Pierre Guérin de Tencin
Encyclopedia
Pierre-Paul Guérin de Tencin (Grenoble
, 22 August 1679 - 2 March 1758), French
ecclesiastic, was archbishop of Embrun and Lyon, and a cardinal
. His sister Claudine
was a spur to his career.
After studying with the Oratorians in his native Grenoble, he entered the Sorbonne
, where he became prior in 1702, and obtained the doctorate in 1705. He was then appointed Vicar-General of the diocese of Sens and, in 1721, accompanied Cardinal de Rohan to Rome as his conclavist
, to support the candidacy of Cardinal Conti (Innocent XIII), from whom he had obtained a promise to bestow the purple on the French minister Guillaume Dubois
. He remained at Rome as French chargé d'affaires, with the appointment in commendam
of abbot of Trois-Fontaines to support him (1739–1753), until Benedict XIII
, with whom he was on cordial terms of intimacy and very influential, consecrated him Archbishop of Embrun (26 June 1724).
On 22 February 1739, Guérin de Tencin was created cardinal, of the titulus of Sts. Nereus and Achilleus. He remained at Rome as French ambassador until 1742, when he took possession of the archiepiscopal see of Lyon, to which he had succeeded on 19 November 1740. Louis XV
appointed him minister of state in September 1742, though he held no portfolio, and Commander of the Order of Saint-Esprit
.
He was overzealous in the persecution of the Jansenists, and, at the provincial synod which he held at Embrun from 16 August to 28 September 1727, he suspended Jean Soanen
, Bishop of Senez, a prelate eighty years of age, who had appealed against the Bull Unigenitus
.
After the death of André-Hercule Cardinal de Fleury
, the prime minister to whom he owed much of his political advancement, his influence began to decrease. The death of his profligate sister in 1749, removed some of his political ambition, and in 1752 he retired to his see of Lyons.
Grenoble
Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...
, 22 August 1679 - 2 March 1758), French
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...
ecclesiastic, was archbishop of Embrun and Lyon, and a cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
. His sister Claudine
Claudine Guérin de Tencin
Claudine Alexandrine Guérin de Tencin was a French salonist and author. She was the mother of Jean le Rond d'Alembert, philosophe and contributor to the Encyclopédie.- Early life :...
was a spur to his career.
After studying with the Oratorians in his native Grenoble, he entered the Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
, where he became prior in 1702, and obtained the doctorate in 1705. He was then appointed Vicar-General of the diocese of Sens and, in 1721, accompanied Cardinal de Rohan to Rome as his conclavist
Conclavist
A conclavist was a personal aide of a cardinal present in a papal conclave. The term is sometimes used to refer to all present with a conclave, including the cardinal-electors, but is more properly applied only to the non-cardinals...
, to support the candidacy of Cardinal Conti (Innocent XIII), from whom he had obtained a promise to bestow the purple on the French minister Guillaume Dubois
Guillaume Dubois
Guillaume Dubois was a French cardinal and statesman.-Early years:Dubois, the third of the four great Cardinal-Ministers , was born in Brive-la-Gaillarde, in Limousin...
. He remained at Rome as French chargé d'affaires, with the appointment in commendam
In Commendam
In canon law, commendam was a form of transferring an ecclesiastical benefice in trust to the custody of a patron...
of abbot of Trois-Fontaines to support him (1739–1753), until Benedict XIII
Pope Benedict XIII
-Footnotes:...
, with whom he was on cordial terms of intimacy and very influential, consecrated him Archbishop of Embrun (26 June 1724).
On 22 February 1739, Guérin de Tencin was created cardinal, of the titulus of Sts. Nereus and Achilleus. He remained at Rome as French ambassador until 1742, when he took possession of the archiepiscopal see of Lyon, to which he had succeeded on 19 November 1740. Louis XV
Louis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
appointed him minister of state in September 1742, though he held no portfolio, and Commander of the Order of Saint-Esprit
Order of the Holy Spirit
The Order of the Holy Spirit, also known as the Order of the Knights of the Holy Spirit, was an Order of Chivalry under the French Monarchy. It should not be confused with the Congregation of the Holy Ghost or with the Order of the Holy Ghost...
.
He was overzealous in the persecution of the Jansenists, and, at the provincial synod which he held at Embrun from 16 August to 28 September 1727, he suspended Jean Soanen
Jean Soanen
Jean Soanen was a French Oratorian and bishop of Senez. He was a convinced Jansenist.In opposition to the papal bull Unigenitus, he with Charles-Joachim Colbert, bishop of Montpellier, Pierre de la Broue who was bishop of Mirepoix, and Pierre de Langle who was bishop of Boulogne, appealed against...
, Bishop of Senez, a prelate eighty years of age, who had appealed against the Bull Unigenitus
Unigenitus
Unigenitus , an apostolic constitution in the form of a papal bull promulgated by Pope Clement XI in 1713, opened the final phase of the Jansenist controversy in France...
.
After the death of André-Hercule Cardinal de Fleury
André-Hercule Cardinal de Fleury
André-Hercule de Fleury, Bishop of Fréjus was a French cardinal who served as the chief minister of Louis XV.-Biography:...
, the prime minister to whom he owed much of his political advancement, his influence began to decrease. The death of his profligate sister in 1749, removed some of his political ambition, and in 1752 he retired to his see of Lyons.