy See. In his archdiocese he erected 16 new parish churches and 29 chapels and gave a great impetus to diocesan works. Amette was very pious, a Dominican tertiary, and a talented orator. He published a number of his pastoral letters and sermons as well as several short tracts on varied religious topics and current problems.
Bibliography: c. cordonnier, Le Cardinal Amette, archevêque de Paris, 2 v. (Paris 1949). j. rupp, Histoire de l'Église de Paris (Paris 1948) 303–311. h. chomon, Dictionnaire de biographie française (Paris 1929—) 2:637–640.
[r. limouzin–lamothe]