COTON, PIERRE. - Jesuit, controversialist, b. at Néronde (Loire) on 7 March 1564; d. at Paris on 19 March 1626. First a preacher in southern France, where he converted many Huguenots, then in Paris (1603-17) at court, where he was also confessor to Henry IV and Louis XIII, he defended the Catholic religion against heretics and his Order against accusations of every kind, especially when the assassination of Henry IV (13 Jan. 1610) brought to the surface the charge that the Jesuits defend regicide. Many writings were published against him (cf. the anonymous Anti-C., Paris 1611) and he was forced to withdraw from court (1617). He then returned to preaching and writing, and was elected provincial of Aquitaine (1622) and of Paris (1624).

Of his many works, the following should be mentioned: Lettre déclaratoire de la doctrine des pères jésuites (Paris 1610), which gave rise to the Anti-C.; Institution catholique (2 vols., ibid. 1610); Orations dévotes (ibid. 1611); Méditations (ibid. 1614).

Bibliography7 works

BIBL.: Sommervogel, II, coll. 1539-60; J. M. Prat, Recherches hist. et crit. sur la Comp. de Jésus en France du temps du p. C. (1564-1626), 5 vols., Lyon 1875-79, see index; B. Duhr, Jesuiten Fabeln, 4th ed., Freiburg im Br. 1904, pp. 667 ff., 760-762; H. Fouqueray, Hist. de la C. d. J. en France, II, Paris 1913; III, ibid. 1922 (see indexes); Pastor, XII, pp. 330-69; H. Bremond, Histoire du sentiment religieux en France, II, Paris 1923, pp. 75-135.

Celestino Testore

@incollection{ec4_coton_pierre, author = {Testore, Celestino}, title = {Coton, pierre}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {IV}, pages = {784}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1950}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/coton-pierre} }

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Coton, Pierre

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