Bonal, Francois De

Bonal, Francois De, a French prelate, was born May 9, 1734, at the chateau of Bonal, in the diocese of Agen. He became successively canon and grand-vicar of Chalons-upon-the-Saone, director-general of the Carmelites, and in 1776 was appointed bishop of Clermont. In 1789 he opposed the license of the press, showing the evil consequences to France. He was elected to the states-general by the clergy of the bailiwick of Clermont, where he distinguished himself by his attachment to the true principles of religion, and his firmness in maintaining them. Obliged to leave his country, he went to Flanders and to Holland. Arrested at Texel by the French, tried at Breda, and condemned to deportation, he went to Altona, and to various parts of Germany. He died at Munich, Sept. 5, 1800, leaving Testament Spirituel. See Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Generale, s.v.