The French seventeenth century, just like the Spanish sixteenth century, marks a high point—an age of gold. There is a concentration of spiritual authors and schools of spirituality that still exert influence today. Over the course of the seventeenth century, the development of spirituality follows an evolutionary curve across three distinct periods.
The French seventeenth century, like the Spanish sixteenth century, represents a summit—an age of gold in the history of Christian spirituality. We find a great number of spiritual masters, several of whom continue to influence contemporary thought. This is what led Henri Brémond to say that Christian spirituality is unconsciously Salesian; and we might add, in the same vein, that it is also Bérullian in many respects.
In seventeenth-century France, spirituality first enters a phase of flourishing from 1598 to 1629. This period of spiritual and pastoral creativity follows a time marked by the Wars of Religion and the Catholic League (1587–1596), which were brought to an end by Henri IV through the Edict of Nantes in 1598. This first phase lasts until the death of Bérulle in 1629, during the reign of Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu.
Thereafter, Catholic renewal blossoms and takes root more broadly between 1629 and 1660: new foundations emerge, seminaries are established—by St Vincent de Paul in 1642, by Monsieur Olier in 1642, and by St John Eudes in 1643, among others. This period spans the end of Louis XIII’s reign and the regency of Anne of Austria.
After 1660, the creative momentum increasingly slows, and a period of disputes begins, culminating in the decline of spirituality and the retreat of mysticism—a phase aptly named by Fr Cognet as “the twilight of the mystics.” Catholic spirituality begins to lose ground. Burdened by Jansenism and the Fénelon–Bossuet controversy, spirituality becomes confined to repetition and a spirit of factionalism. Within the French School, disciples increasingly codify foundational inspirations, thereby narrowing them. This rather stiff image is what many modern observers retain of the French seventeenth-century masters.
The Catholic Renewal in France
Historical Background
a) Wars of Religion or Civil War, 1563–1593
This period bears some resemblance to the current situation in Northern Ireland. It ends with the conversion of King Henri IV. These were fratricidal conflicts—family against family. It was a harsh era, exemplified by the massacre of Huguenot Protestants on the night of St Bartholomew, 24 August 1572.
The atmosphere was tense, with widespread physical and economic hardship. The country lay in ruins, and famines were rife. These religious wars also had a political dimension.
b) The Catholic League, 1587–1596
This movement was led by nobles and lords who banded together in an attempt to wrest authority from the king. It fell to Mazarin and Richelieu to restore royal authority. Louis XIV would later proclaim: “L’État, c’est moi” (“I am the state”). His goal: one king, one law, one faith.
c) The Edict of Nantes, 1598
This edict granted civil rights to Protestants in France. Certain fortified towns were ceded to them so they could live in peace. Toward the end of his reign, in 1685, Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes, which had originally been promulgated by Henri IV in 1598. The Huguenots were thus made outlaws. This marks the rise of royal absolutism in France.
d) Galileo Galilei, 1564–1642
e) Assassination of Henri IV, 1610
Louis XIII succeeded him. Initially, his mother, Marie de’ Medici, acted as regent, with Cardinal Richelieu serving as minister from 1628 to 1642. Louis XIV later succeeded him, with another regency—this time by his mother, Anne of Austria—from 1643 to 1661 under the guidance of Cardinal Mazarin. The personal reign of Louis XIV began in 1661 and lasted until 1715.
Agents of Catholic Renewal in France
In 17th-century France, the situation was markedly different from 16th-century Spain. The Catholic renewal in France was largely the work of a small group of individuals known as the “devout circle” (milieu dévot)—without any pejorative connotation.
This group was strongly apostolic. They recognised the spiritual, moral and material poverty of the kingdom and consciously set about the task of renewing both Church and society. In the history of spirituality, this group stands as one of the most compelling examples of pastoral action aimed at reawakening a broader environment.
