Гибель Архиепископа Парижа Дени Огюста Аффра в Июньские Дни 1848 года

Catholic Archbishop of Paris killed in June 1848

Denis Auguste Affre (27 September 179327 June 1848) was a French clergyman who served as Archbishop of Paris from 1840 to 1848. He was killed while trying to negotiate peace during the June Days uprising of 1848. His cause for beatification has commenced and he is therefore titled a Servant of God.

Affre was born at Saint Rome de Tarn, in the department of Aveyron. At the age of 14, he began to study for the priesthood at the Seminary of Saint Sulpice, Paris, which was under the direction of his uncle, the Abbé Denis Boyer, S. S. He was an excellent student, and, while still a seminarian, soon became an instructor of dogmatic theology at the seminary in Nantes. In 1818, he was ordained as a Catholic priest. From 1823 to 1833 he served as the Vicar General, first of the Diocese of Luçon and then of Amiens. In 1839, he was appointed as coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Strasbourg. This post, however, he never filled, being called on to act as Vicar Capitular of Paris, conjointly with MM. Auger and Morel, at the death of Archbishop Quélen. nevertheless he took no part in politics, but devoted himself to pastoral care. He opened new parishes in the working class neighborhoods of the city. Among them were Ménilmontant, Plaisance, Petit Montrouge, Maison Blanche, Petit Gentilly, Notre Dame de la Gare, Billancourt, Gros Caillou. There have been conflicting claims as to whether the fatal bullet was fired by an insurgent or by the government forces. He was taken to his palace, where he died on 27 June. On the next day, the National Assembly of France issued a decree expressing its great sorrow over Affre's death, and the public funeral held on 7 July was one of the most striking public spectacles of the period. In 1856, the smallest of the four "Benjamines," four new bells made for Notre Dame, was named Denise David in honor of Affre and Amédée David de Pastoret. Affre's niece by marriage, Marie Caroline Affre, served as godmother to the bell during the baptism ceremony. A street in the 18th arrondissement of Paris is named in his honor.

Affre wrote several articles for a newspaper called La France chrétienne. Additionally he published two books to guide in the practical matters of handling Church property: Un Traité de l'administration temporelle des paroisses (Paris, 1827) and Un Traité de la propriété des biens ecclésiastiques (Paris, 1837). He also wrote a guide to studying the Christian faith, Une Introduction philosophique à l'étude du christianisme (Paris, 5th edition, 1846).