BESSON, MARIUS. - Historian and writer, Bishop of Lausanne, Geneva, and Fribourg, born in Turin on 28 June 1876, but originally from Chapelle-sur-Moudon (canton of Vaud, Switzerland), died in Fribourg on 24 February 1945. Ordained priest on 23 July 1899, he taught history at the Collège St-Michel (1907), ecclesiastical history, patristics, and sacred eloquence at the seminary (1907–20), and medieval history at the University of Fribourg (1908–20). He was the first parish priest of St-Réduppette in Lausanne (1916–19) and superior of the seminary (1919–20). He was elected bishop on 5 May 1920. A zealous pastor of vast and solid theological and historical-critical learning, he exercised notable influence in his diocese, in the political circles of the canton, in the international circles of the League of Nations in Geneva, in international cultural organizations, Catholic Action, charitable assistance, and among Protestant circles, where he was known for his eminently conciliatory spirit. His special attachment to the Holy See was widely recognized. Monsignor B. is regarded as one of the most brilliant representatives of the contemporary Catholic episcopate.
In addition to his pastoral letters and several speeches, which form a valuable collection of 11 volumes, he left a long series of publications and articles, both of a strictly scientific nature and of high popular appeal. Among the former, the following deserve special mention: *Recherches sur les origines des évêches de Genève, Lausanne et Sion et leurs premiers titulaires jusqu'au déclin du VIe siècle* (Fribourg 1906); *Contribution à l'histoire du diocèse de Lausanne sous la domination franque, 534–888* (ibid. 1908); *L'art barbare dans l'ancien diocèse de Lausanne* (Lausanne 1909); *Antiquités du Valais, V.–Xe siècle* (Fribourg 1910); *Monasterium Aucannense. Étude critique sur les origines de l'abbaye de St-Maurice en Valais* (ibid. 1913); *L'Église et l'imprimerie dans les anciens diocèses de Lausanne et de Genève jusqu'en 1525* (2 vols., Geneva 1937–38). He was also an active contributor to the *Revue d'histoire ecclésiastique suisse* and founder of the *Revue Charlemagne* (Paris 1911), which aimed to illustrate the Carolingian era.
Among his popular works, special mention should be made of: *Nos origines chrétiennes* (Fribourg 1921, 2nd ed. Geneva 1940); *L'Église et la Bible* (ibid. 1927); *Saint Pierre et les origines de la primauté romaine* (ibid. 1929); *La Sainte Vierge* (ibid. 1942). His efforts to find a path of understanding between Catholics and Protestants are documented in two widely circulated volumes: *La route aplanie* (1930, 11th ed., Italian trans. [Brescia 1932], German and Dutch); *Après Quatre Cents Ans* (1933, 4th ed., German trans.). He contributed to the founding of the weekly *L'Écho vaudois*, of which he was director (1910–19), the Swiss Catholic review *Nova et Vetera* (1926), the weekly *L'Écho illustré* (1929), and others. Monsignor B. regarded the Catholic press as a powerful instrument of apostolate and therefore promoted its dissemination in every way. In all his writings, he sought to be consistently precise and clear in the exposition of doctrine and historical information, meticulous in literary style and typographical presentation, which he always wished to be artistic.