BONNECHOSE, HENRI-MARIE-GASTON de. - Cardinal, b. in Paris on 30 May 1800, d. in Rouen on 28 Oct. 1883. He initially pursued a legal career, but the July Revolution (1830), which obliged him to resign, gave him the opportunity to follow his religious vocation. Ordained priest in 1834, he was elected superior of S. Luigi dei Francesi in Rome in 1844. Bishop of Carcassonne in 1847, of Evreux in 1855, of Rouen in 1858, and cardinal in 1863. Favourable to the coup d’état of 2 Dec., he was a trusted adviser to Napoleon III, who made him senator (1863). A skilful diplomat and prudent administrator, he was also a zealous pastor and a staunch defender of ecclesiastical rights.
An admirer of Bautain, he remained close to him even when the latter had to clear himself in Rome; indeed, he joined the Société de St-Louis founded by his friend. The fruit of this intimacy was the publication of Bautain’s religious correspondence, printed by B. under the title Philosophie du christianisme (Paris 1835).