Juennin, Gaspard

Juennin, Gaspard, a French Roman Catholic theologian, was born at Varembon (Bresse) in 1650, entered the Oratory in 1674, and taught literature, philosophy, and theology in several schools of the congregation of the Oratory. He died in 1713. He deserves special recognition as a theological writer. His principal works are,

(1) Commentarius Historicus et dogmaticus de Sacramentis (Lyons, 1696, 2 vols. fol.). This work contains, besides the commentary, three dissertations on censures, irregularities, and indulgences, and deserves special notice for the fact that it is the first work of modern theologians treating at length the subject of the sacraments: —

(2) Institutiones Theologicoe (Lyons, 1696, 4 vols. 12mo, and often), which was used for some time as a text book of theology in several Roman Catholic institutions; a revised edition, expunging some objectionable views, was prepared by Juennin in 1705, and the work continued in use. In 1708 he published an abridgment of it as a Compendium Theologioe (Paris, 1708, 12mo). He also published a separate treatise on the sacraments, Theorie et pratique des Sacraments (Paris, 1713, 3 vols. 12mo), which is valuable. See Hook, Eccles. Dict. 6,367.