COLBERT de GROISSY, Charles-Joachim. Bishop of Montpellier, Jansenist, b. in Paris on 18 June 1667, d. in Montpellier on 8 April 1738. He studied at the Sorbonne and in 1696 was appointed Bishop of Montpellier.
In 1702 he had the Oratorian F. A. Pouget’s *Catéchisme de Montpellier* published; it was translated into various languages and widely circulated, but was later placed on the Index in 1721 for Jansenist ideas. Numerous corrected editions of it were subsequently issued and widely diffused until the early 19th century. In 1711, after Louis XIV had prohibited Quesnel’s *Réflexions morales*, Colbert openly joined the Jansenist camp. In the disputes aroused by the bull *Unigenitus* (1713), he played a leading role, issuing instructions and pastoral letters that intensified the conflict and were severely condemned by the Church (decree of 1743).