BOURRET, ERNEST. – French historian and apologist, born at Lubro (Ardèche) in 1827, died at Rodez on 10 July 1896. He studied theology in Paris, but because of the revolution of 1848 had to interrupt his studies, and did not obtain his degree until 1857. In 1858 he also obtained a degree in Letters, and in 1863, after having held the position for two years, became the titular professor of Ecclesiastical Law at the Sorbonne. In 1869 he took part in the First Vatican Council as theologian to the bishop of Périgueux. Appointed bishop of Rodez in 1871, he lived in that city until his death, despite the fact that, having been created a cardinal in 1893, he desired another, more important see.
A man of broad erudition and fruitful activity, B.’s work developed along three distinct lines: pastoral, political, and literary. As a pastor, he should be remembered for the entirely new direction he gave to diocesan life, calling several religious Orders into the diocese, encouraging the recruitment and education of ecclesiastical vocations, and constructing numerous churches, schools, and charitable institutions. The more than 380 Mandements, or ordinances, published during his episcopate likewise testify to B.’s pastoral activity. In politics, B. was a practical advocate of rapprochement between Church and State in France. He demonstrated this attitude both by maintaining cordial relations of friendship with some of the Republic’s most representative figures, and by refraining from supporting Msgr. Gouthe-Soulard’s action against the government in 1891, as well as by discouraging, in 1895, agitation for the protection of particular rights of the religious Congregations. He was consequently accused of being a bishop who had sold himself to the government.
Of B.’s extensive literary production, many works remain unpublished; the following deserve particular mention: L'Ecole chrétienne de Séville sous la monarchie des Visigoths (Paris 1855); Origine du pouvoir civil d'après St Thomas et Suarez (there 1857); Essai historique et critique sur les sermons français de Gerson (there 1858); Réponse aux principales attaques contre l'Eglise (1873); Du respect qui est du à la religion, à ses ministres et à ses institutions (1880).