Contributors: Françoise Delannoy, Jean-Paul Saugeron, and Father Charles Honoré, with the help of Bénédicte Delelis. Publisher: Romain Lizé Editor: Gabrielle Charaudeau Layout: Diane Danis Iconography: Isabelle Mascaras English translation: Laura R. Yanikoski Proofreading: Arnaud Gancel, Samuel Wigutow, and Lou Trullard Production: Thierry Dubus and Juliette Darrière Biblical texts (Part II) are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All rights reserved. ©Magnificat SAS, 2024, for the entire work. 57, rue Gaston Tessier, 75019 Paris All rights reserved for all countries. www.magnificat.com Legal deposit: May 2024 English edition: 24L0674 ISBN: 978-1-63967-093-2 The Inspirational Life of Monseigneur de Miollis Discover the French bishop who inspired Victor Hugo in writing Les Misérables Our warmest thanks go to Jean-Philippe Nault, bishop of Digne from 2015 to 2022, who, through the association Monseigneur de Miollis, évêque de Digne, supported this writing project, as well as to the authors, all members of the association: Françoise Delannoy, Jean-Paul Saugeron, and Father Charles Honoré, with the assistance of Bénédicte Delelis; and, finally, to Alix Montagne and Romain Lizé, who contributed to the ultimate realization of this little work. We would like to extend our gratitude to Mr. Henri de Lander, who kindly provided us with documents and a bibliography concerning Monseigneur de Miollis and his family, and to Anne-Marie Saugeron, who helped with the layout and the careful proofreading of these pages in their original French.
5 When I was appointed Bishop of Digne on October 15, 2022, I knew nothing about Monseigneur de Miollis, but he came to meet me, discreetly and without my noticing... To get to my new diocese, I set off on foot from my titular cathedral in Carpentras. I would later learn that Monseigneur de Miollis had been ordained a priest in Carpentras. On arriving in Digne, I received by mail the papal bull in which Pope Francis appointed me bishop of Digne, Riez, and Sisteron. In this official document, he mentioned one of my predecessors, memorialized by a great French writer, and invited me to draw inspiration from him... but without naming him! I then thought of a holy bishop from Digne. The pope couldn’t give me as an example a bishop who hadn’t yet been beatified... But he did! I learned that Pope Francis was taking about Monseigneur de Miollis, Bishop of Digne in the middle of the 19th century. He had inspired the character of Monseigneur Myriel in Victor Hugo’s exceptional work Les Misérables. It was then that I realized that I’d been led by the nose, or rather by the tips of my walking shoes, and that Bishop de Miollis had been prefAce prefAce .............................................................................................................................................. 5 foreword ....................................................................................................................................... 8 introduction ............................................................................................................................. 10 1. A FAMILY IN PROVENCE BEFORE THE REVOLUTION ................................ 13 2. PRIEST AT THE HOUR OF REVOLUTION ............................................................. 21 3. MONSEIGNEUR DE MIOLLIS, BISHOP OF DIGNE ......................................... 31 4. A MISSIONARY BISHOP .................................................................................................39 5. A BISHOP FOR THE POOR ............................................................................................ 51 6. A (RE)FOUNDING BISHOP .............................................................................................59 7. THE LAST YEARS OF A TIRELESS MISSIONARY ..............................................67 8. MONSEIGNEUR DE MIOLLIS AND THE SPIRIT OF CHILDHOOD .......73 9. MONSEIGNEUR DE MIOLLIS AND VICTOR HUGO ...................................... 81 chronology ................................................................................................................................92 tAbleof contents
7 He would be the first to be surprised that anyone would be so interested in him as to want him canonized. Because, of course, after taking the time to consult the diocese, and also to pray, I proposed to the French Bishops’ Conference that his beatification process be opened. The assembly approved this project by an overwhelming majority. From now on, we must make him known, or rather, we must ensure that behind the man known worldwide as Monseigneur Myriel from Les Misérables, the face of the man who not only inspired him but surpassed him is revealed. Yes, the man you know as a character from a novel really did exist, and his life will move you. I invite you to ask the Lord to beatify him, using the prayer at the end of this book. The Church needs him, and bishops the world over need this figure, that of a bishop who is above all a pastor, an evangelizer, and a servant of the poorest, following in the footsteps of Jesus. Bishop Gobilliard, Bishop of Digne, Riez, and Sisteron. beckoning me all along. It was a real spiritual shock that has guided my decisions and inspired my actions ever since. From then on, Monseigneur de Miollis became like a big brother, accompanying me with his kindness, his pastoral intelligence, and his extraordinary modernity. I decided to travel the diocese, not on foot or by mule like him, but simply by car. During the first year of my ministry, I was on a permanent pastoral visit, crisscrossing the five deaneries of the diocese, taking my time. Two months per deanery, staying on site if need be, to go, like Monseigneur de Miollis, to meet the people, quite simply, the poor above all, the dependent elderly in particular, all who bring the diocese and the region to life. What a joy! It’s the bishop’s main mission, and it gives me deep joy. I’ve made it my motto: That my joy may be in you (Jn 15:11). A century and a half ahead of us, Charles Bienvenu de Miollis put into practice what Pope Francis expects of a bishop. He was profoundly free—from political power, from what people would say, from the image people had of a bishop in those days. His priority was to proclaim Jesus Christ with simplicity. A man of faith, he belonged to the category mentioned by the pope in his document on holiness, Gaudete et Exultate: he was one of those saints “next door,” those many discreet saints who have not (yet!) been canonized and, in many cases, never will be. Humble and gentle, he passed unnoticed, but left a deep imprint in everyone’s heart, that of Christ, before whom he loved to disappear.
