Picquet, Frangois (1)

a French prelate, was born at Lyons April 12, 1626. The son of a banker, he was destined to a commercial career, and travelled in France, Italy, and England. As he had thus become associated with several influential Parisians, he was in 1652 appointed to the consulship of France at Aleppo; and, although he was only twenty-six years of age, he was so shccessful in the discharge of his duties that the Dutch republic intrusted him with her own representation in the same city. Although a layman, he displayed extraordinary zeal for the promotion of the missionary work. He received the tonsure in 1660 at the hands of Andre, archbishop of Syria, who was indebted to him for his elevation. Two years afterwards he resigned the consulship and went to Rome, to give to pope Alexander VII an account of the state of religion in Syria. When he returned to France he received orders, was appointed prior of Grimand (Provence), and (1663) apostolic protonotarius. He was proposed in 1674 for the apostolic vicarate of Babylon, and became in 1675 bishop in partibus of Caesaropolis, in Macedonia. In 1679 he embarked for Aleppo with the chevalier d'Arvieux. the new French consul, endeavored with unrelenting zeal to revive the faith of the Catholics, anla started in May 1681, as ambassador of the courts of France and Rome in Persia, with a view of working for the restoration and expansion of the Catholic faith. He arrived at Ispahan July 12, 1682, and soon afterrards witnessed the celebrations in that city in honor of the passage of tie khan of the Tartars, Usbeck, who was on his way to Mecca. He was granted an audience, harangued the khan in Italian, and obtained a promise of protection for the Roman Catholics of his lands. Towards the close of 1683 he took the same prince rich presents from the king of France, and transmitted to his sovereign the answer and presents of the Persian sovereign. That same year he was appointed bishop of Babylon, and he had arrived at Hamadan, when his impaired health compelled him to stop several months in that city, where he died, August 26, 1685, after writing to the Congregation of the Propaganda for a coadjutor. A special honor was conferred on him by his burial in the church of the Armelians. Picquet furnished to Nicole several important documents for his work on the perpetuity of the faith of the Church in regard to the Eucharist. — Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Gen. 40:87.