Michel d'Herbigny
Encyclopedia
Michel-Joseph Bourguignon d'Herbigny (8 May 1880 - 24 December 1957) was a French Jesuit scholar and Roman Catholic bishop
. He was president of the Pontifical Oriental Institute
in Rome, and of the Pontifical Commission for Russia. He was secretly consecrated a bishop and was instrumental in a failed attempt to establish a clandestine hierarchy for the Catholic Church in the Soviet Union
during the religious persecutions of the 1920s.
, in northern France. He entered the Jesuit order at the age of seventeen, and studied in Paris, and in Trier in Germany. He was ordained priest on 23 August 1910. In 1911 his thesis on the Russian religious philosopher Vladimir Solovyov
was published as Vladimir Soloviev: A Russian Newman, and was awarded a prize by the Académie Française
. Because of this, he was noticed and investigated by the Sodalitium Pianum
. Having become known as the leading Jesuit Russian scholar, d'Herbigny was assigned to a teaching post in Rome in 1921. He was appointed president of the Pontifical Oriental Institute
in 1922. He was appointed president of the Pontifical Commission for Russia in 1926.
took the decision to attempt the establishment of a provisional hierarchy without the knowledge, still less the approval, of the Soviet government. The Pope's plans were set down in the rescript
Plenitudine Potestatis and the decree Quo aptius, and involved the establishment of Apostolic Administrator
s in metropolitan centres, to replace the diocesan structures that had existed in Tsarist times.
D'Herbigny was selected as the man to lead this attempt, and on 26 March 1926, en route to Moscow under the pretext of an Easter pastoral visit to western European Catholics resident in the Soviet capital, he received episcopal ordination in secret and behind closed doors from Eugenio Pacelli (the future Pope Pius XII
), the Papal Nuncio in Berlin.
In Moscow, d'Herbigny conferred episcopal orders on Pie Eugène Neveu, A.A.
, until then the pastor of the Catholic community in the mining town of Makiivka
in Ukraine
, and installed him as pastor of the church of St. Louis des Français in Moscow, with the clandestine role of Apostolic Administrator
for the Catholic Church in the Moscow region (of the historic archdiocese of Mogilev
). Later in the same tour, d'Herbigny also consecrated Aleksander Frison and Boļeslavs Sloskāns
and appointed them to similar roles, in Odessa
and Mogilev
respectively. He also consecrated Antonio Malecki and appointed him to a similar role in Leningrad
. Further missions to the Soviet Union, and further appointments, followed.
At the end of 1932, d’Herbigny was seriously comprised by the scandal created by Alexander Deubner, Russian priest and nephew of Clara Zetkin
, the famous communist and one of Moscow’s international agents. D'Herbigny had hired him as a translator, and this unbalanced priest was even officially the coauthor of the last book that he had just published. Having left precipitously in November 1932 for Berlin, for reasons that were not very honourable, Deubner was denounced as a Soviet spy.
; an affair with a woman; Russian provocation in revenge for his antics; general failure of his policies and tactics.
In 1937 d'Herbigny was forced to abdicate his episcopal dignities and forbidden to any public activity whatsoever.
of Ilium by Pope Pius XI in 1926. Ilium is Latin for Troy
; D'Herbigny's mission to the USSR has been likened to the story of the Trojan Horse
.
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
. He was president of the Pontifical Oriental Institute
Pontifical Oriental Institute
The Pontifical Oriental Institute is the premier center for the study of Eastern Christianity in Rome, Italy....
in Rome, and of the Pontifical Commission for Russia. He was secretly consecrated a bishop and was instrumental in a failed attempt to establish a clandestine hierarchy for the Catholic Church in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
during the religious persecutions of the 1920s.
Early life
D'Herbigny was born in LilleLille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
, in northern France. He entered the Jesuit order at the age of seventeen, and studied in Paris, and in Trier in Germany. He was ordained priest on 23 August 1910. In 1911 his thesis on the Russian religious philosopher Vladimir Solovyov
Vladimir Solovyov (philosopher)
Vladimir Sergeyevich Solovyov was a Russian philosopher, poet, pamphleteer, literary critic, who played a significant role in the development of Russian philosophy and poetry at the end of the 19th century...
was published as Vladimir Soloviev: A Russian Newman, and was awarded a prize by the Académie Française
Académie française
L'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
. Because of this, he was noticed and investigated by the Sodalitium Pianum
Sodalitium Pianum
Sodalitium Pianum is Latin for "the fellowship of Pius" . It can refer to two different groups.-In Roman Catholicism:...
. Having become known as the leading Jesuit Russian scholar, d'Herbigny was assigned to a teaching post in Rome in 1921. He was appointed president of the Pontifical Oriental Institute
Pontifical Oriental Institute
The Pontifical Oriental Institute is the premier center for the study of Eastern Christianity in Rome, Italy....
in 1922. He was appointed president of the Pontifical Commission for Russia in 1926.
