Brisacier, Jacques Charles de
BRISACIER, JACQUES CHARLES DE
Director of the seminary of the paris foreign mis sion society; b. Blois, France, Oct. 18, 1642; d. Paris, March 23, 1736. He came of an illustrious family. After his ordination he became commendatory abbot of Saint-Pierre de Neuvilliers and chaplain to Queen Marie Thérèse. Entering the seminary of the Paris Foreign Mission Society c. 1670, he was superior there almost continuously from 1681 to 1736. He built the church of the society in 1683, and the seminary buildings in 1732. The regulations of 1700 for the society were modified in 1716 to give the seminary a separate organization. While Brisacier was superior, 49 missionaries were sent to the Far East. He entered the controversy over the chinese rites, taking a stand with the Dominicans and Franciscans against the Jesuits and the Sorbonne. Through Mme. de Maintenon, whom he counseled regarding regulations for her college of Saint-Cyr, he became involved in the dispute over quietism. He was esteemed by his contemporaries for his intelligence, piety, and skill in spiritual guidance.
Bibliography: a. launay, Mémorial de la Société des missionsétrangères 1658–1913 2 v. (Paris 1912–16) 2:95–98. h. sy, Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques 10:758–759. m. prevost, Dictionnaire de biographie française 7:349–350. r. chalumeau, Catholicisme 2:275–276.
[h. prouvost]