Gabriel Bouvery was a French bishop of Angers, successor to Jean V Olivier who died 12 April 1540.

Nomination and episcopacy

François I of France intervened with the chapter of Angers Cathedral, imposing the nomination of Bouvery. The king had taken the 1534 Affair of the Placards

Affair of the placards

The Affair of the Placards was an incident in which anti-Catholic posters appeared in public places in Paris and in four major provincial cities: Blois, Rouen, Tours and Orléans, overnight during 17 October 1534. One was actually posted on the bedchamber door of King Francis I at Amboise, an...

 badly, as far as his attitude to toleration of Protestants went. Bouvery was the nephew of Guillaume Poyet

Guillaume Poyet

Guillaume Poyet was a French magistrate born in Angers. After practising successfully as a barrister at Angers and Paris, he was instructed by Louise of Savoy, mother of the king Francis I, to uphold her rights against the constable de Bourbon in 1521. This was the beginning of his fortunes...

, a courtier close to the king and son of Pierre Poyet who had been mayor of Angers

Angers

Angers is the main city in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France about south-west of Paris. Angers is located in the French region known by its pre-revolutionary, provincial name, Anjou, and its inhabitants are called Angevins....

. It was a political appointment aimed at royal control in the Catholic Church, in a successor to the late Jean V Olivier.

In 1553 Bouvert consecrated the new church of Notre-Dame-des-Ardilliers in Saumur

Saumur

Saumur is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France.The historic town is located between the Loire and Thouet rivers, and is surrounded by the vineyards of Saumur itself, Chinon, Bourgueil, Coteaux du Layon, etc...

, founded by Olivier. He worked to implement the decisions of the Council of Trent

Council of Trent

The Council of Trent was the 16th-century Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. It is considered to be one of the Church's most important councils. It convened in Trent between December 13, 1545, and December 4, 1563 in twenty-five sessions for three periods...

, which he attended. Through his uncle, Bouvery became patron of Guillaume Postel

Guillaume Postel

Guillaume Postel was a French linguist, astronomer, Cabbalist, diplomat, professor, and religious universalist.Born in the village of Barenton in Basse-Normandie, Postel made his way to Paris to further his education...

; he was patron also of Jean Bodin

Jean Bodin

Jean Bodin was a French jurist and political philosopher, member of the Parlement of Paris and professor of law in Toulouse. He is best known for his theory of sovereignty; he was also an influential writer on demonology....

.

Role during the Wars of Religion

On the 1560 accession of Charles IX of France

Charles IX of France

Charles IX was King of France, ruling from 1560 until his death. His reign was dominated by the Wars of Religion. He is best known as king at the time of the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre.-Childhood:...

, religious war in France came into the open. Bouvery put in place an Angevin Catholic League, in 1567: it comprised 59 of the nobility, with others including Arthur de Cossé-Brissac, the bishop of Coutances. The diocese was spared the worst of the violence. Fighting continued to the Peace of Longjumeau

Peace of Longjumeau

The Peace of Longjumeau was signed on March 23, 1568 by Charles IX of France and Catherine de' Medici. This accord officially ended the second phase of the French Wars of Religion. Overall, the treaty confirmed the Edict of Amboise, which granted significant religious privileges and freedoms to...

 (1568) and Peace of Saint-Germain-en-Laye

Peace of Saint-Germain-en-Laye

The Peace of Saint-Germain-en-Laye was a treaty signed August 5, 1570 at the royal Château of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, ending the third of the French Wars of Religion....

 (1570). Bouvery died on 10 February 1572. He was succeeded by Guillaume Ruzé, bishop of Saint-Malo. Fresh violence in 1572 followed shortly on the St Bartholomew's Day massacre of August; the governor Puygaillard of Anjou

Anjou

Anjou is a former county , duchy and province centred on the city of Angers in the lower Loire Valley of western France. It corresponds largely to the present-day département of Maine-et-Loire...

 was then in Paris, but entrusted plans to attack Protestants in Saumur and Angers to Jean de Chambes, baron of Montsoreau

Montsoreau

Montsoreau is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France.The Château de Montsoreau is located in the commune.-See also:*Communes of the Maine-et-Loire department...

. De Chambes's violence was rebuked on 14 September by the king.