Jacques Davy Duperron

1556-1618. Archbishop of Sens. Son of a Reformed pastor who had fled to Bern, Duperron went to Paris in 1573 and was converted to Roman Catholicism by his study of Aquinas and Bellarmine. His considerable gifts soon won Henry III's favor. In 1591 he became bishop of Évreux and played an important role in the conversion of Henry IV and his reconciliation with Rome. Though not an original scholar, he was a formidable controversialist, and humiliated P. Duplessis- Mornay* by demonstrating misuse of patristic texts on the Eucharist. Appointed cardinal in 1604, he used his great diplomatic talents to reconcile Venice to the papacy. Returning to France, he became archbishop of Sens and was an important opponent of Gallicanism, also engaging in theological controversy with James I of England. Duperron's great gifts were given unreservedly to the papacy and the French crown.