JANSEN, CORNELIUS OTTO (JANSENIUS)

Flemish theologian noted for having given rise to the Jansenist controversies; b. at Accoi, near Leerdam, in

southern Holland, Nov. 3, 1585; d. at Ypres, May 6,1638. He belonged to a poor but solidly Catholic family; with the assistance of various protectors, it was possible for him to pursue his studies at Culenbourg, Utrecht, and the University of Louvain, where he was an outstanding student. After receiving his bachelor of theology degree in 1609, he went to Paris, for reasons of health, to continue his studies. There he met Jean duvergier de hau ranne (1581–1643), future Abbot of Saint-Cyran, who was also a former student at Louvain. They formed a very close friendship and lived together almost continuously either in Paris or more often on the Duvergier estate at Camps-de-Prats near Bayonne. There they read in common the extensive works of the Fathers of the Church and the schoolmen, but without special attention to the question of grace. In the meantime, while staying at Pays-Bas, Jansen was ordained on Sept. 20, 1614. He received his doctorate in theology in October of 1617 and shortly afterward was named director of the Sainte-Pulchérie Seminary at Louvain and professor of exegesis at the university. There around 1619, in an atmosphere still strongly imbued with the ideas of baius, he began to become interested in the problems of grace. He soon discovered the importance of St. Augustine's ideas, decided to devote himself to their defense, and toward the end of 1621 found a strong ally in the person of Saint-Cyran. He

became associated also with the Franciscan Florent Conry (Conrius), who held views similar to his own. He then decided to undertake the writing of an enormous work in which he would present the ideas of St. Augustine on grace in a systematic and continuous synthesis. After a meeting with Saint-Cyran at Péronne on May 10, 1623, he outlined the project and began to collate the documentation. His university duties, however, interrupted this work. In July of 1624 he went to Spain as a deputy for his colleagues to defend the privileges of the University of Louvain against the Jesuits, who wished to have the right of teaching those working for academic degrees. Jansen was successful at the court of Madrid. He also succeeded in winning the support of the universities of Alcalá and Salamanca. On his return to Louvain in May of 1625, he received warm congratulations from his colleagues and then proceeded to Paris to stay with Saint-Cyran until April of 1626. In May new complications in the affairs of the university obliged him to return to Madrid, where he took advantage of the occasion to circulate again among the Spanish universities and organize the resistance against what he considered the encroachments of the Jesuits. He returned to Louvain in April of 1627. In October of 1628, on the occasion of the reform of the Benedictines of Afflighem, he openly but prudently manifested his Augustinianism in delivering his famous Discours de la réformation de l'homme intérieur. In 1630 he was appointed to the regius chair of Sacred Scripture. In the 145 lessons he gave annually, he commented on the Pentateuch, Proverbs, some other passages from the Old Testament, and on the Gospels. His commentaries, which were published after his death, show a profound concern for literal exegesis, a relative discretion in the use of allegory, and at the same time a very extensive knowledge of patristics. On controversial questions, especially on those concerning grace, he was extremely prudent. In 1635 he distinguished himself in his resistance to the invasion of Louvain by French troops. He subsequently exposed to ridicule the politics of Cardinal Richelieu and his alliances with the Protestants by publishing his Mars gallicus, a heavy and virulent pamphlet that had considerable success and earned him the hatred of the cardinal-statesman. Beginning in 1630, he engaged in polemics against the Protestants and published his Alexipharmacon against the Protestant ministers of Bois-le-Duc. In August of 1635 he was named rector of the University of Louvain, a post in which he proved to be extremely active, particularly in establishing the library and the archives. However, his personal affairs, as well as those of his office, necessitated long sojourns in Brussels. In October of 1635 he was appointed to the See of Ypres, and he was consecrated at Brussels on Oct. 28, 1636. He was a very zealous bishop and a competent administrator, succeeding even in maintaining good relations with the Jesuits despite his previous hostility. Amidst these duties he did not forget his great work, which he had begun to write toward the end of 1627 and which he entitled simply augustinus to emphasize his fidelity to the Doctor of Grace. Despite several interruptions, the work was sufficiently advanced at the beginning of Jansen's episcopate for him to think of having it printed under his supervision in his own palace. For some time already he had foreseen the controversies that it would engender, and he had sought supporters especially among the French and Belgian Oratorians and the Dominicans. Aided by his chaplain, Reginald Lamée, he terminated the retouching of the text in April of 1638. A few days later, a victim of the plague, he died quietly, leaving the remembrance of a pious and austere priest deeply attached to the Church, an indefatigable worker with a penetrating intelligence and a tenacious and somewhat cold character, but endowed with a highly professional sense of duty.

See Also: jansenism.

Bibliography: j. carreyre, Dictionnaire de théologie catholique, 15 v. (Paris 1903–50) 8.1:319–330. l. willaert, Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, 10 v. (Freiburg 1957–65) 5:869–870. j. orcibal, Correspondance de Jansénius, v. 1 of Les Origines du jansénisme (Paris 1947); Jansénius (Paris 1989).

[l. j. cognet]