ALBANÈS, JOSEPH-MATHIAS-HYACINTHE. - Priest and ecclesiastical historian, b. at Auriol (Bouches-du-Rhône) on 24 Feb. 1822, d. at Marseille on 3 March 1897. Noteworthy are his works on Provençal hagiography and history, which earned him the Legion of Honour in 1889.
Among these, worthy of mention are those on Blessed Urbano V, pope (Paris 1897). He also compiled several volumes of the Catalogue général des manuscrits des bibliothèques publiques de France and the Gallia christiana novissima, a history of the archbishoprics, bishoprics, and abbeys of southern France, written on the basis of the registers of the Vatican and local archives, in seven volumes, published posthumously under the editorship of U. Chevalier (Montbéliard 1899-1920); the criteria followed by the editor are, however, highly questionable, for which reason the work does not always meet the requirements of historical criticism.