BOYER, PIERRE-DENIS. - Theologian and preacher, born at Sévérac-L'Église (Auvergne) on 29 Oct. 1766, died in Paris on 24 Apr. 1842. A cousin of Mgr Frayssinous, he shared with him the life of college and seminary, the labours of the apostolate, the dangers of persecution during the Revolution, the teaching chair at Saint-Sulpice at the invitation of Emery, and the ardour of preaching. An indefatigable apostle of retreats for the clergy, he evangelized the whole of France. His activity is marked by his struggle against the ideas of Lamennais, his strenuous defence of the rights of the Church in the new French state order, and his zeal for the spiritual renewal of the clergy of France.
Principal works: *Antidote contre les aphorismes de M. de Lamennais sous le triple rapport de la philosophie, de la théologie et de la politique* (Paris 1834); *Défense de l'enseignement des écoles catholiques* (ibid. 1835); *Examen de la philosophie du christianisme de M. l'abbé Bautain* (ibid. 1836); *Défense de l'ordre social contre le carbonarisme moderne* (I, ibid. 1835; II, ibid. 1837); *Défense de l'Église catholique contre l'hérésie constitutionnelle qui soumet la religion au magistrat* (ibid. 1840); *Discours pour les retraites ecclésiastiques* (ibid. 1843).
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BOVIO, GIOVANNI - Portrait.