François de Fitz-James (9 June 1709 – 19 July 1764) was a French-EnglishRoman Catholicbishop andtheologian. As a younger son ofJames FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick, he was a member of the junior branch of theHouse of FitzJames and held the titleDuke of Fitz-James from 1721. He was a rigid adherent of the controversial teachings ofJansenism.
Fitz-James was second son (and third child) ofJames FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick and Anne Bulkeley. His father was the illegitimate son ofJames II of England byArabella Churchill.[1] Fitz-James was born at the exiledStuart court atChâteau de Saint-Germain-en-Laye near Paris. His elder brother, Henri Jacques de Fitz-James, died in 1721, at which point Fitz-James succeeded as 3rd Duke of Fitz-James.
He renounced his family dignities (other than the title of duke) to enter theclergy at the age of eighteen in 1727, and was appointed abbot of theAbbey of Saint-Victor, Paris in 1728. In 1733 he wasordained as a priest and the following year became Doctor of theUniversity of Paris Faculty of Theology. As a theologian, he was a rigid adherent ofJansenism. In 1736 he resigned his status as apeer of France and in 1738 he was made commendatory abbot of theAbbey of Saint-Georges, Boscherville. Fitz-James was appointedBishop of Soissons on 31 December 1738, confirmed as bishop on 4 May 1739 and ordained bishop on 31 May 1739.[2]
In June 1742 he succeeded Henri Oswald de La Tour d'Auvergne as firstalmoner (or chaplain) toLouis XV. It was in this capacity that Fitz-James took theconfession of the king when he fell gravely ill atMetz on 8 April 1744. Fitz-James refused to administerlast rites to the king as long as his mistress,Marie Anne de Mailly-Nesle, was still in the city. Fearing for his life, the king renounced adultery and dismissed de Mailly-Nesle. Bishop Fitz-James also forced the seriously ill king to publicly apologise for his lifestyle. When the king recovered, Fitz-James was criticised by courtiers for taking the premature confession and de Mailly-Nesle demanded that he be banished from court. Fitz-James was saved by de Mailly-Nesle's death in December 1744. A man of strict morals, he later clashed withMadame de Pompadour and on 6 March 1748 the king directed that Fitz-James should be exiled to his diocese.[3]
In Soissons, Bishop Fitz-James had all episcopal buildings, especiallySoissons Cathedral, renovated to a high standard and reorganised the administrative structures, including the establishment of new deaneries. A pastoral letter from 1762, in which Fitz-James called for the suppression of theJesuits, was officially condemned byPope Clement XIII on 13 April 1763 and rejected by many French bishops. Fitz-James died at Soissons in 1764. He was succeeded in his title by his younger brother,Charles de Fitz-James, 4th Duke of Fitz-James. After his death, his works were published under the title,OEuvres Posthumes. A miniature portrait of Fitz-James is in theRoyal Collection.[4]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
| French nobility | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous: Henry James Fitz-James | Duke of Fitz-James 1721–1764 | Next: Charles de Fitz-James |