At the time, religious practice in France was minimal and religious ignorance widespread. This devout group demonstrated remarkable foresight and pastoral effectiveness.
The milieu dévot was composed mainly of Sorbonne professors, theologians, and intellectuals such as Duval and Gallemant, as well as zealous priests like Bérulle, Vincent de Paul, M. Bourdoise, François de Sales—then bishop of Annecy-Geneva—and others.
Additionally, Capuchins—then a newly established and dynamic community in France—were involved, along with Carthusians such as Dom Beaucousin, who exerted considerable influence.
These individuals knew one another and often met. Their primary meeting place was the residence of Madame Barbe Acarie, cousin of Pierre de Bérulle. She would later enter Carmel as a nun under the name Marie of the Incarnation, and is considered a mystic. Madame Acarie was instrumental in introducing the Teresian Carmel to France, and it was Bérulle who in 1604 travelled to Spain to bring Carmelite nuns back with him—including Anne of Jesus, the tireless companion of Saint Teresa of Ávila.
This was thus the work of a small, zealous and highly effective group. For more, see La belle Acarie by Fr. Bruno of Jesus-Mary.
Instruments of Renewal
First Instrument: Interior Reform
The initiators of the Catholic restoration in 17th-century France understood that, faced with fervent Protestant Huguenots, Catholics needed to return to the Gospel and undergo personal conversion. Rather than deny the decline of Catholicism in the kingdom, they acknowledged its malaise and recognised the need for a reform that tackled the root causes.
The renewal efforts began from the top—bishops and priests—with the aim of drawing the faithful along. This approach reflected the highly hierarchical nature of both society and Church at the time. The initial steps focused on the appointment of bishops and the development of pastoral awareness, encouraging bishops to reside in their dioceses. For priests, reform centred on proper formation for what was then called the “ecclesiastical state”—in seminaries, in accordance with the Council of Trent. As for the laity, efforts included religious education through missions, support for lay elites involved in confraternities, and a strong emphasis on authenticity in everyday Christian life.
Reform of the Clergy
The Church in France was constrained by the Concordat which tied it to the king, and by Gallicanism, which gave the French monarch rights equal to those of the Pope in episcopal appointments. The reform of the clergy was framed within the Council of Trent. At the time, the Church in France was conceived in a pyramidal structure: pope and king, bishops, priests, and then the people. Therefore, reforming priestly life was seen as essential to improving that of the laity.
Although the Council of Trent had concluded in 1563, its decrees were not promulgated in France until 1614 due to parliamentary opposition. Acceptance of Trent was the prerequisite for genuine reform.
The next step involved establishing the seminaries mandated by Trent for the formation of future priests. After several failed attempts, these seminaries began to take shape from 1642 onwards, under the leadership of Vincent de Paul, Jean-Jacques Olier, and Jean Eudes. (See further reading in Pastorale-Québec.)
During this period, new associations of secular priests were founded:
- The Oratorians, founded by Cardinal de Bérulle in 1611.
- The Congregation of the Mission (Lazarists), founded by Saint Vincent de Paul in 1625, named after the house of Saint-Lazare.
- The Society of Saint Sulpice, founded in the parish of Saint-Sulpice in Paris in 1642 by Jean-Jacques Olier. Initially a court abbot with little concern for pastoral work, Olier underwent a conversion.
- The Congregation of Jesus and Mary (Eudists), founded by Saint Jean Eudes in 1643. A disciple of Bérulle, he had spent twenty years in the Oratory.
The condition of the clergy at the time was lamentable. In 1620, France had 127 dioceses, yet only twelve bishops were considered acceptable. Another dozen were unworthy or openly impious, and most others lived away from their dioceses, content to collect revenues. Many were members of the royal court and invested their time and energy there.
As for the priests, the situation was not much better. There were approximately 100,000 priests—around one for every fifteen people. Some parishes had thirty to forty priests. Many sought benefices as a form of employment due to high unemployment and lack of meaningful work. The benefice system was largely responsible for this state of affairs.
