Henri Marie Gaston De Bonnechose
Henri Marie Gaston De Bonnechose [1]
a French prelate, was born in Paris, May 30, 1800. Being appointed general advocate at the royal court of Besancon, he became intimate with Rohan, archbishop of that city, and about 1830 he went to Strasburg in older to consult Bautain concerning his vocation. Having decided this question, he entered the order, and was shortly after appointed professor of sacred eloquence at the house of advanced studies founded by Rohan at Besancon. He espoused the philosophical opinions of Bautain, concerning which both were obliged to retract. Afterwards he was placed at the head of the community of St. Louis des Franuais at Rome, and next succeeded to the episcopal see of Carcassonne by the royal ordinance of Nov. 18, 1847. Then passing to the presidency of the republic at Narbonne in Oct. 1852, Mgr. de Bonnechose delivered a discourse in the Church of St. Just. He was translated to the see of Evreux in 1854, made archbishop of Rouen in 1858, and cardinal in 1863. He has bee n an ardent supporter of the pope's temporal power, and of the independence of the Church. His fame is extensive as a pulpit orator. He was one of the favorite pupils of M. Bautain, and wrote an introduction to the Philosophie du Christianisme, a work which in epistolary form contained responses to various philosophical and religious questions. The date of his death we have been unable to ascertain. See Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Generale, s.v.
