BOUGAUD, LOUIS-VICTOR-ÉMILE. — French bishop, orator, and writer, born at Dijon on 26 Feb. 1823, died at Laval on 7 Nov. 1888. A student of philosophy at the minor seminary of Autun and of theology at the major seminary of Dijon, he was ordained priest in 1846. From 1846 to 1851 he taught dogmatic theology and ecclesiastical history at the seminary of Dijon.
From 1851 to 1861 he directed spiritually the local convent of the Visitation and at the same time worked on the compilation of the *Histoire de s. Jeanne de Chantal* (2 vols., 1861). The valuable work drew the attention of Dupanloup, Bishop of Orléans, who offered him the position of vicar general in his diocese. In this office, which left him some free time, Bougaud intensified his literary activity and devoted himself to preaching with notable success. Among the works he published during this period are to be noted the *Histoire de s. Monique* (1866) and the *Histoire de la bienheureuse Marguerite-Marie* (1874). Upon the death of Dupanloup, Bougaud, already somewhat ailing, retired to his family, where he spent some time entirely devoted to his studies, completing and polishing his major work *Le christianisme et les temps présents* (5 vols., 1872–74). In February 1888, only eight months before his death, he was appointed Bishop of Laval. Other writings by Bougaud include *Le grand péril de l'Église de France* (1878), the posthumous two-volume *Histoire de s. Vincent de Paul* (1889), and a volume of *Sermons et discours*.
To bring French society back to Christ through persuasion, compassion, and love was the aim pursued by Bougaud in his activity as an orator and sacred writer. As an apologist, he preferred to emphasize the inward beauties, the profound harmonies, and the transcendence of Christianity, and to highlight its perfect correspondence to the needs and aspirations of the individual, family, and social life of the human soul.