Second: Charity or Concern for the Poor
The circles of renewal began to realise that evangelisation and preaching could not go far if the people lived in destitution. Priority was therefore given to the fight against poverty. Vincent de Paul, together with Louise de Marillac, founded the Daughters of Charity. It was the first non-cloistered religious community. Material poverty was extreme due to war: twenty thousand churches and two thousand religious houses had been destroyed. The people were malnourished. Ninety percent of women and seventy-five percent of men were illiterate. Between 30% and 40% died of hunger. The life expectancy of a peasant was between twenty and twenty-five years; that of a noble was forty to forty-five. Infant mortality was 50%. France’s population at the time was between seventeen and twenty million.
Third: The Reform of Religious Orders
This involved the reform of existing communities and the foundation of new communities better suited to the pastoral conditions of the time. In 1613, the Benedictines at Saint-Germain in Paris reformed themselves. From there, the reform was spread to all the abbeys of France by royal decree in 1622. The nuns of Port-Royal reformed in 1609 under Angélique Arnauld. The Trappists—a reform of the Cistercians linked to Saint Bernard—began in 1664 with Abbot Rancé, a convert. Among the mendicant orders, there was no reform, but the Capuchins took dynamic action.
Motivated Agents of Renewal
In seventeenth-century France, the renewal began much later than in Spain and Italy due to the political chaos that dominated the second half of the sixteenth century and the Parliament’s opposition to the promulgation of the Council of Trent’s decrees. These were not received in France until 1614. This delay accentuated the urgency for renewal and allowed for the emergence of exceptional creativity. In contrast to sixteenth-century Spain—where one finds a broad religious vitality throughout society, a kind of continued Middle Ages, the fruit of unity in faith and politics—Catholic renewal in France would be the work of a small group of people.
This group was characterised above all by apostolic and pastoral motivations. It recognised the spiritual, moral, and material poverty of the kingdom of France and felt called to renew both the country and the Church. This group is particularly noteworthy in the history of spirituality for its pastoral reading of the needs of the Christian community, its clear-sighted search for suitable means, and its effective involvement on the ground.
The goal pursued could be summed up in two words: interior reform. These agents of renewal understood that the challenge posed to Catholics by the Calvinists was above all spiritual—in the domain of living the Christian life. They therefore invited Catholics to take their Christian life seriously. For them, controversy was of no use in the realm of lived faith. Faced with fervent Huguenot Protestants, Catholics needed to draw closer to the Gospel and be converted, rather than deny the ills of the Church. The group became aware that the ills were real and that the solution required deep reform. Their actions marked a turning point and heralded modern pastoral practice. Catholic renewal in France would bear lasting religious fruit, even though the political restoration projects would be thwarted by Richelieu.
Who were these people of the “devout milieu”? First, professors from the Sorbonne, theologians and intellectuals such as André Duval; zealous priests like the young Bérulle; François de Sales during his visits to Paris; and Gallemant, parish priest of Aumale. There were also Capuchins, a newly founded and very dynamic community (present in France since 1573), the most famous being Benoît de Canfeld. Among the laity were Michel de Marillac, Quintanadoine de Brétigny, René Gauthier, and especially the Carthusian Dom Beaucousin, who, from his parlour, had considerable influence on the group.
Their meeting place was the home of Madame Barbe Avrillot (1566–1618), wife of Pierre Acarie, cousin of Bérulle, who would later become a Carmelite under the name Marie of the Incarnation. A few years after her marriage (from 1588), she experienced mystical phenomena with little developed imaginative content. This group of people is commonly referred to as the “Acarie Circle.” They knew each other, visited one another, and shared experiences. To varying degrees, they were involved in concrete undertakings (directly or through disciples). A common spirit, shared perceptions, and a unified will to act allow us to see in this milieu the crucible in which a spirituality was matured—a spirituality whose theological expression and vocabulary would be developed by Bérulle’s genius.