Secret Mission to the USSR
By 1926 the level of religious persecution in the Soviet Union was such that the entire leadership of the Catholic Church in that country had effectively been eliminated by exile or imprisonment. Pope Pius XIPope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI , born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, was Pope from 6 February 1922, and sovereign of Vatican City from its creation as an independent state on 11 February 1929 until his death on 10 February 1939...
took the decision to attempt the establishment of a provisional hierarchy without the knowledge, still less the approval, of the Soviet government. The Pope's plans were set down in the rescript
Papal rescripts
Papal Rescripts are responses of the pope or a Sacred Congregation, in writing, to queries or petitions of individuals. Some rescripts concern the granting of favours; others the administration of justice under canon law, e. g...
Plenitudine Potestatis and the decree Quo aptius, and involved the establishment of Apostolic Administrator
Apostolic Administrator
An apostolic administrator in the Roman Catholic Church is a prelate appointed by the Pope to serve as the ordinary for an apostolic administration...
s in metropolitan centres, to replace the diocesan structures that had existed in Tsarist times.
D'Herbigny was selected as the man to lead this attempt, and on 26 March 1926, en route to Moscow under the pretext of an Easter pastoral visit to western European Catholics resident in the Soviet capital, he received episcopal ordination in secret and behind closed doors from Eugenio Pacelli (the future Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
), the Papal Nuncio in Berlin.
In Moscow, d'Herbigny conferred episcopal orders on Pie Eugène Neveu, A.A.
Assumptionists
The Augustinians of the Assumption constitute a congregation of Catholic religious , founded in Nîmes, southern France, by Fr. Emmanuel d'Alzon in 1845, initially approved by Rome in 1857 and definitively approved in 1864 . The current Rule of Life of the congregation draws its inspiration from...
, until then the pastor of the Catholic community in the mining town of Makiivka
Makiivka
Makiivka, also spelled Makiyivka is an industrial city located in eastern Ukraine within the Donetsk Oblast , from the capital Donetsk. As of the 2001 Ukrainian Census, the city's population is 389,589 inhabitants, of these 178,475 are men and 211,114 are women. It is an important steel...
in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, and installed him as pastor of the church of St. Louis des Français in Moscow, with the clandestine role of Apostolic Administrator
Apostolic Administrator
An apostolic administrator in the Roman Catholic Church is a prelate appointed by the Pope to serve as the ordinary for an apostolic administration...
for the Catholic Church in the Moscow region (of the historic archdiocese of Mogilev
Metropolitan Archdiocese of Mohilev
The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Mohilev was a territorial division of the Roman Catholic Church, covering a significant proportion of the territory of the Russian empire....
). Later in the same tour, d'Herbigny also consecrated Aleksander Frison and Boļeslavs Sloskāns
Boļeslavs Sloskāns
Boļeslavs Sloskāns was a Latvian Roman Catholic bishop. He was born 31 August 1893 near Stirniene and died on 18 April 1981 in Leuven, Belgium....
and appointed them to similar roles, in Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
and Mogilev
Mogilev
Mogilev is a city in eastern Belarus, about 76 km from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and 105 km from the border with Russia's Bryansk Oblast. It has more than 367,788 inhabitants...
respectively. He also consecrated Antonio Malecki and appointed him to a similar role in Leningrad
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
. Further missions to the Soviet Union, and further appointments, followed.
At the end of 1932, d’Herbigny was seriously comprised by the scandal created by Alexander Deubner, Russian priest and nephew of Clara Zetkin
Clara Zetkin
Clara Zetkin was a German Marxist theorist, activist, and fighter for women's rights. In 1910, she organized the first International Women's Day....
, the famous communist and one of Moscow’s international agents. D'Herbigny had hired him as a translator, and this unbalanced priest was even officially the coauthor of the last book that he had just published. Having left precipitously in November 1932 for Berlin, for reasons that were not very honourable, Deubner was denounced as a Soviet spy.
Downfall and Isolation
Within little more than a decade, all those appointed in secret by Bishop d'Herbigny had been imprisoned, exiled or executed, and the Vatican's policy of attempting to organise the church in Russia by means of clandestine appointments was abandoned. D'Herbigny was stripped of his powers and silenced, in circumstances which historians have not been able to clarify. French papal historian Yves Chiron gives a number of possible reasons: an internal settlement of affairs within the Jesuit order; jealousy of his privileged relations with Pius XI on the part of his Polish Jesuit superior general, Wlodimir LedóchowskiWlodimir Ledochowski
Wlodimir Ledóchowski, S.J. was the 26th Superior-General of the Society of Jesus.He was born on the family estate, Sitzenthal, in Loosdorf, near St. Pölten , the son of Count Antoni Halka Ledóchowski...
; an affair with a woman; Russian provocation in revenge for his antics; general failure of his policies and tactics.
In 1937 d'Herbigny was forced to abdicate his episcopal dignities and forbidden to any public activity whatsoever.
Episcopal Title
D'Herbigny was appointed titular bishopTitular bishop
A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.By definition a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop the tradition of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches is that he be ordained for a specific place...
of Ilium by Pope Pius XI in 1926. Ilium is Latin for Troy
Troy
Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...
; D'Herbigny's mission to the USSR has been likened to the story of the Trojan Horse
Trojan Horse
The Trojan Horse is a tale from the Trojan War about the stratagem that allowed the Greeks finally to enter the city of Troy and end the conflict. In the canonical version, after a fruitless 10-year siege, the Greeks constructed a huge wooden horse, and hid a select force of men inside...
.