Augustin de Lestrange
Encyclopedia
Augustin de Lestrange (born in 1754, in the Château de Colombier-le-Vieux, Ardèche
, France
; died at Lyon
, 16 July 1827) was a French Trappist
abbot, an exile from France after the French Revolution
.
to France in 1688. He was ordained priest in 1778, and was attached to the parish of Saint-Sulpice
.
In 1780, Jean Georges Le Franc de Pompignan, Archbishop of Vienne, in Dauphiné
, chose him for his vicar-general, with the ulterior determination of having him as his coadjutor with the right of future succession. This prospect of being made bishop alarmed de Lestrange, and in the same year he severed all the ties that bound him to the world, and entered La Trappe Abbey
, a Cistercian monastery.
He was master of the novices in that monastery, when a decree of the National Assembly
dated 4 December 1790 suppressed the religious order
s in France. Dom Augustin with twenty-four religious left for Switzerland, where the Senate of Fribourg
authorized them to take up their residence in La Valsainte, an ancient Carthusian
monastery about fifteen miles from the city of Fribourg. From La Valsainte, Dom Augustin established foundations at Santa Susana
in Aragon
, at Mont Brac in Piedmont
, at Westmalle
, Belgium, and at Lulworth
in England. In 1798 the French troops invaded Switzerland, and the Trappists were obliged to leave the country. Some of them settled at Kenty, near Cracow; others at Zydichin, in the Diocese of Lusko, and in Podolia
. In 1802 Switzerland recalled them, and Dom Augustin took possession once more of La Valsainte.
In the following year he sent a colony to America under Dom Urbain Guillet. In 1804 Dom Augustin founded the monastery of Cervara in the Republic of Genoa
, and Napoleon not only authorized the establishment, but granted it a revenue of 10,000 francs. Moreover he desired that a similar institution be founded on the Alps, at Mont-Genèvre, to serve as a refuge for the soldiers who were to pass to and fro between Italy and France. To secure the success of this establishment he granted it an allowance of 24,000 francs. This protection was not, however, of long duration. The Republic of Genoa was united to the empire, and there, as in all the other states under the sway of Napoleon, an oath of fidelity to the empire was exacted from ecclesiastics and religious. The religious of Cervara, acting on the advice of some eminent personages, and of some influential members of the clergy who assured them that the pope had allowed the oath, took the oath of fidelity.
Dom Augustin, who had received from Pope Pius VII
, then prisoner at Savona
, knowledge of the Bull of excommunication issued against the spoliator of the Papal States
, commanded the Prior of Cervara to make immediate retractation. The emperor became furious. He caused Dom Augustin to be arrested at Bordeaux and thrown into prison. At the same time, by a sweeping decree of 28 July, he suppressed all the Trappist monasteries throughout the empire. The prefect of Bordeaux, upon the entreaties of several of Dom Augustin's friends, gave him the limits of the city for his prison. The abbot availed himself of the liberty thus accorded him to hasten the departure of his religious for America; he himself obtained from the police permission to go to La Valsainte and Mont-Genèvre, where his presence was required. Pursued again by the emperor, he crossed Germany and arrived at Riga
, whence he left for England and America.
Dom Augustin arrived in New York in December 1813. The Jesuits had just abandoned a building which they had in that city, and which they had used for a classical school. The edifice occupied the place where now stands St. Patrick's Cathedral
on Fifth Avenue. Dom Augustin purchased the site for the sum of $10,000, and in 1814, on the downfall of Napoleon, returned to France and took possession once more of his former monastery of La Trappe.
He was accused of imposing extraordinary hardships on his religious; he was reproached with his frequent voyages and long absences. The Bishop of Séez, in whose diocese is the monastery of La Trappe, took the part of the detractors, and claimed over the monastery the authority of "direct superior". Dom Augustin, to put an end to these disputes with his bishop, abandoned La Trappe, and sought refuge at Bellefontaine
, in the Diocese of Angers. The complaints were carried to Rome and submitted to the Sacred Congregation of Bishops and Regulars.
