Editing Denis Auguste Affre

{{Short description|Catholic Archbishop of Paris killed in June 1848}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
| type = archbishop
| honorific-prefix =[[Servant of God]]
| name = Denis-Auguste Affre
| title = [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Paris|Archbishop of Paris]]
| image = Denys Affre.jpg
| caption = Denis Auguste Affre<br>by [[Auguste-Hyacinthe Debay]]
| province =
| diocese =
| see = [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Paris|Paris]]
| enthroned = 4 June 1840
| ended = 27 June 1848
| predecessor = [[Hyacinthe-Louis de Quélen]]
| successor = [[Marie-Dominique-Auguste Sibour]]
| ordination = 16 May 1818
| ordinated_by = 
| consecration = 6 August 1840
| consecrated_by = [[cardinal (Catholic Church)|Cardinal]] Hugues-Robert-Jean-Charles de la Tour d’Auvergne-Lauraquais
| cardinal = 
| rank = 
| other_post = [[Coadjutor Bishop]] of [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Strasbourg|Strasbourg]] (1839–1840);<br>[[Titular Bishop]] of [[Soli, Cilicia|Pompeiopolis in Cilicia]] (1839–1840); [[Vicar General]] of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Amiens]] and then of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Luçon]] (1823–1833) 
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1793|9|28|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Saint-Rome-de-Tarn]], [[Aveyron]], France
| death_date = {{death date and age|1848|6|27|1793|9|28|mf=y}}
| death_place = [[Paris]], France
| buried = Cathedral of [[Notre-Dame de Paris]], France
| nationality = French
| religion = [[Catholic Church]]
| residence =
| parents = 
| spouse =
| children =
| occupation =
| profession =
| alma_mater = 
| signature =
| coat_of_arms = Blason Famille Affre de Saint Rome.svg
}}

'''Denis-Auguste Affre''' ({{IPA|fr|dəni oɡyst afʁ}}; 27 September 1793{{snd}}27 June 1848) was a French clergyman who served as [[Archbishop of Paris]] from 1840 to 1848. He was killed while trying to negotiate peace during the [[June Days uprising]] of 1848.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=2025 |title=Religion, Politics and Reconciliation in France: The Death of Archbishop Denis-Auguste Affre and the Revolution of 1848 |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/ehr/ceae216 |journal=The English Historical Review}}</ref>

His cause for [[beatification]] has commenced and he is therefore titled a [[Servant of God]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://newsaints.faithweb.com/year/1848.htm|title=1848|publisher=Hagiography Circle|access-date=6 April 2015}}</ref>

==Life==

===Early life and career===
Affre was born at [[Saint-Rome-de-Tarn]], in the department of [[Aveyron]]. At the age of 14, he began to study for the priesthood at the Seminary of [[Saint-Sulpice, Paris]], which was under the direction of his uncle, the [[Abbé]] Denis Boyer, [[Society of Saint-Sulpice|S.S.]] He was an excellent student, and, while still a seminarian, soon became an instructor of [[dogmatic theology]] at the seminary in [[Nantes]].<ref name=Grey>{{harvnb|Grey|1907|p=180}}</ref>

In 1818, he was [[Holy Orders|ordained]] as a [[Catholic priest]]. From 1823 to 1833 he served as the [[Vicar General]], first of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Luçon|Diocese of Luçon]] and then of [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Amiens|Amiens]]. In 1839, he was appointed as [[coadjutor bishop]] of the [[Diocese of Strasbourg]]. This post, however, he never filled, being called on to act as Vicar-Capitular of Paris, conjointly with MM. Auger and Morel, at the death of Archbishop Quélen.<ref name=Grey/>

Affre was elevated to the post of [[Archbishop of Paris]] in 1840. Though opposed to the government of King [[Louis-Philippe I]], he fully accepted the establishment of the [[French Second Republic]] in 1848;<ref name=DP>{{cite web|url=http://www.paris.catholique.fr/645-Denis-Auguste-Affre-1840-1848.html|work=Diocèse de Paris|title=Denis-Auguste Affre (1840-1848)|language=fr}}</ref> nevertheless he took no part in politics, but devoted himself to [[pastoral care]]. He opened new [[parish]]es in the working-class neighborhoods of the city. Among them were Ménilmontant, Plaisance, Petit-Montrouge, Maison-Blanche, Petit-Gentilly, [[Notre-Dame de la Gare]], Billancourt, Gros-Caillou.<ref name=DP/>

Affre was passionate in his determination to improve the study of theology in order to form clergy needed in the challenges which the Catholic Church faced at the time. He also was insistent on education as a human right. He opened a new seminary in Paris, called the [[:fr:Séminaire des Carmes|St. Joseph of the Carmelites Seminary]], on the site of a former Carmelite [[priory]], and a [[school of theology]] at the [[University of Paris|Sorbonne]].

===Death===
Affre's episcopate is chiefly remembered for its tragic close during the [[insurrection of June 1848]].