The Instruments Developed
There was a direct link between their reading of the pastoral situation and the initiatives that would emerge over the years. Without exaggeration, one can speak of adapted instruments and pastoral realism. All the initiatives aimed at the same goal but targeted more specific or specialised sectors.
The first area of action concerned the education of the faith. This focus on Christian formation would be expressed differently by each person, but it accompanied the initiatives of many of the masters of the French School. “The heart of Bérulle’s personality is his vocation as a spiritual master,” said Fernando Guillen Preckler. Bérulle himself used to say, “To govern a soul is to govern a kingdom.” The domestic missions began to take shape in 1626 with the Association of Missionaries of Saint Vincent de Paul, which became in 1633 the Congregation of the Mission (Vincentians). Saint John Eudes would follow, and later in the century, Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort. These missions were unlike those in other Latin countries in that they were not primarily penitential. Their aim was to present the rudiments of the faith in the countryside and combat one of the main ills of the Church in France: the ignorance of the people. They sparked creativity in expressing the themes of the French School through devotions and images such as the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.
The second area of action was the reform of the clergy. Bérulle, who could have pursued a brilliant secular career, chose to become a priest and to live his state of priesthood fully after his retreat in Verdun in 1602. In 1611, he founded a congregation of priests without vows, inspired by the Roman Oratory of Saint Philip Neri. In his mind, they would be attached to the bishop as the Jesuits were to the Pope. They would support bishops in reforming their clergy, take charge of seminaries, preach retreats, and later direct colleges. Saint Vincent de Paul began in 1633 the Tuesday Conferences, in which Olier and Bossuet took part, and in 1642, he transformed his Seminary of Bons-Enfants into a seminary for ordinands. Olier, for his part, founded in 1642 the Seminary of Saint-Sulpice, then the Society of the Priests of Saint-Sulpice, which dedicated itself to the formation of priests already in ministry, those who wished to take their pastoral mission seriously, and aspirants to the ecclesiastical state. Saint John Eudes worked in this area from 1643 with the Priests of the Congregation of Jesus and Mary (the Eudists).
The reform of the clergy was inspired by the Council of Trent: bringing bishops and priests to actually carry out their pastoral responsibilities (cura animarum), but above all, helping them discover that the priestly state demands holiness just as much as religious life does. Bérulle explained this in a letter worth quoting. At the beginning of the Church, he said, holiness was found among the clergy, but over time, it largely left the clergy and came to reside in religious life. Later, theological science passed into the academies, while authority was reserved for prelates. Bérulle’s project was to restore unity to what belonged to the priestly state. God had united these three qualities—authority (guiding the People of God), holiness, and doctrine—but human spirit had divided them. These three qualities must be reunited. This letter offers a striking summary of the inspiration behind all the clergy reformers of seventeenth-century France.
The third area of action concerned religious congregations. While supporting reforms, the spiritual masters of seventeenth-century France also established many new congregations.
These new congregations were almost all action-oriented. Another key characteristic was their structural flexibility. Saint Vincent de Paul told the Daughters of Charity: “But if among you there appeared some meddlesome, idolising spirit who says, ‘We should be nuns, it would be so much more beautiful,’ ah, my sisters, the Company would be on its deathbed… because to be a nun means to be cloistered, and the Daughters of Charity must go everywhere.” Among priests, the same tone prevailed: priestly congregations did not wish to take religious vows but to draw from the richness of their state of priesthood. Father Bourgoing, second successor of Bérulle at the head of the Oratory, explained in his Prefatory Letter to the 1644 edition of Bérulle’s Works that the priesthood “does not depend on the act of the one who receives it, as does religious life, but on the act of Jesus Christ himself and the consecration He brings about. That is why the perfection of priestly life, according to the model of Jesus’ life and in imitation of the apostolic life (described by Dionysius), consists in the state rather than in the vow.”
See also