9 age. He lived in a world where everything had to be rebuilt, and somehow he found the means to give everyone real hope. This man of great interiority was also a man of action capable of making remarkable decisions. He did whatever it took to help each person find meaning in their lives, thanks to Christ. Evangelization was the real focus of his life: proclaiming the Gospel, catechizing, nurturing through the sacraments. His concern was not only for people’s spiritual lives, but also for their integral human formation. This is evinced by the numerous programs he created or inspired, the encounters he had with people everywhere, even in the smallest hamlets of the diocese, and his closeness to all thanks to his evangelical simplicity and great availability. Always on the move, right up to the end of his life, with old methods constantly being renewed, he was forever seeking new ways to ensure that the Gospel would be proclaimed, Christ known, and hope given back to all. He was aware of the urgency of the mission “to the peripheries” of which Pope Francis is constantly reminding us. Let us discover this admirable man and holy bishop, and continue today what he began yesterday. Father Charles Honoré, Postulator for the cause of beatification of Bishop de Miollis One can’t help admiring the life of French Bishop Monseigneur de Miollis. What simplicity, what radiance, what strength he inspires! Forty years ago, I arrived as a seminarian in the diocese of Digne. Right from the first meeting, Father Marcel Daumas, my parish priest, told me about Monseigneur de Miollis. I was intrigued and surprised. What could a 19th-century bishop possibly have to offer the world today? What relevance could he possibly have? Intrigued, I started trying to find out what I could about him. Since then, my companionship and even respectful friendship with Monseigneur de Miollis have never stopped growing. I continue to discover this extraordinary character, so close to the issues of his time and yet so relevant today. Family was a beacon in his life. The family of his childhood, which formed and educated him, which followed and supported him in his exile, in his episcopal ministry, and even to his final days, and the family which grew up around him in the diocese: as a bishop, he was an attentive and devoted father, close to all, both loving and demanding. His constancy of faith and fidelity to his commitments are remarkable, whether in exile in Rome, in his diocese, or in his old foreword
Portrait of Monseigneur de Miollis 11 This was the tenuous situation in which, for thirty-two years, Monseigneur de Miollis would serve the Lord and the Gospel, becoming by the example of his life a model of piety, faith, and charity. The people of this sunny and mountainous part of France have retained, even to the present day, the memory of this pastor who was loved like a father and venerated like a saint. Throughout this book, we have often kept in front of names the French titles “Abbé,” given to a priest, and “Monseigneur,” given to a bishop as the equivalent of the British “Your Grace” or the American “Your Excellency.” Monseigneur de Miollis arrived in Digne on May 30, 1806 and was installed as bishop on June 1. His predecessor, Bishop Dessolle, had only been in the diocese for a little over two years, long enough to reorganize the diocesan Church after the Revolution, but not long enough to repair the ruins or endear himself to the population. Digne, at this time, was a town of around three thousand inhabitants, partly still enclosed by its original walls, towers, and gates. The road that would eventually become the main thoroughfare, Boulevard Gassendi, was barely under construction, and the trees that would line it had yet to be planted. Streets everywhere were unpaved, and traffic was hampered by the accumulation of manure. There was no municipal slaughterhouse, so pigs were slaughtered in private homes or in the street. The ecclesiastical buildings, then national property, were outdated, dilapidated, and inaccessible to the Church, housing various administrative departments of the state. For many years, the people of the Diocese of Digne had been deprived of spiritual care. With the agreement between Rome and Napoleon signed only five years earlier, the Church was still navigating its reintegration into society. introduction
1. A FAMILY IN PROVENCE BEFORE THE REVOLUTION
