Alphonse-Louis du Plessis de Richelieu

Alphonse-Louis du Plessis de Richelieu (1582 – 23 March 1653) was a French Carthusian, bishop and Cardinal. He was the elder brother of Armand Cardinal Richelieu, the celebrated minister of Louis XIII.

His Eminence Alphonse-Louis du Plessis de Richelieu O. Cart.
Cardinal, Archbishop of Lyon Primate of the Gauls
Church	Roman Catholic
Archdiocese	Lyon
In office	1628–1653
Predecessor	Charles Miron
Successor	Camille de Neufville de Villeroy
Other post(s)	Cardinal-Priest of Ss. Trinità al Monte Picino (1635–53)
Previous post(s)	Archbishop of Aix (1626–28)
Orders
Consecration	21 June 1626 by Guillaume d'Hugues
Created cardinal	19 November 1629 by Urban VIII
Rank	Cardinal-Priest
Personal details
Born	1582 Paris, Kingdom of France
Died	23 March 1653 (aged 70–71) Lyon, France
Buried	Lyon Cathedral
Parents	François du Plessis Suzanne de La Porte
Alma mater	College of Navarre
Coat of arms

Life

He was born in Paris and was educated at the Collège de Navarre. He refused the position of Bishop of Luçon, practically in the gift of his family. He entered the Carthusian Order in 1602 and made his profession in 1605. He became prior of Bonpas [fr], Caumont-sur-Durance. His harsh censorship drove Renė Descartes out of France.^[1]

His episcopate was arranged by his brother, and he was named Archbishop of Aix in 1626 and then Archbishop of Lyon in 1628. He was created cardinal in 1629.^[2] He was named Grand Almoner of France in 1631 and presided over the funeral of King Louis XIII in June 1644.^[3] He participated in the 1644 papal conclave which elected Pope Innocent X.^[4]

He died on 23 March 1653 in Lyon.

References

1. Jones, Colin (1994). The Cambridge Illustrated History of France (1st ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 158. ISBN 0-521-43294-4.
2. The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church – Consistories of the 17th Century
3. "The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church – Biographical Dictionary – Consistory of November 19, 1629". cardinals.fiu.edu. Retrieved 2023-02-03.
4. "Alphonse-Louis Cardinal du Plessis de Richelieu [Catholic-Hierarchy]". catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2023-02-03.

Bibliography

• Albanès, Joseph Hyacinthe; Louis fillet (1899). Gallia christiana novissima (in French and Latin). Montbeliard: Valentinoise. pp. 136–138, 242–243.
• Charléty, S. (1902). "Lyon sous le ministère de Richelieu". Revue d'histoire moderne et contemporaine (1899–1914), Vol. 3, No. 2 (1901/1902), pp. 121–136; Vol. 3, No. 5 (1901/1902), pp. 493–507. (in French)
• Deloche, Maximin (1935). Un frère de Richelieu inconnu. Paris: Desclée. (in French)
• Fisquet, Honore (1864). La France pontificale: Lyon (in French). Paris: Etienne Repos. pp. 457–463.
• Péricaud, Marc-Antoine (1829). Notice historique sur Alphonse-Louis du Plessis de Richelieu, archevêque de Lyon sous Louis XIII et Louis XIV, suivie d'une Relation de la peste de Lyon en 1638 et 1639. Lyon: Barret, 1829.
• Puré, Michel de (1653). Vita Alphonsi-Ludovici Plessaei Richelii... Cardinalis... Archiepiscopi et comitis Lugdunensis (in Latin). Paris: Antonius Vitré.

External links

• Biography