VIGOUROUX, FULCRAN GRÉGOIRE

Exegete; b. Nant, France, Feb. 13, 1837; d. Paris, Feb. 21, 1915. After his ordination (Dec. 21, 1861) he entered the Society of Saint-Sulpice. He taught philosophy to seminarians at Autun (1862–64) and Issy (1864–68) before being called to Saint-Sulpice in Paris to begin his life of teaching Scripture. In 1890 he became professor of Scripture at the Institut Catholique of Paris. After the establishment of the pontifical biblical commission in 1902, he was appointed its first secretary. Much of the rest of his life was spent at Rome, where he served in the formulation of the decrees of this Commission that were issued between 1905 and 1912. Shortly after his return to Paris (1913) he was struck with paralysis.

Vigouroux was one of the key figures in the Catholic Scripture revival. His most significant contribution was his editorship of the Dictionnaire de la Bible (1895–1912). Among his other works are: La Bible et les Découvertes modernes en Égypte et en Assyrie (6th ed.1896), Le Nouveau Testament et les Découvertes archéologiques modernes (2d ed. 1896), and Les Livres Saints et la critique rationaliste (5th ed. 1901–02). His Manuel biblique ou cours d'Écriture Sainte a l'usage des séminaires: Ancien Testament, first published in 1879–80, went through numerous editions and translations and became a classic in French seminaries. The bulk of his work was apologetical, largely concerned with defending the Bible's historicity. Conservative in temperament, he was yet open to the new currents in Biblical studies.

Bibliography: e. lÉvesque, "M. Vigouroux et ses écrits," Revue Biblique 12 (1915) 183–216.

[p. f. chirico]