15 14 A noble ancestry Charles-François-Melchior-Bienvenu de Miollis (June 19, 1753–June 27, 1843), bishop of Digne from 1806 to 1838, descended from a family whose presence in Provence is attested as early as the 17th century. Provence is a historically rich, sun-bathed region of southeastern France, a former Roman province (Provincia Romana—hence the name “Provence”), west of the Italian border. Settling in Aix-en-Provence at the end of the 17th century, the Miollis family provided generations of respected magistrates— clerks, treasurers, councilors, procurators, auditors—who quickly earned the esteem of all. The future bishop’s father, Joseph-Laurent de Miollis, was granted letters of nobility in 1769 “in recognition of his eminent services.” In 1741 he had married Delphine-Thérèse Boyer de Fontcolombe, herself the granddaughter and daughter of two Aix consuls (civil servants in Aix still bear this old Roman title). It was thus in a dual tradition of hard work and honor that the young Charles-François-Melchior-Bienvenu, more familiarly called Charles-Bienvenu or simply Bienvenu, was raised. A numerous family The union of Joseph-Laurent and Delphine-Thérèse produced sixteen children in twenty years, seven of whom died in infancy. Five sons and four daughters survived, many of whom went on to make important contributions in their chosen fields. Honoré (1743–1809), a high magistrate and jurisconsult specializing in institutions, alerted public opinion to the abuse of foundlings. Balthazar (1749–1827), who entered the army, proved to be a brilliant officer in the Napoleonic Wars in Spain and Italy, becoming adjutant general. The third son and fifth child, Bienvenu (1753–1843), bishop of Digne, is the subject of this book. Gabriel (1758–1830), a talented organizer and administrator, was mayor of Aix before being appointed prefect in Britanny, where he made his home. Sextius (1759–1828), who made his mark in the American War of Independence alongside Rochambeau, went on to become a general and count of the Empire, before becoming governor of Mantua and then Rome, at the time of Pope Pius VII’s abduction in 1809. The four sisters—Thérèse-Delphine (1744–1816), Jeanne-Désirée (1750–1802), Émilie-Félicité Thérèse (1761–1834), and Anne-Magdeleine (1763–1843)—married in the region. Émilie, wife of Louis d’Estienne d’Orves, and “Annette,” wife of Joseph-Augustin de Ribbe, lived in Aix.
17 16 A blessed childhood “The beautiful family of Miollis to which I have the honor of belonging....” Such was the tribute Monseigneur de Miollis paid to his large, happy family, unfailingly united by bonds of mutual affection. The firm tenderness of his mother, whose bedroom was the heart of the home; the benevolent authority of his father, aware of his duties as a role model; and the solidarity of his siblings: such was the environment in which Charles-Bienvenu learned the virtues he would later carry to the highest degree. A rigorous education The children received a rigorous education, emphasizing not only knowledge but also moral conscience, love of God and country, and a strong sense of duty and family. These were the qualities on which they would be able to rely as they traversed the turmoil of the Revolution (1789–1799). From an early age, Bienvenu displayed a firm, even stubborn character. He would be reprimanded for this trait in its extreme form as a sign of pride; but in adulthood, it would prove invaluable in the midst of conflict. The stubborn child would become a model of gentleness. A life of family prayer “If only the French would say to themselves: let us revive the Christian religion in our families: it alone makes man happy.” These words express well the conviction of Monseigneur de Miollis: family is the foundation, the basic cell of society; and the life of faith is the condition of human happiness, including within the family. If the Lord does not build the house, in vain do its builders labor (Ps 127:1). Daily prayer, which marked the future bishop’s life from childhood onward, began as family prayer, led daily by his father. An indestructible bond The extensive correspondence among parents and siblings throughout their lives testifies to the deep affection that united them. The Miollis children had feelings of deep respect and affection for their parents. Illustrating what he meant by love in the family, our bishop echoed the hymn of Saint Paul (1 Cor 13): “We must excuse everything, suffer everything, interpret everything for the good, ignore everything, forget everything, forgive everything.” And in conclusion: “No love, no heaven.” That says it all! In times of trial, the Miollis siblings showed great solidarity. In eloquent illustration of this, it was at his
7. THE LAST YEARS OF A TIRELESS MISSIONARY
