CLERMONT-TONNERRE, ANNE ANTOINE JULES DE

Cardinal, archbishop of Toulouse; b. Paris, Jan. 1, 1749; d. Toulouse, Feb. 21, 1830. He was born into an illustrious family, studied at the Seminary of Saint-Sulpice, and received a doctorate from the Sorbonne. In 1774 he became vicar-general of the archdiocese of Besançon, and in 1781 bishop of Châlons-sur-Marne. He was elected a deputy to the Estates General (1789). Upon refusing the oath of loyalty to the civil constitution of the clergy, he went into exile (1791) in Belgium and Germany. After the concordat of 1801, he resigned his see and returned to retirement in France. Louis XVIII named him a peer of France (1814). Since his former see was not reestablished, Clermont-Tonnerre was promoted to that of Toulouse (1820), and to the cardinalate (1822). In his diocese he restored discipline, reorganized seminaries, founded a missionary society, published a Ritual, and fought for the restoration of all the Church's rights. Notably he opposed the regulations on minor seminaries (1828). He attended the 1829 conclave in Rome, despite a serious accident on the way there, which led ultimately to his death.

Bibliography: É. franceschini, Dictionnaire de biographie française (Paris 1929–) 8:1515–16. c. laplatte, Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques, ed. a. baudrillart et al. (Paris 1912–) 12:319–322. g. cayre, Histoire des évéques et archevêques de Toulouse (Toulouse 1873). L'Épiscopat français depuis le Concordat jusqu'à la Séparation (1802–1905) (Paris 1907).

[r. limouzin-lamothe]