Jean-Joseph Languet de Gergy


Jean-Joseph Languet de Gergy was a French ecclesiastic and theologian. He was first bishop of Soissons, then a member of the Académie française, and finally archbishop of Sens.

Biography

Son of the public prosecutor of the parlement of Bourgogne, Languet de Gercy was a protégé of Jacques Bénigne Bossuet, who introduced him to Louis XIV and had him named as the chaplain to the princess. At the same time he was the general vicar of the diocese of Autun, which includes the parish of Paray-le-Monial where the saint Marguerite Marie Alacoque is buried. Ordered to investigate the miracles that were said to have occurred at her hand, he wrote a biography of Alacoque in 1729. Furthermore, he was named bishop of Soissons in 1715, and elected member of l'Académie française in 1721. He was also named archbishop of Sens in 1730 and the Conseil d'État in 1747.
Languet de Gergy's work on the life of Alacoque was violently attacked by the Jansenites opposed to the catholic devotion of the Sacred Heart. Also defender of the papal bull Unigenitus, he meddled in numerous political-religious controversies, and was equally known for both the content of his pamphlets, and their number. He belonged to the parti des dévots opposed to the philosophies of the Age of Enlightenment and fought fiercely against the candidacies of Montesquieu and Voltaire to l'Académie française.
In addition to his treatises and religious pamphlets, Languet de Gergy was the author of books on the Divine Office, catechism, and of pastoral letters.

Publications