69 68 November 8, 1838, left Digne for Aix, taking with him in a humble cart a few old pieces of furniture, in keeping with the desire for radical poverty that had inhabited him all his life. He would not return during his lifetime. Aix, in pious retirement It was at the Hôtel de Ribbe, in the home of his youngest sister Annette, ten years his junior, that Monseigneur de Miollis, this “splendid old man,” spent his last years, surrounded by the children and grandchildren of his siblings and by many visitors, whom he gratified with his teachings. His passion for the poor and his humility never left him, and he felt unworthy of this opulent, refined setting. He regretted not having done better and wished for more infirmities, so that he could unite his sufferings with those of the Good Master who had spent himself for the salvation of the world. Right up to the end, he observed the same rigorous practices of prayer—daily Mass (in his room), reading of the breviary by his secretary—and mortification, softened however by the affection, complicity, and tenderness of those in his house. the weight of yeArs As time went by, Monseigneur de Miollis’ grueling schedule gradually overcame him. His health, although robust, was in decline. What’s more, ominous clouds were gathering on the horizon. The Revolution of 1830 and the fall of the Bourbon monarchy heralded another difficult period for the Church and the clergy. From 1836 onwards, tensions mounted in the diocese as well. Some of the bishop’s collaborators complained of poor diocesan administration and, taking advantage of his advanced age, were becoming rebellious. At the time, bishops had no more right to retire than the rest of the population, and most died in office. Feeling his strength waning, and increasingly concerned for his own salvation, Monseigneur de Miollis asked Pope Gregory XVI to release him from his office. Permission was granted on August 31, 1838. He was then eighty-five years old. fArewell to the dioceseof digne The man who had at one time been bishop of the whole of Provence (six dioceses and one archdiocese) now bid adieu to the much smaller diocese of the Basse-Alpes. He distributed to the poor what little he had left, and on
9. MONSEIGNEUR DE MIOLLIS AND VICTOR HUGO
83 82 the real and the imaginary, we see points of similarity, but also, inevitably, dissimilarities. Monseigneur Bienvenu of Les Misérables Monseigneur Myriel is more familiarly known throughout the work as Monseigneur Bienvenu. Indeed, he is welcomed everywhere as one would receive the morning sun or its evening rays warming the doorstep. The character on paper inherited from his flesh-and-blood model an exquisite, confounding humility mingled with humor: “When he laughed, it was the laugh of a schoolboy,” the narrator relates.2 Madame Magloire [his maid] liked to call him Your Highness. One day, he got up from his armchair and went to his library to fetch a book. The book was on one of the upper shelves. As the bishop was rather short, he couldn’t reach it. “Madame Magloire,” said he, “bring me a chair, will you? My Highness doesn’t extend to this shelf.” 3 When we first meet the diminutive Abbé Myriel, not yet a bishop, he is on a visit to Cardinal Fesch in Paris, where he happens to cross paths with the emperor. 2 Ibid., 11. 3 Ibid. The first character we meet in Victor Hugo’s immense work Les Misérables, who is still so popular today thanks to the musical Les Mis, is “Monseigneur CharlesFrançois-Bienvenu Myriel, bishop of D.” The sunny figure of this superb, white-headed old bishop, striding along the roads of his Provençal diocese, lavishing his words and deeds with inexhaustible, humble kindness, is clearly a portrait of Monseigneur Charles-François-MelchiorBienvenu de Miollis. Both in name and in character, the similarity is so strong that no one was fooled. Victor Hugo was clearly inspired by the bishop of Digne in composing a major character in his great romantic fresco. Victor Hugo (1802–1885) was a contemporary of Monseigneur de Miollis and published Les Misérables in 1862, just under twenty years after the bishop’s death. Although Victor Hugo did not know Monseigneur de Miollis personally, he had an ample source of information in one of the bishop’s brothers, Gabriel de Miollis, formerly his close neighbor in Paris. The poet probably also read the bishop’s funeral oration written by Canon Bondil. The novelist knew well that his character was a work of art and has his narrator give this disclaimer: “We are not saying that the portrait of the man we offer here is accurate; we will restrict ourselves to the claim that it is a passing likeness.” 1 If we look closely at the two characters, 1 Victor Hugo, Les Misérables, trans. Julie Rose (London: Vintage Books, 2008), 9.
