Rohan, Armand-gaston-maximilien De

Rohan, Armand-Gaston-Maximilien de,

Cardinal, was born at Paris, June 26, 1674. In 1690 he was canon of Strasburg, and in 1701 was chosen coadjutor of the prince-bishop Egon of Furstenberg, with the title of bishop of Tiberias in partibus. After the death of his superior he was titulary of the diocese, in 1712 became cardinal, and grand almoner in 1713. He held several rich abbeys, and, without any literary qualifications whatever, was elected member of the French Academy. He was also master of the Sorbonne. By virtue of his birth, fortune, and high office, he took an important part in the negotiations for peace in the Church of France which occupied the latter part of the reign of Louis XIV; and his connection with father Tellier, confessor to the king, and with the cardinal de Bissy, bishop of Meaux, made him one of the chiefs of the Molinist party. In the assembly of the clergy of 1713 he used all possible means to gain their acceptance of the papal bull Unigenitus, and gained his cause during the next year. During the regency he endeavored to bring about a reconciliation among the bishops, and persuaded forty to sign an accommodation, which ended their quarrels. His library was one of the greatest in France, and was under the charge of the learned abbe Oliva. Cardinal Rohan died at Paris July 19, 1749. The only work of any account which he left is Rituale Argentinense (Strasburg, 1742). See Gallia Christitiua.