On 23 June 1848, faced with starvation due to plans by the French government to close the [[National Workshops]] it had recently created in order to provide work to the poor, a large segment of the citizenry began rioting, setting up barricades in the streets of Paris. The crisis led to the government's handing dictatorial powers over the nation to General [[Louis Eugène Cavaignac]], who was determined to use all force necessary to crush the rebellion and ordered the [[National Guard (France)|French National Guard]] into Paris. Seeing the carnage caused among the civilian population by this campaign, [[Frederic Ozanam]], the founder of the [[Society of St. Vincent de Paul]], begged Affre to intervene to stop the bloodshed. The archbishop was led to believe that by his personal involvement peace might be restored between the military and the [[Insurgency|insurgent]]s.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|pp=301–302}}

Accordingly, on 25 June, in spite of the warning of Cavaignac, Affre mounted the barricade at the entrance to the [[Faubourg Saint-Antoine]], bearing a green branch as sign of peace, to address both sides. He had spoken only a few words when an exchange of fire began in which he was struck by a stray bullet.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |year=1930 |title=Affre, Denis Auguste |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia Britannica]] |edition=14|volume=1|page=282 |language=en}}</ref> There have been conflicting claims as to whether the fatal bullet was fired by an insurgent or by the government forces.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}<ref>Fernbach, David (ed.) ''Marx: The First International and After'', p. 230, The Civil War in France</ref> He was taken to his palace, where he died on 27 June.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

On the next day, the [[National Assembly of France]] issued a decree expressing its great sorrow over Affre's death, and the public funeral held on 7 July was one of the most striking public spectacles of the period.<ref name=Grey/> The crowd following his [[cortege]] was estimated to have numbered about 200,000 people.

Affre was buried in the Chapel of Saint-Denis in the Cathedral of [[Notre-Dame de Paris]]. His heart was removed and preserved in the chapel of the Carmelite Seminary, which he had founded.

== Legacy ==
[[File:Anciennes cloches de la cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris le 6 août 2014 - 10.jpg|thumb|Denise David displayed behind Notre-Dame Cathedral. The archbishop's niece Marie Caroline Affre appears in the bell's inscription.]]
The [[pectoral cross]] which he was wearing when he was shot—seen in his portrait—is preserved by the Archdiocese of Paris as a [[relic]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.paris.catholique.fr/651-Croix-pectorale.html|work=Diocèse de Paris|title=Croix pectorale|language=fr}}</ref>

In 1856, the smallest of the four "Benjamines," four new bells made for Notre-Dame, was named [[Bells of Notre-Dame de Paris#19th century bells|Denise David]] in honor of Affre and [[Amédée-David de Pastoret]]. Affre's niece by marriage, Marie Caroline Affre, served as godmother to the bell during the baptism ceremony.

A street in the [[18th arrondissement of Paris]] is named in his honor.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.paris.catholique.fr/-Saint-Bernard-de-la-Chapelle-.html|work=Diocèse de Paris|title=Saint-Bernard de la Chapelle|language=fr}}</ref>

==Writings==
Affre wrote several articles for a newspaper called ''La France chrétienne''. Additionally he published two books to guide in the practical matters of handling Church property: '' Un Traité de l'administration temporelle des paroisses'' (Paris, 1827) and ''Un Traité de la propriété des biens ecclésiastiques'' (Paris, 1837). He also wrote a guide to studying the Christian faith, ''Une Introduction philosophique à l'étude du christianisme'' (Paris, 5th edition, 1846).

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
*{{EB1911|wstitle=Affre, Denis Auguste|volume=1|pages=301-302}} Endnotes
** {{cite book |author=Ricard |year=1893 |title=Les grands eveques de l'eglise de France au XIXe siècle |location=Lille |language=fr}}
** {{cite book |last=Alazard |first=L. |author-link=L. Alazard |date=1905 |title=Denis-Auguste Affre, archeveque de Paris |location=[[Paris]] |language=fr}}
*{{CE1913 |first=Francis William |last=Grey |wstitle=Denis Auguste Affre |volume=1 |page=180}} Endnotes:
**{{cite book |last=Fisquet |first=Honoré |author-link=Honoré Fisquet |title=La France pontificale |location=Paris |year=1867 |volume=I |page=619 |language=fr}}
**{{cite book |last=D'Avenel |first=Georges |title=Les évêques et archevêques de Paris |location=Paris |year=1878 |volume=II |page=264 |language=fr}}
**{{cite book |title=The Biographies of De Riancey |location=Paris |year=1848 |language=fr}}
**{{cite book |title=Cruice |location=Paris |year=1850 |language=fr}}
**{{cite book |title=Castan |year=1864 |language=fr}}

==External links==
{{commons category-inline}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-rel|ca}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Hyacinthe-Louis de Quélen]]}} 
{{s-ttl|title=[[Archbishop of Paris]]|years=1840–1848}} 
{{s-aft|after=[[Marie Dominique Auguste Sibour]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{Archbishops of Paris}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Affre, Denis Auguste}}
[[Category:1793 births]]
[[Category:1848 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Aveyron]]
[[Category:Seminary of Saint-Sulpice (France) alumni]]
[[Category:Archbishops of Paris]]
[[Category:19th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in France]]
[[Category:1848 in France]]
[[Category:Burials at Notre-Dame de Paris]]
[[Category:French Servants of God]]
[[Category:Deaths by firearm in France]]