Chronology Year Monseigneur de Miollis Political and religious history 1753 Birth in Aix-en-Provence (June 19) Reign of Louis XV (1715–1774) Reign of Louis XVI (1774–1793) French Revolution (1789–1799) 1776 Aix-en-Provence seminary, doctorate in theology 1777 Ordained in Carpentras (September 20) 1777 – 1791 Vicar in Brignoles Pastor of Ursuline chapel in Aix Country catechist 1790 Treasurer of Aix University (March) Civil Constitution of the Clergy (July) 1791 Refusal to take oath imposed by Civil Constitution (May) Pius VI condemns the Civil Constitution (April) 1792 Escape to Marseilles, then Nice Exile in Italy begins Death of his father (November) Decree of deportation of refractory priests (May) September 2 massacre of priests 1793 Exile in Italy, writing work on classical and Christian art Execution of Louis XVI (January 21) Counterrevolutionary war begins in region of Vendée (March) Reign of Terror begins (September) Law of Suspects mandates legal suspicion of priests (September) Constitutional priests compelled to renounce priesthood (November) 1794 Compiègne Carmelites on the scaffold (July) Year Monseigneur de Miollis Political and religious history 1796 Exile in Italy Napoleon’s troops invade Italy 1798 Looting of Rome (February) Pope Piux VI taken prisoner to Valence 1799 Pius VI dies in exile (August 29) Bonaparte’s coup d’état (November 9) 1800 Pius VII (1800–1823) elected pope at the Venice conclave 1801 Return to Aix (summer) Concordat of 1801 (July 15) 1802 Vicar of Saint-Sauveur cathedral in Aix Formal promulgation of Concordat (Easter) Birth of Victor Hugo 1804 Appointed pastor of Brignoles by Bishop de Cicé Napoleon crowned by Pius VII (December 2) First French Empire (1804–1814) 1805 Appointed bishop of Digne by Napoleon (August) French victory in Battle of Austerlitz (December 2) 1806 Consecration in Paris (April 13) Installation in Digne (June 1) First pastoral visit Embrun seminary 1808 Missions in Sisteron and Embrun French armies again invade Rome (February) Sextius de Miollis appointed governor of Rome and Papal States (until abdication of Napoleon) 1809 Major seminary opened in Digne Death of his brother Honoré Annexation of the Papal States by France 1810 Mission in Riez Purchase of church in Laus Pius VII deported to Savona Rome declared second capital of the Empire 1811 Famine in Digne Attendance at Council of Paris Council of Paris (June 17, 1811)
Year Monseigneur de Miollis Political and religious history 1812 Pius VII transferred to Fontainebleau Napoleon’s disastrous Russian campaign 1814 Return of Pius VII to Rome Napoleon’s first abdication (April 6) Restoration of King Louis XVIII (1814–1824) 1815 Opening of seminary-college in Forcalquier “The Hundred Days” Battle of Waterloo (June 18) Napoleon’s second abdication (June 22) 1816 Seminary-college entrusted to Jesuits Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) founded 1818 OMI installed at Laus 1819 Mission in Manosque 1821 Great Lenten Mission of Digne Saint Jean-Marie Vianney named curé of Ars 1823 Extent of diocese diminished by creation of episcopal see in Gap Pope Leo XII (1823–1829) 1825 Move to renovated bishop’s palace King Charles X (1824–1830) 1826 Mission in Digne for Jubilee year 1828 Smallpox epidemic Death of Gen. Sextius de Miollis Jesuits leave Forcalquier seminary Jesuits banned from minor seminaries in France 1829 Installation of Ursulines in Digne Pope Pius VIII (1829–1830) Year Monseigneur de Miollis Political and religious history 1830 Death of Gabriel de Miollis July Revolution King Louis-Philippe (1830-1848) 1831 Pope Gregory XVI (1831–1846) Victor Hugo’s Notre-Dame de Paris Anticlerical violence in France 1832 Diocesan ordinances Last pastoral visit Encyclical Mirari Vos condemning Mennaisian liberalism 1833 Investigation of Monseigneur de Miollis dismissed by Minister of Ecclesiastical Affairs F. Ozanam founds the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul 1835 Cholera epidemic in Basses-Alpes 1836 Sisters of Holy Infancy established in Manosque (novitiate in Digne, 1838) 1837 Saint Eugène de Mazenod named bishop of Marseille Dom Guéranger restored Benedictine life at Solesmes 1838 Resignation of Monseigneur de Miollis accepted by Gregory XVI (August 31) Departure for Aix (November 8) 1843 Death in Aix-en-Provence (June 27) Burial at Saint-Jérôme cathedral in Digne (July 7) Publication of Abbé Bondil’s Discours sur la vie et les vertus de Mgr Miollis 1862 Publication of Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
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