Dom Augustin was summoned to Rome. He returned justified, and loaded with favours by the pope. His remains repose in the monastery of La Trappe in the Diocese of Séez alongside those of the Abbé de Rancé.
Ardèche
Ardèche is a department in south-central France named after the Ardèche River.- History :The area has been inhabited by humans at least since the Upper Paleolithic, as attested by the famous cave paintings at Chauvet Pont d'Arc. The plateau of the Ardeche River has extensive standing stones ,...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
; died at Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
, 16 July 1827) was a French Trappist
TRAPPIST
TRAPPIST is Belgian robotic telescope in Chile which came online in 2010, and is an acronym for TRAnsiting Planets and PlanetesImals Small Telescope, so named in homage to Trappist beer produced in the Belgian region. Situated high in the Chilean mountains at La Silla Observatory, it is actually...
abbot, an exile from France after the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
.
Life
He was the fourteenth child of Louis-César de Lestrange, officer in the household of Louis XV, and Jeanne-Perrette de Lalor, daughter of an Irish gentleman who had followed James II of EnglandJames II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
to France in 1688. He was ordained priest in 1778, and was attached to the parish of Saint-Sulpice
Saint-Sulpice
-People:*Sulpicius Severus, known as Saint Sulpice , who wrote the earliest biography of Saint Martin of Tours.*Sulpitius the Pious, known as Saint Sulpice, who died around 646 AD...
.
In 1780, Jean Georges Le Franc de Pompignan, Archbishop of Vienne, in Dauphiné
Dauphiné
The Dauphiné or Dauphiné Viennois is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of :Isère, :Drôme, and :Hautes-Alpes....
, chose him for his vicar-general, with the ulterior determination of having him as his coadjutor with the right of future succession. This prospect of being made bishop alarmed de Lestrange, and in the same year he severed all the ties that bound him to the world, and entered La Trappe Abbey
La Trappe Abbey
La Trappe Abbey or La Grande Trappe is a monastery in Soligny-la-Trappe, Orne, France, and the house of origin of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance , Reformed Cistercians or Trappists, to whom it gave its name.-History:The site of the famous La Trappe Abbey was for centuries...
, a Cistercian monastery.
He was master of the novices in that monastery, when a decree of the National Assembly
National Assembly (French Revolution)
During the French Revolution, the National Assembly , which existed from June 17 to July 9, 1789, was a transitional body between the Estates-General and the National Constituent Assembly.-Background:...
dated 4 December 1790 suppressed the religious order
Religious order
A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practice. The order is composed of initiates and, in some...
s in France. Dom Augustin with twenty-four religious left for Switzerland, where the Senate of Fribourg
Fribourg
Fribourg is the capital of the Swiss canton of Fribourg and the district of Sarine. It is located on both sides of the river Saane/Sarine, on the Swiss plateau, and is an important economic, administrative and educational center on the cultural border between German and French Switzerland...
authorized them to take up their residence in La Valsainte, an ancient Carthusian
Carthusian
The Carthusian Order, also called the Order of St. Bruno, is a Roman Catholic religious order of enclosed monastics. The order was founded by Saint Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns...
monastery about fifteen miles from the city of Fribourg. From La Valsainte, Dom Augustin established foundations at Santa Susana
Santa Susana
Santa Susana may refer to Saint Susanna, martyred in 295.Santa Susana may also refer to several places:*Santa Susana, California, a census-designated place in Ventura County*Santa Susana Mountains in southern California...
in Aragon
Aragon
Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...
, at Mont Brac in Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
, at Westmalle
Westmalle Abbey
The Trappist Abbey of Westmalle or Abdij van Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van het Heilig Hart , which belongs to the Cistercians of Strict Observance, is located in Westmalle , in the Campine region of the province of Antwerp .The abbey was founded in 1794, but the community was not elevated to the rank of...
, Belgium, and at Lulworth
Lulworth
Lulworth is the popular name for an area on the coast of Dorset, South West England notable for its castle and cove. However there is no actual place or feature called simply "Lulworth", the villages are East and West Lulworth and the coastal feature is Lulworth Cove.See:*East Lulworth *Lulworth...
in England. In 1798 the French troops invaded Switzerland, and the Trappists were obliged to leave the country. Some of them settled at Kenty, near Cracow; others at Zydichin, in the Diocese of Lusko, and in Podolia
Podolia
The region of Podolia is an historical region in the west-central and south-west portions of present-day Ukraine, corresponding to Khmelnytskyi Oblast and Vinnytsia Oblast. Northern Transnistria, in Moldova, is also a part of Podolia...
. In 1802 Switzerland recalled them, and Dom Augustin took possession once more of La Valsainte.
In the following year he sent a colony to America under Dom Urbain Guillet. In 1804 Dom Augustin founded the monastery of Cervara in the Republic of Genoa
Republic of Genoa
The Most Serene Republic of Genoa |Ligurian]]: Repúbrica de Zêna) was an independent state from 1005 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast, as well as Corsica from 1347 to 1768, and numerous other territories throughout the Mediterranean....
, and Napoleon not only authorized the establishment, but granted it a revenue of 10,000 francs. Moreover he desired that a similar institution be founded on the Alps, at Mont-Genèvre, to serve as a refuge for the soldiers who were to pass to and fro between Italy and France. To secure the success of this establishment he granted it an allowance of 24,000 francs. This protection was not, however, of long duration. The Republic of Genoa was united to the empire, and there, as in all the other states under the sway of Napoleon, an oath of fidelity to the empire was exacted from ecclesiastics and religious. The religious of Cervara, acting on the advice of some eminent personages, and of some influential members of the clergy who assured them that the pope had allowed the oath, took the oath of fidelity.
Dom Augustin, who had received from Pope Pius VII
Pope Pius VII
Pope Pius VII , born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti, was a monk, theologian and bishop, who reigned as Pope from 14 March 1800 to 20 August 1823.-Early life:...
, then prisoner at Savona
Savona
Savona is a seaport and comune in the northern Italian region of Liguria, capital of the Province of Savona, in the Riviera di Ponente on the Mediterranean Sea....
, knowledge of the Bull of excommunication issued against the spoliator of the Papal States
Papal States
The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...
, commanded the Prior of Cervara to make immediate retractation. The emperor became furious. He caused Dom Augustin to be arrested at Bordeaux and thrown into prison. At the same time, by a sweeping decree of 28 July, he suppressed all the Trappist monasteries throughout the empire. The prefect of Bordeaux, upon the entreaties of several of Dom Augustin's friends, gave him the limits of the city for his prison. The abbot availed himself of the liberty thus accorded him to hasten the departure of his religious for America; he himself obtained from the police permission to go to La Valsainte and Mont-Genèvre, where his presence was required. Pursued again by the emperor, he crossed Germany and arrived at Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
, whence he left for England and America.
Dom Augustin arrived in New York in December 1813. The Jesuits had just abandoned a building which they had in that city, and which they had used for a classical school. The edifice occupied the place where now stands St. Patrick's Cathedral
St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York
The Cathedral of St. Patrick is a decorated Neo-Gothic-style Roman Catholic cathedral church in the United States...
on Fifth Avenue. Dom Augustin purchased the site for the sum of $10,000, and in 1814, on the downfall of Napoleon, returned to France and took possession once more of his former monastery of La Trappe.
He was accused of imposing extraordinary hardships on his religious; he was reproached with his frequent voyages and long absences. The Bishop of Séez, in whose diocese is the monastery of La Trappe, took the part of the detractors, and claimed over the monastery the authority of "direct superior". Dom Augustin, to put an end to these disputes with his bishop, abandoned La Trappe, and sought refuge at Bellefontaine
Bellefontaine
Bellefontaine is the name of several places throughout the world. The name is French for "beautiful fountain".-Communes:Bellefontaine is the name of several communes of France:* Bellefontaine, in the Jura département...
, in the Diocese of Angers. The complaints were carried to Rome and submitted to the Sacred Congregation of Bishops and Regulars.
Dom Augustin was summoned to Rome. He returned justified, and loaded with favours by the pope. His remains repose in the monastery of La Trappe in the Diocese of Séez alongside those of the Abbé de Rancé.